A Long Petal of the Sea
Once again, another wonderful book club meeting with alumnae from my high school. This time, we ranged from the Classes of 1948 to 2004. (I think I got that right.)
We read A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende, which ticked some of my favorite topics: What is home? How and when do we feel at home? What is homesickness? And more importantly…what does it mean when one is forcibly removed from one’s home?
This is a novel about displacement. Read this for an overview of Franco, the Spanish Civil War, the SS Winnipeg (a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda to carry refugees to Chile), and Pinochet. And then discuss it with people outside of your bubble. Oh, and then spend lots of time Googling Isabel Allende because wow, she is a fascinating person.
{The book here is sitting atop a pile of beach rocks that the former owners of our home left in a corner of a bathroom. It’s a bit strange, but I think the intent was a way to pay homage to a favorite place … and six years later, we’ve just kept them there. But “the sea” obviously plays a part in Allende’s book — “a long petal of the sea” is how Neruda describes Chile. But also this: Oceans can divide (for obvious reasons), while also providing a conduit. So I guess I thought these symbols of the sea appropriate. (But is it weird that we have a pile of rocks in a bathroom?)}
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