Take the rich historical settings of Haiti and New Orleans. Toss in voodoo ceremonies, zombies, bloody slave uprisings, forbidden loves, pirates, spies, fortune-tellers, hurricanes, epidemics, and a pinch of scandal. Place all of this is Isabel Allende's gifted hands, and what's not to love? This book took some time and concentration to get through, but when I got to the end I found myself wanting more, more, more. I wanted to know what happens to Tete and Zacharie and Maurice and their families as the years pass, and I wanted to see a certain haughty bitch get her comeuppance. But a good storyteller knows when to stop, and this is the best Allende novel I've read so far. It will be on my Best of 2010 list, no question. A special thank you to Margaret Sayers Peden for making Ms. Allende's novels available to us in English. Good translation work deserves more recognition.
