Carmen Durand Books

In the book which put South America on the literary map, Marquez tells the haunting story of a community in which the political, the personal and the spiritual worlds intertwine."

'Fantastic, sexy and sometimes macabre. A latter-day Scheherazade, a true descendant of the skalds, a Teller of Tales. Extraordinary' Guardian Eva Luna, entwined with her lover in bed, is asked to tell him a story 'you have never told anyone before'. As she relates a tale of twenty-three interwoven parts, she knits a kaleidoscopic portrait of the people and landscape of South America. Here are guerillas and fortune-tellers, tyrants and great beauties, whores and peasants. These are stories of poverty and politics, passion and pain, tragedy and comedy, all gloriously imagined by one of the world's most captivating storytellers. 'Like a plate of hors-d'oeuvres, each one tempting, some as exquisite as caviare. Stunning' New York Times Book Review'Vital and compelling' The Times'Enchanting, magnificent. Absolute magic on every level' Cosmopolitan

Beautiful and headstrong, Irene Beltran works as a magazine journalist--a profession that belies her privileged upbringing and her engagement to an army captain. Her investigative partner is photographer Francisco Leal, the son of impoverished Spanish Marxist emigres. Together, they form an unlikely but inseparable team--and Francisco quickly falls in love with the fierce and loyal Irene. When an assignment leads them to a young girl whom locals believe to possess miraculous powers, they uncover an unspeakable crime perpetrated by an oppressive regime. Determined to reveal the truth in a nation overrun by terror and violence, each will risk everything to find justice--and, ultimately, to embrace the passion and fervor that binds them. Profoundly moving and ultimately uplifting, "Of Love and Shadows" is a tale of romance, bravery, and tragedy, set against the indelible backdrop of a country ruled with an iron fist--and peopled with those who dare to challenge it.

Reimp. de la 1ª ed., 1977. Premio Planeta 1977

Le personnage d'Eva Luna, dans le roman du même nom, n'avait pas sa pareille pour raconter des histoires aussi extraordinaire que véridiques, tirées notamment de la chronique du village d'Agua Santa. C'est un vaste éventail de ces ''contes'' de la moderne Shéhérazade latino-américaine que rassemble ce livre. En fait, vingt-trois petits romans dont chacun est un condensé de la virtuosité et de la richesse narratives d'Isabel Allende. Unité d'inspiration dans la formidable variété des situations, permanence de l'ironie sensible et foisonnante dans des registres qui vont du burlesque au lugubre, de l'ingénuité au deuil, de la nostalgie à la colère, de l'amour à la révolte. Ces vingt-trois petits chefs-d'oeuvre sont à dévorer d'une traite ou à déguster, mais plus probablement encore destinés à connaître successivement les deux lectures.

Eva Luna, héroïne du précédent roman d'Isabel Allende, n'avait pas son pareil pour conter des histoires aussi extraordinaires que véridiques, tirées de la chronique locale de son village, Agua Santa.On trouvera ici un nouvel échantillon du talent de la Schéhérazade latino-américaine. Vingt-trois récits burlesques ou sombres, de nostalgie ou de colère, d'ironie ou de révolte. Vingt-trois contes d'une prodigieuse diversité de situations, où la romancière de La Maison aux esprits révèle les mille et une facettes de son inspiration.