Island Beneath the Sea, Isabel Allende

Island Beneath the Sea

By Isabel Allende

(Tansley Reads Rating: 68% -- winner for the year)

 

Icebreaker

 

Have you had any experiences in the Caribbean? Did this novel remind you of anything you have seen while travelling?

 

Questions

 

1.  Tete describes her "island beneath the sea" as a paradise where "rhythm is born...it shakes the earth, it cuts through me like a lightning bolt and rises toward the sky....".  What is the “island beneath the sea” and what does it mean to her and the story? Why did the author choose it as the title?

 

2.  How well does Allende combine historical events with her fictional narrative? Did you find the storyline kept you reading?

 

3.  story of this novel is centred around the slave girl, Zarite. How would you describe her character? What are her strengths and weaknesses?

 

4.  Through most of the story Tete keeps with her the doll called Erzulie, Erzulie is also the name of a voodoo goddess.  What do you think Erzulie represents for Tete?

 

5.  Characterize Toulouse Valmorain.  What kind of man was he? Was he a man of his times or somehow different?  [Did he suffer from a Napoleon complex. He didn’t seem to be able to make decisions easily – he couldn’t stand up to his plantation manager or his wife Hortense; he wasn’t a “man of his word”].

 

6.  Aside from master/slave, what are the complications in the relationship between Valmorain and Tete? In what ways are the two dependent upon one another?

 

7.  Why did Valmorain (and other landowners) not try to escape before the renegade slaves showed up to burn down their plantations even though there was plenty of warning?

 

8.  Why did Zarite never leave the plantation with Gambo when the opportunities arose?

 

9.  Valmorain does not free Zarite and her daughter, as he promised, until forced? Why do you think he kept putting that off?

10.  This book is particularly rich in secondary characters— Violette, Etienne Rilais, Gambo, Tante Rose, Permentier. Which ones do you find most interesting...or sympathetic?

11.  Was life easier for Tete in New Orleans?

 

12.  Who do you think Zarite speaking to, or telling her story to, in her sections of the book?

 

13.  It was common for owners to father children with their female slaves, yet there was a real prejudice against the mulattoes and the quadroons.  (Even the mulattos were prejudiced against the quadroons.)  They didn’t seem to belong to any group.   Did this surprise you?

 

 14:  Why do you think that Maurice never returned to raise his son?

 

15. Quick round: What did you think of the book? Is there anything you want to discuss that we missed?