Special to the McDonough County Voice Reviewer’s Name: Janna Haworth Reviewer’s Occupation: Retired Book Title: Book’s Author: Isabel Allenda The title comes from a poem by Pablo Neruda, describing the shape of Chile as a long petal along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Lines from Neruda introduce each chapter, and he is a character in the novel along with other historical figures. The novel begins in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War in 1938. The main character, Victor Dalmau, is a medical student in Barcelona tending wounded soldiers. As the Franco forces take over, he, his mother and his brother’s pregnant girl-friend Roser escape to France and exist in refugee camps. Later Victor and Roser marry and are able to immigrate to Chile, where he finishes his medical degree and becomes a respected surgeon.