I look forward to each new novel by Isabel Allende, knowing I will enjoy an entertaining and beautifully written book and Island Beneath the Sea lived up to my every expectation! It also happens to be an exceptionally timely novel since it goes back in time to reveal the history of two places which have been in our recent headlines — Haiti and New Orleans.

Zarité was born on Saint-Domingue, the French Colony which later became Haiti. Her African mother was impregnated by one of the sailors who kidnapped her and brought her to the Caribbean. Though she never knew her mother, Zarité is provided with a sense of who she is and where she has come from by the community of slaves around her. She grows up to be a smart, self-reliant survivor whose gentle and healing ways are recognized and result in a job as caretaker for her owner’s wife and son.

Toulouse Valmorain was a young French aristocrat used to Paris life when he went to Saint-Domingue to help run the family’s sugar plantation. He only expected to stay a short time, but when his father dies of syphilis, Toulouse must stay and manage the family’s asset which provides for such a rich lifestyle in France. It is Toulouse who purchases Zarité to care for his wife and son.

During the Haitian revolution, when the rebel slaves kill and burn out many of the white landowners, Zarité saves the lives of Toulouse and his son and she makes a difficult and pivotal choice to leave Saint-Domingue with Toulouse and go across the water to New Orleans. It is in this new territory that Zarité finally begins on a path to freedom.

This is an extraordinary novel which explores such difficult topics as slavery, racism, revolution and extraordinary violence, yet never becomes emotionally overwhelming. In fact, I couldn’t put the book down! Zarité is a wonderful character — rich, interesting and endlessly compelling. And even though I hated one of the more difficult choices she made, each decision was the right decision for her character. I absolutely loved this novel! ~Patti