Eva Luna is based on the life of the novel’s protagonist. The story begins with how Eva Luna was conceived when her mother tried to save the life of a snake-bitten Indian.
It takes place in an unnamed South American country because the characters speak Spanish. Eva’s mother dies when she is only 7 years old and she is forced to work as a servant in different houses. One thing she inherited from her mother was the gift of storytelling. Wherever she would go, everyone loved to hear her improvised stories. At the age of 17, she worked in the house of a Turkish immigrant named Riad Halabi, whom she falls in love with, but he is twice her age.
She is then forced to move to the city where she is reunited with her transgender friend, Mimi. At first, Eva works at a military warehouse, but Mimi insists that Eva make a living from her stories. After an attempted seduction by one of the military generals, Eva decides to quit her job at the warehouse and write stories for a living. She and Mimi live successful lives without the help of men.
Mimi is a well-known soap opera actress, and Eva writes the plots for them. Along with the story of Eva Luna, is the story of the European immigrant Rolf Carle. He comes from a broken family and migrates to the South American country, living with his aunt and uncle in the countryside. As he gets older, he decides he wants to become a journalist and soon becomes known as one of the most prominent journalists in the country.
Rolf and Eva meet and their separate stories become one. The important theme in this book is feminism. None of the females in this story are dependent on any man, and they all seem fine without them. Some men are mentioned and come and go, but the women still move on without them and live their lives.
The only sign of dependency is Zulema. Zulema becomes dependent on a man she falls in love with, but she undergoes depression and commits suicide. This shows how weak it is to be anti-feminist and how strong and successful it is to be independent. I think this book is mainly aimed towards the adult and mature teen audience. I would definitely recommend this book. However, I enjoyed Allende’s House of the Spirits more than this novel.
Eva Luna is a faster read than House of the Spirits, and the plot is not as extended.
