Eva Luna

A Novel

By: Isabel Allende

Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Timothy Andrés Pabon

“A remarkable novel” (The Washington Post) from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende, introducing her most enchanting creation, Eva Luna: a lover, a writer, a revolutionary, and above all a storyteller.

Eva Luna is the daughter of a professor’s assistant and a snake-bitten gardener—born poor, orphaned at an early age, and working as a servant. Eva is a naturally gifted and imaginative storyteller who meets people from all stations and walks of life. Though she has no wealth, she trades her stories like currency with people who are kind to her. In this novel, she shares the story of her own life and introduces readers to a diverse and eccentric cast of characters including the Lebanese émigré who befriends her and takes her in; her unfortunate godmother, whose brain is addled by rum and who believes in all the Catholic saints and a few of her own invention; a street urchin who grows into a petty criminal and, later, a leader in the guerrilla struggle; a celebrated transsexual entertainer who instructs her in the ways of the adult world; and a young refugee whose flight from postwar Europe will prove crucial to Eva's fate.

As Eva tells her story, Isabel Allende conjures up a whole complex South American nation—the rich, the poor, the simple, and the sophisticated—in a novel replete with character and incident, with drama and comedy and history, with battles and passions, rebellions and reunions, a novel that celebrates the power of imagination to create a better world.

Critic reviews

"How splendid that the audiobook celebrating the titular character, who is a storyteller, is offered to us by two talented narrators. Cynthia Farrell and Timothy Pabon share the narrative responsibility here, and the result is outstanding. Farrell's performance is richly textured and brimming with enthusiasm. Her voice has a resonant quality that gives it depth; her narration of Allende's novel is nothing short of inspired. For his part, Pabon's sections are equally pleasing to listen to; indeed, his is the voice one thinks of when imagining an audiobook performance--crisply enunciated, well paced, and sleekly professional. What's more, the youthful energy of his delivery keeps him from sounding predictable. Allende fans and newcomers alike will love this audio partnership."

My Favorite Author but not my Favorite Story

I found this book to be a bit ponderous. The story was not up to Ms Allende's usual compelling style.

Narrator for Eva Lune should have had a Spanish accent.

The narrator sounded like an American, but here accents for the others was awful. The other narrators were ok. It didn’t take away from an enchanting story. I love the authors writing and how funny she is too. I ready House of Spirts and it is one of my 10 best books close to the top. This is only my second Allende novel and I can see it was not just luck. I will continue to ready her until there is nothing left to read of hers then I will start to reread them.

intrigue

I enjoyed this story. getting to know each character and to anticipate their next action was exciting.

Profound and entertaining

She delves into deep social questions surrounding the Latin America’s experience with democracy, sexism and the general harshness of life, but colored with great characters and in underlying interesting story of a girl who overcomes.

Held my interest

Like the story and characters and held my attention. Well written and told and love this author