Description

Gregory Reeves grows up on the road in the American West. His father preaches that a vast plan rules all things. The family moves to California. There, his parents fail to care for him. Pedro and Inmaculada Morales take him in. They share their Los Angeles home with him.

Gregory finds warmth in the Hispanic area where they live. He also finds hardship and gangs that use force. He starts school and learns the ways of a new culture. Father Larraguibel teaches him the Catholic faith. He also teaches him to box. The Morales children help him feel that he belongs. Poor people who have moved from other lands live nearby. They strive to reach the American dream.

Isabel Allende’s novel follows Gregory from boyhood to adult life. It suits readers who like tales of belonging and social change. Civil rights protests change his world. So do hippie culture and the Vietnam War. He faces war in Asia. He loves but finds no love in return. His firms fail. His path asks if lasting love can give chaos a purpose.

Cornelia Radulescu translated this edition. It forms part of an Isabel Allende author series. Allende was born in Lima. She grew up in Chile and later fled Pinochet’s rule. She spent fifteen years in Venezuela and worked as a journalist. Her first novel won her fame across the world in 1982. Her daughter died from porphyria in 1992. This loss led her to write a book in her memory. France honoured Allende for her work in the arts in 1994. She joined the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.