This is $1.99 kindle special again today- I still own this book - loved it - packed filled with drama ...I'm reading Isabel Allende's new book right now - "In The Mist of Winter", not released yet -- and it's TERRIFIC...save your pennies for it! Or get your name on the waitlist at the library. Older ... tiny comment: I just bought this book yesterday. It looks fantastic! I LOVE Isabel Allende. I like her fiction and non-fiction books.I'm also so excited....she will be speaking at a darling book store in Mt. View tonight. I hope I get a front row seat! elyseThis book is EXCELLENT!!! The best book I have read all year!!!

I can't repeat it enough; this book is captivating. For me, it was truly plunging into a pool and arriving in 18th century Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) in just one page! Can you believe it? That's how good the writing was!This is the first book I read by Isabel Allende. In the beginning, I was intimidated, because I heard many people say that her writing is difficult to understand, but I have to disagree. This book is very easy to follow. Encouraged, I might just go to the library next week and borrow another Allende book! :)What I loved most was the first part of the book, because it is set in Saint-Domingue during the years 1770-95. Let me tell you a bit about why I'm fascinated about Haiti:Back when I was in high school, I had to do a presentation about a francophone country for my French class. I chose Haiti and did a lot of research about Haiti's history and culture. That experience was profound for me, cause it was the first time I felt really close to the French language doing my research completely in French. I came across Toussaint Louverture, voodoo, the fact that Haiti used to be "La perle de la Caraibe" (at that time it was the richest colony in the world due to its sugar plantations), but today it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. What happened? And the Earthquake in 2010 left this country in even more devastation. This country puzzles me somehow strongly. It was by pure coincidence that I stumbled upon this book, hearing often the author's name and the title "Island Beneath the Sea", but unaware that the story took place in Haiti. Once, I read the summary, I immediately started reading the book. And let me tell you, Allende did her research well on the Haitian Revolution. She entwined historical facts so skillfully to the story of her characters, that everything felt smooth and genuine. Besides what happened in Saint-Domingue, we are constantly updated on the historical events in France, e.g. French Revolution, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI being beheaded, Robespierre, Napoleon,...We are introduced to a wide variety of colorful personalities, it feels lively and you feel like you're part of it. You want to know what happens in their lives, what goes on in their hearts.Although, I must admit, that I was never able to like the protagonist Tete aka Zarite. I don't understand her, and it angers me. Cause I feel like I don't understand the situation at that time, though I've read and am reading about it. However, I just can't understand her. There are many holes, not yet filled. I'm also not completely fond of Violette. Another thing which bothered me, was the very descriptive love/rape scenes. I know what happened, their positions, where there heads, legs and arms were sticking out. But I feel that I never knew what was really happening in Tete's head, when her master "mounted" her. She admits with shame that sometimes she envisions her lover to be there instead her slave-owner, she is repulsed by his odor, but I don't know what she feels deep inside. In my opinion, Allende was not fully capable of grasping the emotions of a slave. Indeed, it is a very difficult task! On the other side, I felt the descriptions of the slave owners views and thoughts very well written. One can really understand how ignorant and inhuman the slave owners were. A sentence which in my opinion sticks out, however I forgot the page it's written, so I'll quote from my weak memory: "it had never occurred to Valmorain (the slave owner) to ask Tete how she felt on those nights, just as it had never occurred to him to ask a horse how he felt when he was riding it". I can't quote well, it's much better written in the book, no worries!Overall, I thought the first part of the book was stronger than the second part (which is set in New Orleans (Louisiana) in the years 1795-1810), primarily cause I'm interested in Haiti. But, also because some characters, which felt promising (in a bad way, I'm talking about the villains here) to the story, fell completely short. They suddenly died or disappeared in the book. And I constantly thought that they would re-emerge later and create some grand turning point. So that was disappointing. But all in all, I recommend this book to everyone. Especially the ones interested in world literature, and Haiti in particular.

3.5 stars, rounded upIsland Beneath the Sea is an epic historical saga, following the lives of slave Tété and her master Valmorain. The story begins on the island of Saint Domingue (modern day Haiti) and follows the pair through a slave uprising and onwards to exile in New Orleans. Allendes storytelling is wonderful and she really transports the reader to the geographical and historical setting. I enjoyed the first part of the book, set in Haiti, more than the second part set in New Orleans, which was a little slow going at times. The story is mostly told by a third person narrator but there are occasional sections (printed in italics) told in the first person from Tétés point of view. I wasnt entirely sure that they added anything to the story, so I was a little baffled by their inclusion.Overall, I found this an engaging read and I thought that Allendes female characters in particular were wonderfully drawn. This is the first Allende book I have read but I am sure it wont be the last.

Audiobook performed by S. Epatha Merkerson.In a bit of a departure from her usual emphasis on Hispano-American history, Allende gives us a story of an 18th-century slave in French-occupied Saint-Domingue (later to become Haiti). We follow Zarité from her childhood through age forty, from Guinea to Saint-Domingue to Cuba and on to New Orleans. Allende populates the novel with a wide variety of characters: Zarités French master and plantation owner Toulouse Valmorain; the free quadroon Violette Boisier who entertains a wide variety of gentlemen callers, chiefly Valmorain and the French military officer Etienne Relais; Valmorains Cuban wife Eugenia Garcia de Solars who is mother to his heir, Maurice; the local doctor Parmentier who is married to a mulatta woman Adele but keeps a separate house from that of his family; and a host of other characters too numerous to mention specifically. Allende is more than up to the task of relating the historical events that frame this family drama. The time frame of the novel is 1770 to 1810, and we witness the slave rebellion that results in the French abandoning Saint-Domingue to the rebel leaders who will ultimately name it Haiti. As the French leave their plantations and the island for safe haven they migrate to the French colony in New Orleans. But just as they feel settled, Napoleon sells a large tract of land to the United States in what we know as the Louisiana Purchase. Against this backdrop of national and international upheaval, we have the family drama of Valmorain, his slave, Zarité, and their children. I loved Zarité. Shes intelligent, resourceful, courageous, adaptable and wily. A keen observer and a good judge of character, she makes alliances and bides her time, acting when it is most advantageous to her and her family. And she needs every bit of these skills to navigate the dangerous relationships with Valmorain's two wives: the mentally unstable Eugenia, and the cruel Hortense. Violette is also a richly drawn character willful, intelligent, confident, loyal and loving. She has made the best of her situation and with the aid of her loyal servant Loula she will ensure the success of her family and those she holds dear. None of the men in her life are a match for her. S. Epatha Merkerson does a fantastic job of voicing the audiobook. She gives each character a sufficiently unique voice that it is easy to follow the dialogue. But I particularly love the way in which she brings Zarité and Violette to life. These are two strong women, and Merkerson excels in interpreting their characters.

Thursday evening, May 6th, I had the good fortune to attend a talk and reading by the most famous living Latin American author. Isabel Allende read from her new novel Island Beneath the Sea at the Atlanta History Center to an auditorium full of fans. She was a delight!!It had been years since someone had read to me and I had quite forgotten what a pleasure that can be. Author Allende reading her new book in her wonderful Latin American accent made for one of the most pleasurable evenings out I have had in a long time. Island Beneath the Sea is an exciting story and as usual has a strong female character. Notably, Allende advised when asked about her female characters from a member of the audience, that she did not know any women who were not strong. Who can't love an author that thinks that way?!I also want to congratulate the Atlanta History Center for doing a good job of making the reading and signing a pleasurable experience for those attending. I plan to attend more events there in the future. The parking was good, the grounds are beautiful, the auditorium was comfortable, and the open bar was a nice touch.I have never read a book by Isabel Allende, but had fully intended to for some years. Now that I have a copy of her new book, I will bump it up the "to-read" list.