Un viaje a trav s de la historia del siglo XX de la mano de unos personajes inolvidables que descubrir n que en una sola vida caben muchas vidas y que, a veces, lo dif cil no es huir sino volver. En plena Guerra Civil espa ola, el joven m dico V ctor Dalmau, junto a su amiga pianista Roser Bruguera, se ven obligados a abandonar Barcelona, exiliarse y cruzar los Pirineos rumbo a Francia. A bordo del Winnipeg, un nav o fletado por el poeta Pablo Neruda que llev a m s de dos mil espa oles rumbo a Valpara so, embarcar n en busca de la paz y la libertad que no tuvieron en su pa s. Recibidos como h roes en Chile --ese "largo p talo de mar y nieve", en palabras del poeta chileno--, se integrar n en la vida social del pa s durante varias d cadas hasta el golpe de Estado que derroc al doctor Salvador Allende, amigo de V ctor por su com n afici n al ajedrez. V ctor y Roser se encontrar n nuevamente desarraigados, pero como dice la autora: "Si uno vive lo suficiente, todos los c rculos se cierran". ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of The House of the Spirits, this epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home.

"One of the most richly imagined portrayals of the Spanish Civil War to date, and one of the strongest and most affecting works in Isabel Allende's] long career."--The New York Times Book Review NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Esquire - Good Housekeeping - Parade In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires. Together with two thousand other refugees, Roser and Victor embark for Chile on the SS Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda: "the long petal of sea and wine and snow." As unlikely partners, the couple embraces exile as the rest of Europe erupts in world war. Starting over on a new continent, they face trial after trial, but they will also find joy as they patiently await the day when they might go home. Through it all, their hope of returning to Spain keeps them going. Destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world, Roser and Victor will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along. A masterful work of historical fiction about hope, exile, and belonging, A Long Petal of the Sea shows Isabel Allende at the height of her powers.