Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
By Phyllis Rhodes • Jul 8th, 2010 • Category: Book Review 2010 •
Email This Post
• 
Print This Post
Quite simply — I loved the novel and I have placed it on my 2010 Top Reads list.
I had high expectations for this novel because the early reviews, press releases, and critics had praised it, the author, and much of her earlier works. I really wanted to explore it as a recent addition to the historical fiction genre (which is one of my favorite genres), but my interest was deepened even more with the novel’s Saint Dominque (Haiti) colonial setting prior to and during its bloody, fervid quest for independence from France. Factor in the gorgeous cover depicting a beautiful, young girl of color, and my curiosity was fueled to learn the enslaved girl’s story and fate. Needless to say, I was hooked from the opening passages and remained vested in the saga’s outcome and each of the characters until the very end.
At its core, the author took a slice of history and rendered it tenderly and meticulously. Coming full circle with the interconnecting plots and intertwining character story lines, she covers so many complex facets during their odyssey: French, Spanish, American, and English politics (and how it affected the colony), the mindset of the slaves, the passion and violence of the overthrow, race relations between owners, courtesans, slave women and their offspring, religion (Catholicism and Voudou), the fallacies, lust, pride, and greed of human nature, etc. She craftily transitions locales from Haiti to the port cities of the Louisiana Territory; where most of the French survivors migrated after fleeing Saint Dominque with little more than their lives. It is in the burgeoning New Orleans of old where the author delves deeply into cultural blending and social decadence to expose the ugliness, heartlessness, and cruelty of racism, colorism, classism, sexism, institutionalized slavery, societal traditions, and regional politics in plantation-era South.
Besides being entertained (as well as one could be considering certain themes of the book), I was inspired and educated — I learned a lot and jotted down notes to further research people, places, events, and folklore mentioned therein. I would recommend to historical fiction fans with an interest in the Haitian Revolution, French colonialism, and the African Diaspora.
This book was purchased by the reviewer via Amazon.com.
Reviewed by Phyllis
June 30, 2010
APOOO BookClub
Visit amazon to order a copy of Island Beneath the Sea and to vote accordingly for Phyllis’ review.
Related Posts
Phyllis Rhodes is a systems engineer with a major defense contractor and adjunct professor at two local universities in Orlando, Florida. A lifelong bibliophile, she founded the Nubian Circle Book Club in 2001 and is a freelance book reviewer for the Orlando Sentinel, APOOO Exchange Team, and Amazon.com. As a consummate fan of the arts, she supports local and national theatre, literary events, and Afrocentric festivals, exhibits, and historical tributes. When not traveling, teaching, or reading, she researches her family history and applies her talents across a host of professional organizations chartered to sustain and uplift the African American community
Email this author | All posts by Phyllis Rhodes
