Research Catalog

Title

Isle of passion : a novel / Laura Restrepo ; translated by Dolores M. Koch.

Author

Restrepo, Laura.

Publication

New York : Ecco, [2005], ©2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Koch, Dolores M. (Dolores Mercedes), 1928-2009.

Description

298 pages; 24 cm

Summary

"In 1908, Mexican captain Ramon Arnaud and his young bride, Alicia, set sail for Clipperton, a tiny Pacific atoll once dubbed "Isle of Passion" by Spanish explorers. Accompanied by eleven soldiers and their families, the captain is under orders to defend the isolated but strategically well situated island against an improbable French invasion. With its treacherous coral reef and stagnant lagoon, Clipperton is a dire, forbidding place for the new inhabitants. Rigid military order soon gives way to more informal island living, but under Ramon's guidance and inspired by Alicia's determination the group manages to create a viable community. There are a food store, pharmacy, lighthouse, even dinner parties. But then, amid political upheaval at home and the first rumblings of World War I, the Clipperton residents are forgotten. The supply ship slated to come every two months comes every third, then sixth, then not at all. Left to the mercies of nature and each other, they fall victim one by one to scurvy, hunger, despair, rivalry, lust and, ultimately, violence." "Alicia, steadfast and resourceful, becomes a beacon of strength for the remaining castaways, whose collective survival will depend upon her courage and cunning. Drawing on historical records, archives and interviews, prize-winning novelist Laura Restrepo has reimagined the true story of love and war, hardship and endurance, adventure and hope on the Isle of Passion."--BOOK JACKET.

Uniform Title

Isla de la pasión. English

Alternative Title

Isla de la pasión.

ISBN

0060088982

LCCN

• 2005045077
• 9780060088989

OCLC

• OCM58386408
• SCSB-5215783

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries