Eva Luna is a novel by Isabel Allende that tells the story of a young girl named Eva who grows

up in an unnamed Latin American country. Born to a single mother, Eva faces numerous challenges as she navigates her childhood and adolescence. She is a gifted storyteller, using her imagination to cope with the difficulties of her life. As she matures, Eva encounters a variety of characters, each with their own struggles and dreams. The novel explores themes of love, loss, and the power of storytelling, illustrating how Eva's narrative captures the essence of her experiences and those of the people around her.
This book tells the story of a girl named Eva Luna, who gets involved in topics considered
taboo for years: sex, prostitution, war, poverty, etc. Since she was young, she worked as a maid in
different houses, where he met very important characters in his life. In addition, he always played with his
imagination to invent stories, and later ended up writing them for television. He was
in love several times: with
Riad Halabi (with whom he lost his virginity), Humberto Naranjo, and finally Rolf Carlé.
In this novel, Eva Luna, who is the protagonist and narrator, starts by telling the life of her mother.
Eva was conceived when her mother lost her virginity to a dying Indian who worked in the...
same house as her, the house of Professor Jones. Professor Jones was a scientist who worked in the
formula for embalming the dead. Consuelo, Eva's mother, drowned by a chicken bone
when his daughter was about six years old, and she was raised by her godmother, who also worked for him
Professor Jones. Upon the death of the Professor
Jones, Eva and the Godmother moved to the house of some bachelor brothers to work. She met.
a
Elvira, whom he soon started calling grandmother. She worked in that house for 2 years, happy and with the
the only pastime of looking at a painting in which one was wrapped in an endless journey, and thus be able to
complement the beautiful tales that his mother used to tell him. One day, he was looking at his painting in the
the most awaited pleasure of the day, when her mistress tells her that she doesn't want to see her again
looking at that painting. Eva got so angry that she put her hand to her head and when she realized she had
a clump of his hair in his hand. He started to run and soon encountered Humberto Naranjo, a
a boy who lived on the street and knew how to survive quite well. Soon after, Eva returned to the house of the
bachelors. On the other hand, there is a boy named Rolf Carlé, who is also a very character.
important in the novel. He lived with his father - a teacher who abused his wife and children - his
mother, her brother Rochen and her sister Katharina. Lukas Carlé (that was his name) used to make them
impossible for his family and his students, that's why one day he was found hanging from a tree in the
forest, because his students had already grown tired of him. Over time, Rolf's mother sent him to the
Colony with his uncles and cousins, with whom Rolf had sexual relations. Soon he started to
to be interested in cinema and television, because he was influenced by Mr. Aravena, a journalist
family friend. While that was happening in South America, other things were happening in the Spanish capital.
events. Eva's godmother had a child with two heads (one white and the other black), whom
killed. Eva was fired by the bachelors and got a job in the house of a Yugoslav woman, who offered her
taught the formula of universal matter. A massacre of cats forced the woman to leave the country and
Eva became unemployed again. And she arrived at the house of a minister who was taking care of his needs in
the hole that her lord had, and Eva's mission in that house was to clean his feces. One day Eva
tired of those humiliations, he threw feces in their face.
When she was seen again on the street, she looked for Humberto Naranjo, who took her to La Señora's house.
owner of the most famous brothel in the entire capital. She taught her how to dress properly and spent the days
happiest of his childhood. There he met Melecio, a transgender person rejected by society, who
he claimed to have been born in the wrong body. One day like any other, the police arrived to carry out
a raid throughout the neighborhood, in search of drugs, weapons, and criminals. The lady lived on a street
full of brothels, and it didn't take long for them to take away all the prostitutes who lived there. Eva managed to escape from
The Whores' Rebellion, as they called that revolution, so after wandering the streets for a few days,
until she found a man who offered her help.
His name was Riad Halabí, and he was a Turk who had a split lip and covered it with a handkerchief to
do not scare people. Eva went to live with him in Agua Santa, where he had a small business. There,
the two lived together with Zulema (Riad's wife) and Kamal (Riad's cousin and Zulema's lover).
When Kamal left, Zulema became very depressed, as she was in love with him, not with his
husband, and he committed suicide. Some time later, Riad realized that the people of the village thought that he
was in a romantic relationship with
Eva, since there was no family bond that could justify her living there.
in her house. So to avoid gossip, she gave Eva money to go to the capital. Before
When saying goodbye, Eva and Riad Halabí made love and Eva felt that she loved him, which pained her.
more the fact of leaving it. When she arrived in the city, Eva took refuge in a church, for outside of it
there was a student uprising. Inside he found Melecio, only now dressed as a woman and
He confessed to her that he was transgender and that his new name was Mimí. He offered to let her live in his house and Eva.
he accepted gladly. Regarding
Rolf Carlé began working with Mr. Aravena. In those days, democracy in the country had
demonstrated when the opposition party won the elections and the dictatorship fell, news that arrived
until
Holy Water. Meanwhile, Humberto Naranjo, who had spent his adolescence amidst the harsh life of
the city had realized that the dictatorship had not fallen completely and that it itself would have to
fight for democracy. So he gathered some rebellious students with whom he went to the
mountain to start the guerrilla that would be the beginning of true democracy. There he met Rolf
Carlé, who had dedicated himself to filming all the interesting events in the world, including the
guerrilla that was led
Humberto Naranjo. Rolf dedicated himself to filming closely each of the movements of the army and of the
guerrilla. On the other hand, Mimí became a famous soap opera actress. Eva reunited with
Humberto Naranjo and they became lovers. Additionally, Elvira began to write her stories, and Mimí would...
he taught Mr. Aravena, who brought them to the screen. Aravena fell in love with Mimí regardless of her
previous sex. Soon, Eva and Rolf Carlé met, and from the very first moment they hit it off.
good morning, the
Negro, a friend of Humberto Naranjo, came to look for Eva. He ran into Humberto and they chatted.
Eva realized that she could help Humberto free some political prisoners who were her friends.
who were confined in the Santa María prison, a few kilometers from Agua Santa, in addition to
confuse the guards with fake weapons made of universal matter. Thus they agreed and Eva accompanied
Humberto along with Rolf
Carl went to the camp of the Indians who once discovered Eva next to Zulema's body. Eva and
the
They arrived at Riad Halabí's store out of curiosity and discovered that the Turk was
happily married. When the weapons ended, Eva said goodbye forever to Humberto Naranjo,
Although she did not know it. The operation was a success and the press did not reveal it due to the censorship imposed.
the government embarrassed for having been caught in such a way. Eva recorded everything in the
Telenovela that I was writing, but although its episodes did not air, just for having been
witness and accomplice of the guerrillas, he deserved prison, but received protection from Tolomeo
Rodríguez. So that she would not be recognized by the people of Agua.
Santa, Rolf hid Eva at her uncle's house where she spent the happiest days of her existence.
Eva and
Rolf fell in love and lived together for many years.
CHARACTERS
Protagonists:
Eva Luna: She is the main protagonist of the story. She tells her life from her own conception.
Since she lost her mother (whom she always keeps as a support figure), she started working as
maid in different houses. At times she found herself surrounded by hunger and poverty. She has a special gift,
the gift of imagination, of inventing stories and telling them.
Rolf Carlé: Although at the beginning of the story it seems that this character is irrelevant, in the end, he...
He discovers that this one and Eva fall in love. Rolf had a very tough childhood, marked by war and by a
father, who had a woman and three children scared, Jochen, who left home tired of his
father, Katherina, who was mentally disabled, and Rolf. Lukas Carlé (Rolf's father) was murdered by
some students, as he was a teacher. Rolf's mother sent him to the Colony with his uncles so that
he will start a new life. There, his two cousins become his lovers. Rolf becomes a reporter, and
He makes a living recording events. His personality is calm and trustworthy.
Supporting characters:
Eva's mother: Redhead with fair skin, found in the jungle by some missionaries. She worked as
maid and gave birth to Eva to please an Indian who had been bitten by a serpent. Died
choked on a chicken bone.
Elvira: She is the first person after Consuelo's death who gives love to Eva, that's why she called her.
grandmother. She is obsessed with death to the point that she already has a coffin prepared, where
playwith Eva. He exchanged lollipops with Eva for stories. He loved and protected Eva until they grew apart.
Althe end of the novel is found by Eva and Mimí and she goes to live with them.
Godmother: She is an opulent mulatta who was present at the birth of Eve, which is why she is her
godmother. She became pregnant and had a child with two heads, whom she killed. She attempted suicide.
cutting his throat. He goes missing when Eva was in Agua Santa, but in the end he is found.
by Eva and Mimí, and taken to a psychiatric residence.
Professor Jones: First master of Eva. He is a scientist who was working on perfecting a system to
preserve the dead.
Humberto Naranjo: First he was a clever boy due to the country's poverty, then the head of a
gang in the Republic street (hooker zone), then became a guerrilla fighter, and arrived at
to become the famous commander Rogelio. He is a tough man, a red revolutionary, with fixed ideas.
He often coincides with Eva, and in the end, they become lovers, but the guerrilla ultimately prevails over love.
and remain friends.
Mimí (previously Melecio): Woman trapped in a man's body. She meets Eva when she was
hosted by the Lady. At that time, Melecio was leading a double life: in the morning he taught class of
Italian, and at night worked in a dive as a transgender. Organized the revolt of the whores, for
the economic abuses they suffered at the hands of the police, and was taken to the Santa María jail.
The Lady took him out of there, and Melecio began to rebuild his life. He became a beautiful woman.
(even though she still had her male member) who achieved her dream: to be an actress and find a man who
she truly loves her.
Riad Halabi: He is a kind and noble Muslim who rescued Eva from poverty and took her to Aqua.
Santa to raise her like a daughter. This man had a split lip and covered it with a handkerchief to
not scare people. He was married to Zulema, a young girl who only cared about her
beauty, and that she was also not in love with him. She deceives him with her cousin Kamal, and when this
she leaves, she falls into a depression and commits suicide. Eva feels that she is in love with Riad, and loses her
virginity with him. But soon she has to leave for the city, and he stays in the village with his
business. Later, Eva returns to Agua Santa and discovers that Riad has a new 14-year-old woman.
El Negro: companion and accomplice of Humberto Naranjo.
General Tolomeo Rodríguez: At the textile factory where Eva worked, he falls in love with her, but worse
rejected.
The bachelors: A strict woman who didn't let Eva dream of the picture of the sea and a gambling man.
kind, with a nose like a pepper. Eva ripped the wig off the woman.
The Yugoslav: taught Eva the formula of universal matter.
The minister: Man who used to relieve himself sitting in an armchair with a hole and then would do it to
Eva clean it.
Teacher Inés: She taught Eva to read and write when she was in Agua Santa.
The Lady: Humberto Naranjo asked him to take care of Eva. She was a great friend of Melecio.
He ran a brothel. He separated from Eva on the day of the whores' uprising.
Avellaneda: Introduced Rolf Carlé to the world of television. Fell in love with Mimí regardless of her sex.
anterior
In this novel, there is no specific space where the events take place, as Eva serves
every time in a house. It could be said that everything takes place between the capital and Agua Santa, and in the case
by Rolf Carlé, in Europe and in the Colony of his uncles.
The time of the novel is set before Eva was born, as it briefly recounts the life of her mother.
until Eva is about 30 years old.
The point of view in this novel is that of Eva Luna, because she is the narrator. There is only one narrator who
I speak in the first person.