I always imagined the art of writing romantically, ink-stained fingertips and crumpled
piles of paper about my feet. In reality, my writing life is spent chasing a blinking
cursor back and forth across a computer screen.
However, I imagine Isabel Allende to be a writer in the rudimentary sense of the word.
Unlikely as it is, I picture her with plume, ink pot and vellum, the light of a candle at
her wrist.
Crafted around the pretense of a lover's request for a story untold to any other, THE
STORIES OF EVA LUNA by Isabel Allende is like getting caught up in a love affair of the
written word. A collection of over twenty short stories, each tale unabashedly vies for
the reader's attention like the glittering gifts of competing suitors.
The first story, "Two Words," is a simple yet deeply satisfying tale about a
young woman, whose talents as griot and wordsmith attract the attention of a crude and
politically ambitious man. "Walimai" is the story of a hunter, born to a tribe
of people indigenous to the rain forests and his journey into the "civilized"
world. "The Proper Respect" relays the often desperate measures a ruthless
couple take to climb the social ladder.
A writer's writer, able to inspire even the most despairing would-be scribe to rediscover
the power of words, Allende is also a reader's writer, able to dispel all distraction
until her storytelling is done. Allende makes reference to Scheherazade of A
THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS fame, when in fact, it is Allende herself who is the modern
embodiment of that long ago character brought to life --- even if she lives in California
and uses a computer (or at least a typewriter) in lieu of a plumed pen to write.
Never straying from themes of intimacy, dignity, passion and love, the stories that Eva
Luna create to sate her lover will sate the reader as well. For ultimately,
they have been designed for your pleasure.
--- Reviewed by Zakia M. Carter
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