The Stories of Eva Luna

Rating:
Summary: A must-have!
Review: After being recommended this book by a friend, I sought out to find it. My bookstore only had Eva Luna in stock so I bought that and read it. For me, Eva Luna was a bit boring and not everything I expected so it was with hesitance that I decided to purchase The Stories of Eva Luna. But am I glad I did! Each story each worth reading, I could not put the book down and read it in two days. It has got to be one of the best books I have ever read. Magical, witty and full of imagination, Isabel Allende is truly a great author.

Rating:
Summary: Magical realism done badly
Review: Allende's book covers often gave me the impression that they were full of syrupy, sepia-toned impressions of Latin American life. I finally decided to read her when I found this book on bargain, though, and I can't say I my first impression was wrong. Unlike Marquez or Rushdie, she seems to insert elements of fantasy into her work just to be cute and fey. Her characters seem other-worldly in their simplicity. And the Latin America that her characters inhabit is a sanitized Eden a la "Like Water for Chocolate" rather than a complex, modern society a la "Amores Perros." If you like fairy tales for adults or if you care for sensual writing, you might like this. Otherwise stay away.

Rating:
Summary: Love and Death Allende Style
Review: Allende's socio-economic, political and feminist agendas are melded together in the lives of the residents of Agua Santa. Her use of the short story genre is masterful. This is truly a can't put down book, leaving its readers clamoring for more Allende. Viva Isabel!

Rating:
Summary: Splendid Short Stories from Isabel Allende
Review: Anyone in search of the some of the finest "magical realism" writing done by a fine Latin American writer will not be disappointed with Isabel Allende's short story collection "The Stories of Eva Luna". Whether she writes about abandoned women or American Indians trying to cope with modern Latin American civilization, her words convey much empathy and create moving, often emotionally stirring portraits of the people she describes. I can't single out one story and say that it is the best in the collection; all of them are splendid literary gems in their own right.

Rating:
Summary: Isabel Allende is a twentieth-century Scheherazade.
Review: Anyone wishing to read a book of stories that mesmerizes you like the first stories you ever heard need look no further than this superb collection. The framing premise is that Eva and her lover Rolf have relaxed after an amorous encounter, and now Rolf wishes Eva to tell him a story ("Make it up for me," he tells her). From the bed, Eva spins 23 amazing stories drawing from fairy tales, magic realism, the chaotic history of Latin America, and the reality (including dream reality) of women's contemporary and past lives. Varying broadly in their setting and characters, the stories remain unified in their unflinchingly tough-minded view of life, filtered through the wish fulfillments of a tempestuous seductress. Using the inspiration of The Thousand Nights and a Night, Allende refracts the empowerment of women in a male-infested world through the lens of the power of words. The stories have a cumulative impact, but individual titles that stand out to this reader include "The Little Heidelberg," "Walimai," "If You Touched My Heart," "The Judge's Wife," "Our Secret," "Ester Lucero," and the wrenching final story, "And of Clay Are We Created" (with an ending similar to Woody Allen's Radio Days). Having been stranded on the flotsam of political chaos herself, Allende acutely details shifts in the characters' fates as citizens of impoverished and disempowered cultures. Moreover, the notion that postmodern narrative offers style but little feeling or substance is disproved by this author and book. Highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: Great avenue to discover the magic of Allende
Review: Having never read Allende before, I found this book in my hotel room in San Diego and flying back home, I devoured it as flew home. It is a magical, intoxicating book that has allowed me to discover the wonderful world woven by the word magic of Allende. In here we discover Eva Luna and her mother and their odd, surreal world in South America and their odd, numbing stories with Indians, revolutionaries, mad English doctors, Arab seductresses and a light-eyed storyteller with an incredible lifestory!

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Isabela Allende's "The Stories of Eva Luna" is truely a masterpiece not only in its origional Spanish edition, but also in this English translation, which fully gives the reader a feel for Allende's tone. Each story is consice, yet powerful and filled with allusions to everyday life. Allende covers a wide range of topics from politics and the story of Eva Peron (in "Two Words") to the complexity of love (in "Toad's Mouth). The way in which the book parallels "1001 Nights" is amazing, as well as the way in which Allende is able to incorporate the novel "Eva Luna" into this work. My personal favorites were "The Little Heidelberg" (possibly the best example of magical realism that I have ever read) and "And of Clay Are We Created" (a moving story based on a real event).

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Isabela Allende's "The Stories of Eva Luna" is truely a masterpiece not only in its origional Spanish edition, but also in this English translation, which fully gives the reader a feel for Allende's tone. Each story is consice, yet powerful and filled with allusions to everyday life. Allende covers a wide range of topics from politics and the story of Eva Peron (in "Two Words") to the complexity of love (in "Toad's Mouth). The way in which the book parallels "1001 Nights" is amazing, as well as the way in which Allende is able to incorporate the novel "Eva Luna" into this work. My personal favorites were "The Little Heidelberg" (possibly the best example of magical realism that I have ever read) and "And of Clay Are We Created" (a moving story based on a real event).

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting short story collection
Review: Lyrical, poetic and unforgettable - this collection of short stories is a sensory feast. Allende paints her characters in such rich and striking hues that they come alive for the reader. There is the story of Maurizia - the woman who leaves her stodgy husband for her exciting lover. There is the horrific plight of the childlike Hortensia who undergoes cruel punishment. Then there is the tale of the wife and concubine of Tomas Vargas who finally take revenge on the man who ill-treats them. The stories are compelling and familiar and the characters will haunt you long after you put down the book. The stories are classic Allende and the translation is superb.

Rating:
Summary: Love and Death Allende Style
Review: These hypnotic, strange and poetic stories deal with the darker side of love. In each tale, Isabel Allende paints mini-portraits of men and women who suffer from the twin-disease of passion and obsession. These stories will haunt you long after you've finished reading this book.