OF LOVE AND SHADOWS by Isabel Allende

In Isabel Allende's Of Love and Shadows, the "shadows" are the dark horrors of a military dictatorship in South America. This is another book that seems to have lost something in the translation. The language feels foreign, along with the culture and setting of the book. The planned marriage, the strong connection to one's roots, despite the ghastly events that take place there, and the almost whimsical love story were difficult for me to relate to. The descriptions of the regime's brutality seemed detached and did not have much emotional impact. Perhaps the objectivity was intentional in order to convey the seeming complacence of people living in oppression, despite the terror.