Island beneath the sea

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Summary

Born into slavery on the island of Saint-Domingue, teenager Tete and her fellow slaves find solace in what remains of their African heritage. But when 20-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770 and purchases Tete as his bride, he comes to rely upon her heavily. Over the course of four decades, Tete learns of humanity's great potential for both progress and cruelty.

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "*Starred Review* Allende, an entrancing and astute storyteller cherished the world over, returns to historical fiction to portray another resilient woman whose life embodies the complex forces at work in the bloody forging of the New World. Zarité, called Tété, is born into slavery in the colony of Saint-Domingue, where enslaved Africans are worked to death by the thousands, and European men prey on women of color. So it is with Tété and her master, the deeply conflicted plantation owner Toulouse Valmorain, who relies on her for everything from coerced sex to caring for his demented first wife, his legitimate son, and their off-the-record daughter. When the slave uprising that gives birth to the free black republic of Haiti erupts, Toulouse, Tété, and the children flee to Cuba, then to New Orleans. In a many-faceted plot, Allende animates irresistible characters authentic in their emotional turmoil and pragmatic adaptability. She also captures the racial, sexual, and entrepreneurial dynamics of each society in sensuous detail while masterfully dramatizing the psychic wounds of slavery. Sexually explicit, Allende is grace incarnate in her evocations of the spiritual energy that still sustains the beleaguered people of Haiti and New Orleans. Demand will be high for this transporting, remarkably topical novel of men and women of courage risking all for liberty.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

Additional Information

Subjects	Racially mixed women Fiction Women slaves Fiction Sugar plantations Fiction Plantation owners Haiti 18th century Fiction Plantation life Fiction Literature Fiction Haiti Fiction. Caribbean Area Fiction. Audiobooks. 18th century
Publisher	New York :HarperCollins,2010 HarperAudio2010
Edition	Unabridged.
Contributors	Merkerson, S. Epatha, 1952- OverDrive, Inc.
Participants/Performers	Read by S. Epatha Merkerson.
Language	English
System Details	Mode of access: World Wide Web. Format: OverDrive WMA Audiobook Format: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook Requires OverDrive Media Console 1.0 / 1.0 (Windows Mobile) or OverDrive Media Console 3.0 (Windows) / 1.0 (Mac) / 1.0 (Windows Mobile)
Description	1 audio file : digital
ISBN	9780061997556 9780061997556
Other	Classic View