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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. Alone in a city that haunts her, far from her family, her history, and the island she left behind, Cecilia seeks refuge in a bar where a mysterious old woman's fascinating tale keeps her returning night after night. It is a story of three families from far-flung corners of the world from Africa, Spain and China that spans more than a century. Within it, a womans suicide in China triggers an unforeseen chain of events; in Spain, a curse plagues the women of a family, in Africa, a young girl is ripped from her home and taken to a strange new world. As Cecilia falls under the story's heady sway, she also pursues the enigmatic whereabouts of a phantom house that appears and disappears all over Miami. Published in 25 languages, The Island of Eternal Love has become the most translated Cuban novel of all time.

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DANA CHAVIANO

THE ISLAND OF ETERNAL LOVE

(excerpt)

Novel

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Burning for You

This girls got the Evil Eye. In the middle of the room, the Priestess watched the three drops of oil spread and disappear in the bowl of water: an undeniable sign of the curse. Jesus! muttered Doa Clara, crossing herself. What do we do now? Calm down, woman, the Priestess murmured, giving her helper a sign. Youve brought your daughter to me; thats whats important. Angela suffered through the ritual of her diagnosis indifferently, too immersed in the incendiary heat bubbling through all of her bodys inner crevices. There was a chill that bathed her in sweat, an inferno that destroyed her with breaths of hot air, a chaotic vortex that pinned her wherever she lay, unable to move or speak. Unmoved by the diagnosis,

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4 she clutched the bowl of water just as the woman had instructed her to do. Above her head, a flickering oil lamp spewed shadows everywhere, perhaps attracting more spirits than the old woman had intended to summon. The assistant, who had left the room moments before, now returned with a kettle that emitted an almost appetizing vapor: rue and coriander boiled in wine. Two have cursed you, Three will cure you, The Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity . . . The Priestess made the sign of the cross over Angela, following the prayers commands. If your head should ache you, Saint Helen wont forsake you. If your brow is sweaty, Saint Vincents at the ready. If your eyes should ail you, Saint Ambrose will not fail you. Saint Apollonia can, forsooth, heal a sore or abscessed tooth. Blessed Saint Urbain is the man
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5 to cure your rough and callused hands. If your trunk with toil is bent, pray to the Blessed Sacrament. And if you suffer on your feet, invoke Saint Andrew, then repeat. Upon offering the prayer, she snatched the bowl from Angelas hands, hurling it into the corner. The water left a trail of darkness on the wood. Thats all, child. Now go with God. Angela stood up with her mothers help. No! Not through there! The Priestess blocked her way. You mustnt step in that water or the curse will return. It was already pitch-black outside when they left the house. Don Pedro had been waiting for them at the rock that stood some thirty paces away, at the edge of the village that rose beside the frozen mountain range of Cuenca. What happened? he whispered anxiously. Doa Clara made a slight gesture. Many years of life beside the same woman allowed him to understand: Everything is resolved, but lets talk about it later. For
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6 months neither he nor Clara had been able to sleep in peace. Their daughter, a girl who until recently had run happily through the fields, chasing after all sorts of beasts and birds, had turned into another person entirely. First came the visions. Although Don Pedro had been forewarned, he still couldnt conceal his surprise. His own wife had alerted him the very afternoon he proposed to her: all the women in her family, since time immemorial, had been shadowed by a certain impish creature named Martinico. I started seeing him when I was a girl, Clara told him. And so did my mother and all the women in my family. And if we dont have any girls? he asked skeptically. The wife of the first born son inherits it. Thats what happened to my great-grandmother, who was born in Puertollano and married my great-great-grandmothers only son. She wanted to move to Priego, so she wouldnt owe her family any explanations. The man didnt know whether to laugh at her or get angry with her, but his fiances face reflected the gravity of the matter.

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7 It doesnt matter, he said at last, when he finally became convinced that she was serious. Martinico or no Martinico, you and I are getting married. ***** Although his wife would complain about the invisible presence, he always thought it was a product of her imagination. He suspected that the story, so deeply rooted in her family, made her see something that didnt really exist. And in order to avoid what she called the contagion, he made her swear that shed never speak to the child of her visionary inheritance, much less tell her tales of imps or any other supernatural creatures. Thats why he nearly died of fright the day that Angelita, barely twelve years old, stared fixedly at the shelf where he used to put his vases to dry and whispered with an air of surprise, Whats that dwarf doing there? What dwarf? her father replied, casting a quick glance at the shelf. Theres a little man dressed like a priest, sitting on that pile of dishes, the girl responded, lowering her voice even

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8 more. Noticing her fathers expression, she added, Dont you see him? Pedro felt all the hair on his body stand on end. This was the confirmation that, despite his precautions, his daughters blood was contaminated with the familys supernatural curse. Frightened, he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the shop. Shes seen him, he whispered into his wifes ear. But Clara received the news joyfully. The girls a young lady now, she said. It wasnt easy living with two women who saw and heard what he could not, no matter how he tried. Most of all, it was difficult for him to accept the change in his daughter. His wife was already suffering from that mania when they met. Angela, on the other hand, had been a normal little girl who preferred chasing birds or climbing trees. She had never paid any attention to the stories of apparitions or enchanted nymphs that sometimes made their way through the town. And now this.

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9 Clara had a long conversation with Angela to explain who the visitor was and why they were the only two who saw him. It wasnt necessary to ask her to keep the secret. Her daughter had always been a prudent child. Only Pedro seemed defeated. Several times his daughter caught him watching her with a dismayed expression. Instinctively she understood what was happening and tried to be more affectionate with him to prove how little she had changed. In time, the mans anxiety began to fade. He had almost grown accustomed to the idea of Martinico the imp just when everything else started happening.

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