COMmon Read – Isabel Allende

Welcome to COMmon Read!

In 2021-2022 we are reading Isabel Allende’s novel A Long Petal of the Sea as well as her short stories from The Stories of Eva Luna.

With this shared reading program, we encourage the entire COM community to join together to read and discuss a book in common.

We hoped to foster a greater sense of community through a shared academic and social experience; encourage an exchange of ideas among students, faculty, and staff; increase awareness of academic, cultural, and social issues; and promote various disciplines across campuses.

During this academic year, some faculty members are using A Long Petal of the Sea and The Stories of Eva Luna in their class reading assignments and activities. We are hosting a variety of public events that tie into it as well.

We chose Isabel Allende’s works for our third COMmon Read because she is one of the world’s most read Latinx authors. Some of us have loved her writing and admired her character for decades.

Her work can be approached from many perspectives in such disciplines as Spanish and English literature, history, political science, women’s studies, ethnic studies, economics, and geology. We believe Allende’s work will greatly resonate with students, faculty, and staff.

Come to her live appearance at the James Dunn Theater, Thursday, May 12, 2022, 6:30 – 8:30 pm!

Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, Paula, and In the Midst of Winter. Her books have been translated into more than forty-two languages and have sold more than seventy-four million copies worldwide. She lives in California.