Island Beneath the Sea

Allende takes Zarité — a slave in eighteenth-century Saint-Domingue — through the Haitian revolt of 1791, early nineteenth-century New Orleans, and the contradictions of a mixed and violent America. The narration alternates first and third person with fluency, and Zarité's voice has a dignity that sustains the story. It can feel dense in historical passages, but those seeking historical fiction about the colonial Caribbean with a female perspective will find a solid book here.