Monday, May 24, 2010

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

Island Beneath the Sea is the story of Zarite, a slave girl on the island that is now Haiti. The book traces her life from girlhood when she is sold to a plantation owner named Toulouse Valmorain. Because her master wishes her to be more refined in order to care for his delicate wife, Zarite, or Tete, as she is called, goes to "train" with a famous concubine named Violette, and although they don't realize it until much later, their lives are irrevocably changed and intertwined because of their meeting.

This beautifully written saga takes us through Zarite's life as a slave in Valmorain's house over years of island unrest and revolution both abroad in France and on the island itself.  Zarite again and again must put aside her own humanity and dignity in order to survive and realize her dream of becoming a free woman. It's th powerful story of women who are abused by a system they have absolutely no power over, but who nonetheless persevere and work that system as well as they can to get what they want.

I loved this books for its writing, it's wonderful sense of place and history, and for the wonderful characters who struggle for the things we still struggle for today - peace, equality, freedom of body and spirit, and an end to discrimination of all kinds. Check it out today, and you'll be glad you did.

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