It is a story of three families from opposite corners of the world—from Africa, Spain, and China—that spans more than a century. Within it, a Chinese widow seeks protection for her daughter in her family’s idols; an African slave brings the rhythms of her birth to an enchanted island; and a curse dances before the female descendants of a charmed Spanish matriarch, forming the mythic origins of one family’s indestructible bond. The connection strengthens with each generation into a legendary, unbreakable love. Under the story’s heady sway, Cecilia begins to discover the source of the elusive shadows that plague her and, along with it, a link to the past she cannot shake.

From Daína Chaviano, a distinctive literary voice available to English-speaking readers for the first time, comes this multifaceted portrait of the Cuba of this century. As haunting as it is tantalizing, The Island of Eternal Love is an ambitious, provocative, and magical novel that uncovers the secrets of a woman, a family, and an island—all in one spellbinding tale.

"Rich, satisfying...an absolute delight."
—Library Journal

"It's a rich, moving, musical novel, which has already won the Best Spanish Language Book prize in the 2007 Florida Book Awards, and that only makes you wonder where the English versions are of the rest of Chaviano's works."
—LOCUS Magazine

Praise for Daína Chaviano: “Melodious . . . reminiscent of Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits . . . a dream-like haze hang[s] over the novel from start to finish.”
—Críticas (starred review)

I.M.P.A.C. Dublin Award: Longlist 2009

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