His own feelings toward slavery range from ambivalence and revulsion to defensive resignation, and he attempts to keep his hands clean by giving a brutal overseer reign over the fields. At the age of 9, she is sold to Toulouse Valmorain, a Frenchman who reluctantly inherited a plantation when his father succumbed to syphilis. The story centers on Zarité, a slave in Saint-Domingue (now known as Haiti) and her long struggle for freedom against all odds. Now, with "Island Beneath the Sea," she returns with a novel that carries us to the late 18th century, to the heart of slavery and the Haitian revolution. From the Chilean dictatorship to the California Gold Rush, her previous novels have brought bygone epochs to life by peopling them with exuberant passions, strong heroines and intricate plots that knot together a vivid cast of characters. By Isabel Allende (Harper 457 pages $26.99)įor 28 years, Isabel Allende has given us books that fling their arms open, gather up history and offer it back to us in a wide embrace.
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