The Stories of Eva Luna

De: Isabel Allende

Narrado por: Elizabeth Pena

Immerse yourself in a world of love, vengeance, compassion, and irony with the evocative stories of Eva Luna. Author Isabel Allende introduced this well-loved character to audiences in her earlier novel, Eva Luna, which describes the adventurous life of a poor Latin-American woman who finds happiness and success through her masterful storytelling skills. Now Eva returns, this time in a treasure trove of opulent and stirring stories that speak to every emotion.©1991 Isabel Allende (P)1991 Dove Audio, Inc.

Better some Allende than no Allende

I live in Canada, and am consequently cursed to a poverty of Allende's work in audio form, perhaps because the Audible powers-that-be assume that our comparative lack of Latin American listeners means a lack of interest in Latin American works. Worse yet, the Stories of Eva Luna, one of my favourite works by Allende, is this abridged version. Lamentable as these situations may be I decided that some Allende was better than no Allende, and was only mildly disappointed at the odd choices the audiobook producers made when selecting which short stories to include. Of the 24 original stories, only 8 are found here. I was struck most by the absence of "And of Clay Are We Created," widely considered Allende's best work of short fiction, and "The Judge's Wife," which has been anthologized a number of times. Nevertheless, the stories found here are still a delight to revisit, especially when read by Elizabeth Pena, who is very easy on the ears, and reads the stories with the requisite sultry tone Allende's work demands. That said, I had to listen at speeds between 1.5 and 3 times the recorded speed, as Pena takes some extremely pregnant pauses.

Allende's prose is poetic and her stories are filled with meaningful magic, where miracles are beautiful or terrible epiphanies. The stories range from whimsically touching to heartbreakingly tragic. I'll definitely revisit this audiobook, despite most of my favourite stories being left out.

I was unable to find a table of contents for this audiobook, and one of my motivations in purchasing and listening to it was to provide one to other prospective listeners. Here are the story titles with their relative starting times, since, as noted below, the chapter breaks are haphazard:

1. Prologue
2. Two Words 5:36
3. Wicked Girl 28:50
4. Our Secret 1:02:55
5. The Little Heidelberg 1:15:37
6. The Proper Respect 1:34:48
7. Interminable Life 1:52:14
8. Revenge 2:22:24

I like books

What made the experience of listening to The Stories of Eva Luna the most enjoyable?

Her soothing phone sex voice.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting aspect were the stories... least interesting aspect were the stories I didn't like.

What about Elizabeth Pena’s performance did you like?

She has a future in phone sex.

Who was the most memorable character of The Stories of Eva Luna and why?

Eva Luna.

Any additional comments?

No additional comments.

EXCELLENT!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I heard about this author but with doubt listened to this particular book!!!! Loved all the stories and narraratiion by elizabeth pena was excellently executed!!! Well done!!!

Incomplete

I wish this recording had included the complete work. Otherwise delightfully read with passion. Recommended.

Eva Luna stories are still poignant

I read Eva Luna many years ago and wanted to revisit it again. The narrator was wonderful and I appreciated her interpretation of the stories. Isabel Allende is such a fantastic storyteller there were moments when I was amazed by the story. A few times I had to turn it off and think about how perfectly her words are crafted.