TLC Blog Tour-Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabel Allende

 ISLAND BENEATH THE SEA

by Isabel Allende

Harper Perennial

978-0-06-198825

$14.99 US

480 pp., April 26, 2011, reprint edition

Publisher Synopsis-Harper Perennial

Born a slave on the island of Saint-Domingue—the daughter of an African mother she never knew and a white sailor who brought her into bondage—ZaritÉ, known as TÉtÉ, survives a childhood of brutality and fear, finding solace in the traditional rhythms of African drums and in her exhilarating initiation into the mysteries of voodoo.

When twenty-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770, he discovers that running his father's plantation is neither glamorous nor easy. Marriage also proves problematic when, eight years later, he brings home a bride. But it is his teenaged slave, TÉtÉ, upon whom Valmorain becomes most dependent, as their lives intertwine across four tumultuous decades.

In Island Beneath the Sea, internationally acclaimed author Isabel Allende spins the unforgettable saga of an extraordinary woman determined to find love amid loss and forge her own identity under the cruelest of circumstances.

My Review

Allende is brutally honest in this shocking story of bondage and freedom set on the island of Saint Domingue and New Orleans. Wrapped among the lives of objectified women who possess amazing strength and sharp survival instincts is a tangled complicated web where social and racial heritage is a blur.  Lineage and social standing are paramount for social dominance, yet the unspeakable truth provides an alluring story of high drama.  Laws of equality are understood, established by society from centuries of slavery.  Prejudice deeply ingrained, provides a lifestyle, that imprinted from birth establishes standards and rules handed down over generations. 

 Passionately told this novel has multi-layers that will entice and engage the reader. Allende's vibrant soulful characters both vile and dear are memorable.  Allende has always been one of my     favorite authors and Island Beneath the Sea is a majestic and timeless story that is by far her greatest achievement.-

by Isabel Allende....... 

 http://www.isabelallende.com/

© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2011]. 

Review- Smooth Stones, by Ann Fairbairn

I read this book several months ago, but had forgot to post the review. As I was gathering together all my year end book reads and getting together my recap, I realized I had not shared it with you.


FIVE SMOOTH STONES, Anne Fairbairn, ©1966, Chicago Review Press Edition 2009, $18.95US/$20.95CAN, pb, 756pp.










The story takes place in New Orleans in 1933 during the depression. Times are hard money is scarce and Jim Crow separates black from white with a natural tenuous acceptance. Li’l Joe Champlin and his wife Geneva have suffered hardship and have witnessed the plague of the negro men and women. The unwritten laws of white society are there to instill a sense of inferiority on one side and the pure supreme power of the social white elite on the other. Li’l Joe and Geneva know that justice is taken care of without trial and with discrimination and hatred. They suffered unbearable grief and pain when their son David was murdered by a white mob. Having left a son, they decide to raise him and vow to give him the best education possible. Li’l Joe is befriended by Bjarne Knudsen who becomes David’s mentor and surrogate father through high school, Harvard Law and then Oxford. David, a brilliant scholar falls in love with Sarah, a petite white artist he calls, “the smallest.” Although Sarah sees only love without a color barrier, David only sees the ugly future of racial hatred.
David is challenged again when he gives up a certain golden career in international law to help lead his people fight for civil rights and change.

Despite the overwhelming length of this historical fiction novel, you will be spellbound by every page read. David and his friends are characters to remember and reflect on for years. You will recognize them as friends by the author’s detailed shaping of their personalities. The picture of the life lived by an interracial couple is honestly portrayed and still has value and truth today. Five Smooth Stones has proven to be timeless, and a tremendous testament of the civil rights struggle.

Disclosure: Five Smooth Stones was an ARC received from Historical Novels Review.

Review-Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark
Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries Book One
292p. $7.99 pb
976-0-441-00853-7
Ace Books, May 2001






As I surf the blog world I have encountered a plethora of reviews and chat about Dead Until Dark, book one of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. So it seems almost redundant to summarize the story line. However for my own future reference and for those interested I will do so.

Sookie Stackhouse is a feisty young twenty-five year old bartender in the rural town of Bon Temps outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. She describes herself as pretty, blonde, blue-eyed. She says, her “ bosom is substantial and I have a waspy waistline.” Sookie however has a disability that interferes with her dating prospects. She is telepathic and is able to read the thoughts of the people around her. This isn’t comfortable to her as she explains how unsettling it is to know what a date is thinking about you. Honesty is not always a good thing. But, when a vampire named Bill walks into the bar and sits in her area, she discovers her mind is quiet for a change. She is overjoyed to discover she cannot hear his thoughts.

Vampires are common in Bon Temps and considered a segment of society, albeit trans-human dating is not always acceptable. They have become vampire through the transmission of a virus and so they walk the night. Bill has inherited a large home and has decided to mainstream here. When he meets Sookie, he knows she is something special, different an enigma and he is immediately stricken by her. As you can guess, they go out on a date, but soon the trouble starts. Sookie is witness to Bill’s anger and brutal strength. Later, a girl is discovered murdered, with bite marks on her neck an apparent death by strangulation. So now the stage is set for the mystery of Dead Until Dark.

I fell in love with this book from the first page. Is this a deep thought provoking novel headed for a Pulitzer Prize? Doubtful. Although it has won The Anthony Award and is now on HBO as True Blood, based on this series. Charlaine Harris is a literary temptress who hooked me into the story immediately. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the character of Sookie and her recalcitrant and sarcastic wit. She is strong, feminine, opinionated and eccentric. What a fabulous combination to pair up with a suave, handsome and sexy vampire who together ignite the turning pages. Go ahead and try something different. Charlaine Harris is sure to entertain you with her skillful storytelling, but be aware, I don’t think you will want to stop at book one. The series contains seven volumes. Hopefully, they will keep me coming back for more of the same fabulous fantasy.