Isabel Allende

I San Francisco i 1866 føder en irsk nonne, latt i stikken etter et brennhett forhold til en chilensk aristokrat, en datter som hun gir navnet Emilia del Valle. Emilia vokser opp hos en kjærlig stefar og blir en selvstendig tenkende ung kvinne. Hun vil ut i verden, og vender seg til journalistikken. Da hun får muligheten til å dekke en borgerkrig i Chile. Hun griper den, og det samme gjør kollegaen Eric …I Chile møter Emilia sin egentlige far og fordyper seg i den voldelige konflikten i landet der hun har sine røtter. Samtidig som Eric og hun finner kjærligheten, eskalerer krigen, og Emilia befinner seg i ekstrem fare. Frykten for å miste livet får henne til å stille spørsmål ved sin identitet og skjebne.

In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires.Together with two thousand other refugees, they embark on the SS Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda, to Chile: ?the long petal of sea and wine and snow.? As unlikely partners, they embrace exile as the rest of Europe erupts in world war. Starting over on a new continent, their trials are just beginning, and over the course of their lives, they will face trial after trial. But they will also find joy as they patiently await the day when they will be exiles no more. Through it all, their hope of returning to Spain keeps them going. Destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world, Roser and Victor will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along.A masterful work of historical fiction about hope, exile, and belonging, A Long Petal of the Sea shows Isabel Allende at the height of her powers.