Largo pétalo de mar (Spanish Edition)

During the Spanish Civil War, young physician Víctor Dalmau and his pianist friend Roser Bruguera flee Barcelona, cross the Pyrenees into France, and board the Winnipeg, a ship chartered by poet Pablo Neruda carrying over two thousand Spanish exiles to Valparaíso. They arrive in Chile seeking the peace and freedom denied them in their homeland. Received as heroes in Chile, described by Neruda as a "long petal of sea and snow," Víctor and Roser build lives there for several decades. Their stability is disrupted by the coup d'état that overthrows Salvador Allende, a friend of Víctor's who shares his passion for chess. Once again displaced, the characters discover that a single life can contain many lives, and that sometimes returning proves harder than leaving. The novel traces twentieth-century history through the experiences of unforgettable characters who learn that all circles eventually close.