Island Beneath The Sea [Paperback]

The audio book is well done, actress Epatha Merkerson reads the book to perfection. This is one more thing I love about Isabel Allende: she does not go cheap when selecting the publishing house or the readers for her books; she kept the same translator, consistency that paid off, as 'traduttore tradittore'. The language has the same sweetness, the same powerfully gripping yet friendly vocabulary and structure.
Isabel intertwines the history of Haiti, at the time of the Haitian Revolution, the Immigration en masse to Louisiana and New Orleans, the abolition of slavery and the Catholic influence with family and romantic plots seen through the eyes of a slave.
We learn about the outcome of the revolution in Saint Domingue (original name of Haiti) and Toussaint L'Ouverture, as Zarité (known as Tété- one of the African beliefs being that if you disclose your name to strangers, they can harm you in many ways, once you've said your name you stand naked) follows it as closely as possible (her beloved having remained there to fight).
The novel touches upon the fate of children born of white (masters) and black slaves, half brothers and sisters not knowing of one another, getting married and having kids. This is reducing a wonderful story in a quite simplistic way. Isabel actually lets everyone know about the blood relationship, and she manipulates the reader into routing for their marriage. The idea of incest frightens me, so I followed transfixed a masterfully created plot that almost made me change my mind.
The book is pulsating through the passionate and courageous acts of the characters (I've come to recognize Isabel's proud Chilean soul) and is bringing forward important pieces of history (Louisiana being sold by Napoleon to the Americans for mere cents per acre), for what are we without history?!
The Island Beneath the Sea is the after death, which could be Heaven or Hell, depending on your actions during your life on Earth' It's a book you want to listen to, it will make you appreciate freedom, education, even society, for, corrupt as it is, we've come a long way'
For more enticing reviews go to allwords.ca

This was the first Allende book I've read, and I was expecting more from it, given the reviews her first few books received. The history was interesting to me, since I knew nothing about the early years in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The main character is engaging and often moving when she speaks in her own voice, and the tensions between the sexes, classes, nationalities, and races are wound into the story in interesting ways. But about two-thirds the way through, the story becomes too much of a soap-opera, and so many ancillary characters are thrown in that it's not possible to care about them all - some characters that could have been really memorable end up as throw-aways. It's worth reading, but it's not a great book.

Stunning, breathtaking, just an absolutely fantastic read. I started Island Beneath the Sea last night and literally could not put it down. I've just turned the last page and am wondering why have I never read Isabel Allende before!?

The novel opens with a prologue in which Zarité expresses her love of dancing.

"..he invited me to lose myself in the music, the way you do in a dream. Dance, dance, Zarité, the slave who dances is free...while he is dancing, he told me. I have always danced."

Zarité or Teté as she comes to be known, was sold as a slave when she was only a few months old. In 1770 she lives on the island of Saint-Domingue. She is sold again to plantation owner Toulouse Valmorain to look after his wife. Life in the French colony is becoming more and more unsettled. By 1793 the island is extremely dangerous - the blacks have rebelled and are massacring the whites. Valmorain, his family and Teté escape to Cuba and then to Louisiana.

The brief synopsis I've provided doesn't even begin to touch the rich, sweeping saga Allende has written. The story that Allende has woven is simply mesmerizing. But is is the character of Teté that captured me completely -her strength, fortitude, endurance and spirit. Teté is a resilient woman, facing seemingly unbearable situations with quiet dignity. Her life and that of Valmorain are inextricably intertwined as she bears two of his children - the products of repeated sexual violence, beginning when she was eleven. Despite the violence visited upon her, she has an unflagging love for her children and hope for her own future.

But it was the descriptions of the treatment of the slaves that brought tears to my eyes many times. The cavalier and cruel actions by the whites was appalling. Indeed, there were over 60 classifications of mulattoes, based on the amount of white blood.

The supporting characters were no less captivating. Tante Rose, the local healer and voodoo leader, the freedom fighters, including Gambo, Teté's lover and Violette,the mulatto courtesan desired by many. Parmentier, the local white doctor who has secrets of his own. Each one of their stories are rich and vibrant as well.

The Island Beneath the Sea is historical fiction at its' absolute best. The detail was fascinating. I had no idea of the roots of the island we now know as Haiti, the slavery that started long before it reached America and the long war between Spain and France over this small piece of land. Descriptions of the social lives and customs of this time period were incredibly illustrated.

The title? Slaves chose to kill their children and send the to 'the island beneath the sea' rather than have them live as slaves.

Allende's ability to weave factual events with fiction is truly spectacular. Highly, highly recommended.