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A review by laurieb755
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
3.0
Is Eva Luna a wondrous story teller? Yes.
Is Isabel Allende a wondrous story teller? Yes.
Their imaginations are fertile, with powerful, masterful use of words to tell and describe and evoke. At the same time, they only say what needs to be said; no unnecessary bits of story.
I tried to enjoy this book as a stand alone, but could not help but think back to Eva Luna and realize I wanted more from this person who had experienced a lifetime of stories.
To be fair, Eva Luna retained her magic and each individual story held sway over me. I often read two or three at a time. I recognized people who came in to a tale and then reappeared multiple tales later. Yet, by the book's end I had forgotten why Eva began her stories in the first place and wound back to the beginning to remind myself how this collection all began.
In reflecting on the above, it makes me wonder if perhaps this book would have been better devoured reading more chapters in fewer sittings. This might have pulled the connecting strings tighter, yet life's strings are not always tight and neat…
For the record, I read a hardcover version. And I have just returned to update this review after spending quite awhile exploring Isabel Allende's website, which I highly recommend. Her magic with words reins supreme, her life story fills in gaps in what I've gleaned elsewhere, and if you cannot get a hold of books in this time of the pandemic, you can immerse yourself in Isabel Allende's writing without any concern of a library due date.
Is Isabel Allende a wondrous story teller? Yes.
Their imaginations are fertile, with powerful, masterful use of words to tell and describe and evoke. At the same time, they only say what needs to be said; no unnecessary bits of story.
I tried to enjoy this book as a stand alone, but could not help but think back to Eva Luna and realize I wanted more from this person who had experienced a lifetime of stories.
To be fair, Eva Luna retained her magic and each individual story held sway over me. I often read two or three at a time. I recognized people who came in to a tale and then reappeared multiple tales later. Yet, by the book's end I had forgotten why Eva began her stories in the first place and wound back to the beginning to remind myself how this collection all began.
In reflecting on the above, it makes me wonder if perhaps this book would have been better devoured reading more chapters in fewer sittings. This might have pulled the connecting strings tighter, yet life's strings are not always tight and neat…
For the record, I read a hardcover version. And I have just returned to update this review after spending quite awhile exploring Isabel Allende's website, which I highly recommend. Her magic with words reins supreme, her life story fills in gaps in what I've gleaned elsewhere, and if you cannot get a hold of books in this time of the pandemic, you can immerse yourself in Isabel Allende's writing without any concern of a library due date.