The Island of Eternal Love - Hardcover

Daina Chaviano

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594489920 ISBN 13: 9781594489921

Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover, 2008

Synopsis

Hearing the engaging life story of a mysterious old woman in a Little Havana bar, lonely Cuban-American Cecilia learns about three generations of a clan of diverse origins, a family that includes such members as a reverent Chinese widow, an African slave, and a Spanish matriarch. 20,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Daína Chaviano is the award-winning author of several novels published in Spanish. Winner of the acclaimed Azorín Award for Best Novel for El hombre, la hembra y el hambre (Man, Woman and Hunger), her most recent work, The Island of Eternal Love, was the recipient of the 2007 Florida Book Awards’ Gold Medal for Best Spanish Language Book and has been translated into twenty languages around the world. A Havana native, she has lived in Miami since 1991.

From Publishers Weekly:

In Chaviano's first English translation, historical fiction is given a strong if awkward shot of the supernatural. Cecilia, a Cuban-born Miami journalist, investigates reports of a phantom house that appears in random areas of the city. As she tries to unlock the mystery, she becomes equally entranced by Amalia, an old woman she meets at a Little Havana bar. With only an eccentric great aunt to call family in her adopted city, Cecilia returns again and again to hear Amalia's chronicle of three bloodlines from across the planet that converge in Cuba. Replete with romance, clashing cultures and bloodshed, Amalia's story also has its share of auras, fairy music and imps (including Martinico, who haunts the women in Amalia's family). A descendant of clairvoyants, Cecilia is enthralled by the old woman, but whether readers will be enthralled is another question. Characters are more quirk than flesh, the dialogue is often stilted and though the supernatural plays a large part, the elements frequently feel uncomfortably inserted (such as the cameo of a goat-hoofed Pan). A stronger grounding—either in reality or the supernatural—might have helped this find its groove. (June)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1594489920
• ISBN 13: 9781594489921
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336