Liana

by Martha Gellhorn and Martha Gelhorn

Book Overview

The year is 1940. On the tiny French Caribbean island of Saint Boniface nothing absorbs the inhabitants more than the news of wealthy Marc Royer's marriage to the young mulatto, Liana. Marc himself is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B000PRXF2S
• Release Date: January 1944
• Publisher: Scribner
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A romantic classic

Martha Gellhorn is really incapable of writing a dull sentence. Liana is the story of a beautiful, simple Carribean girl, and two European men driven by the concerns of the modern life and thought. As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn to its aesthetic beauty which is reminiscent of von Trier's Europa, and the elegance of its style. Although the ending can be anticipated, there is no way to anticipate the splendour in Gellhorn's writing.

More than my namesake, this book is a contemporary classic.

I was lucky to find two copies of this novel a number of years ago, soon after coming across it by accident in the library. Although initially drawn to it by its title--also my name, exactly--I was excited to find it was much more than my namesake. Martha Gellhorn's story of a young woman trying to find her place in a world where she doesn't seem to fit in is a universal theme, but given a sincerity not often found elsewhere. The backdrop of World War II provides a believable backbone, rather than just re-hashing a period of history many people may think of as boring and overused. And the interracial love affair isn't tawdry and cliched, but gradually built, starting with friendship and blossoming into something more serious. The multiple subjects are beautifully written together, smoothly creating a whole much more than the sum of its parts. Unlike so many novels today, this one--no doubt thought of as "old" and perhaps worthy only of scorn, being such, by skeptics--is a contemporary classic which speaks of subjects still relevant today and for a long time to come. Personally, I would like to see this book come into the popularity it deserves by being added to the reading list at high schools across the country--its subjects could help to open minds and help those who may identify with them.