Line #7 Literature/EvaLuna


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3	''Eva Luna'' is a novel written by Chilean novelist Creator/IsabelAllende in 1985 and translated from Spanish to English by Margaret Sayers Peden.
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5	According to Website/TheOtherWiki, ''Eva Luna'' takes us into the life of the eponymous protagonist, an orphan who grows up in an unidentified country in South America. While the country's political history, traced through several decades of the mid-20th century, bears many similarities to Chile (the author's original nationality), the geography and social context of the story depict a society more similar to Venezuela (where Allende spent over a decade living in exile).
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7	The novel takes us through Eva Luna's journey though life so far and her ability to tell stories, interweaving Eva's personal story with the broader geopolitical turmoil of Latin America during the 1950s - 1980s.
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9	Has nothing to do with [[Series/EvaLuna the homonimous soap opera]].
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11	----
12
13	!!Eva Luna has the following tropes.
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15	* ACupAngst: Eva is very slender and lacking curves, and as a young girl she was seriously embarrassed, being taken in by a MissKitty and her {{High Class Call Girl}}s for a while.
16	* AnOddPlaceToSleep: Elvira purchases a coffin to be ready for her supposedly upcoming death. She later starts using it as her bed, freaking out the maid of the house. [[spoiler: And she [[SavedByTheCoffin survives a massive flood thanks to this]].]]
17	* BreakTheCutie: Rolf Carle, his brother Jochen and their mother go through ''Hell'' in post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Austria, both for the consequences of the war ''and'' due to the patriarch Lukas's horrible abuse. It takes them several years to get fully better. [[spoiler: And for worse, Jochen actually ''disappears'' when in his teens after snapping on Lukas when he sees him sexually abusing Mrs. Carle, and he's never heard of again.]] Pretty much the only one non-broken (aside of Lukas) is Katharina, and that's because she's oblivious to it due to being mentally handicapped.
18	** Subverted by Eva, who also goes through her own share of adversity but is somewhat less traumatised.
19	** Played straight by Mimi, both in [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} her]] early years [[spoiler: and when in jail.]]
20	* BrokenBird: One of Eva's bosses, a woman from the country formerly known as UsefulNotes/{{Yugoslavia}} who was traumatised by the war. Also Rolf's mother and [[spoiler: Melecio, though she gets better.]]
21	* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Eventually it seems to be [[spoiler: Rolf and Eva's]] dynamics. Not that she has not lived her woes, but he's the one most traumatized.
22	* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler: When [[GentleGiant Jochen]] and Rolf find out that their dad sexually abuses their mom (via forcing her to [[ShamefulStrip parade naked]] with only a pair of red stiletto heels on, Jochen [[BewareTheQuietOnes massively snaps]] and beats Lukas severely. Then, with the implicit blessing of Mrs. Carle, he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he leaves home]].]]
23	* ChekhovsGun: One of Eva's tasks while working for Riad and Zulema is taking care of Zulema's valuable jewelry. [[spoiler: After Zulema dies, Riad tells her that they belong to her. She comes for them ''much'' later and gives them to Mimi, telling her to sell them to get money for her sex-reassignment operation; Mimi decides to wear them instead since she doesn't want to go through the risky operation.]]
24	* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler: The lady from Yugoslavia, who taught Eva how to make very life-like porcelain figures. She uses said knowledge to help the guerrilla make realistic-looking fake bombs to take over a political prison.]]
25	** Also, El Negro. A seemingly normal ChefOfIron [[spoiler: who introduced Huberto to political/social/activist matters and LaResistance.]]
26	* CoolBigSis: Melecio is the rare [=MtF=] UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} version. [[spoiler: As Mimi, she cranks it up to eleven.]]
27	* TheChewToy: Eva's ParentalSubstitute, La Madrina. NOT PlayedForLaughs, not at all.
28	* DeadGuyOnDisplay: The embalmed body of a murdered lawyer becomes infamous for this.
29	* DespairEventHorizon:
30	** [[spoiler: Zulema, after her single night of love with Riad's cousin Kamal. She's later DrivenToSuicide.]]
31	** [[spoiler: La Madrina completely loses her mind and attempts to kill herself via slashing her own throat, but Eva and Mimi save her.]]
32	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Eva is normally very level-headed, but [[spoiler: giving Zulema's lifeless body a DueToTheDead treatment]] ''in the worst moment possible'' qualifies as this. [[spoiler: It ''really'' doesn't help her case when she's mistakenly accused of murdering her.]]
33	* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler: Lukas Carle is an horrible SadistTeacher as well as the most abusive patriarch in his hometown... so he ends up beaten and hanged by his own pupils as revenge for his abuse. Since this happens in a tiny village where Carle was HatedByAll, nobody bothers investigating, and it's treated as a quiet version of AndThereWasMuchRejoicing.]]
34	* DomesticAbuse: Poor, poor Mrs. Carlé.
35	* DueToTheDead: When [[spoiler: Zulema [[AtehisGun shoots herself dead in the mouth]] ]], Eva tries to deal via [[spoiler: dressing up her lifeless body up her best clothes, fixing her make-up, and sitting next to her to tell her one last love story.]] [[spoiler: Bad thing, this is used against her when she's accused of having ''killed'' Zulema.]]
36	* FlorenceNightingaleEffect [[spoiler: This is how Eva was conceived. Consuelo had somewhat of a crush on [[TheQuietOne the quiet gardener]] of the mansion she worked in, and when he was bitten by a poisonous snake she took care of him, he came to return her feelings, and they ended up having sex since she wanted to both give herself the chance to sleep with someone she liked ''and'' wanted him to die happy. He later got better and returned to his home, and months later Consuelo realised she was pregnant...]]
37	* FieryRedhead: Averted by Consuelo, who's a borderline CloudCuckooLander as a young girl and later becomes TheStoic [[SugarAndIcePersonality until Eva is born.]]
38	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Eva refers to the girls who work under [[MissKitty La Señora]] as basically this. They're normal, kind-hearted, good-looking young women who dote a little on her via taking her out to the movies and have cake afterwards -- it's just that they work as {{High Class Call Girl}}s, and the then-pre-teen Eva doesn't judge them for their occupation.
39	* IntrepidReporter: Rolf Carle, the {{Deuteragonist}} [[spoiler: and Eva's third and last love, after Huberto and Riad Halabi]]
40	** This is what Rolf's mentor Aravena used to be, now he's DaEditor and his BenevolentBoss.
41	* InterGenerationalFriendship: Eva has this with several people: Elvira (50s at least), La Señora (40s), Melecio [[spoiler: aka Mimi]] (early to mid-20s [[spoiler: and mid-30s as Mimi]]), Riad Halabi [[spoiler: though her feelings for him go to SecondLove later.]] (40s)
42	** Also Melecio and La Señora.
43	* IWantToBeARealMan: Eva's childhood friend and first love, Huberto Naranjo, wants to be the manliest man ever as a pre-teen boy. He later laughs at it when older, realising how silly these antics were.
44	* IWasQuiteALooker: [[spoiler: La Madrina]] and it's PlayedForDrama to the core.
45	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Eva describes La Madrina as such. Her "parenting" methods leave a lot to be desired, but while Eva gets rightfully frustrated in her inner narration, she thinks it's because La Madrina simply doesn't know how to express her feelings.
46	** Huberto, very much so.
47	* JustTheWayYouAre: [[spoiler: When Mimi refuses to "complete" her physical transition, Eva asks about her (Mimi's) boyfriend Aravena. Mimi says "it's okay, he loves me the way I am", to Eva's relief.]]
48	* KissingCousins: Rolf's first romantic and sexual experiences are with his two cute cousins, [[AThreesomeIsHot who agree to "share" his affection and body when it's obvious that he cannot choose between them.]] They later take separate ways, but still remember these years fondly.
49	* LighterAndSofter: Technically it has lots of dark moments, but compared with many other Allende books, it's more optimistic.
50	** Not to mention, while still a bit preachy it's '''far''' less [[{{Invoked}} ]] {{Anvilicious}} than Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits.
51	* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler: From Melecio, to Mimi. From Huberto Naranjo, to "Commander Rogelio"]]
52	* MissKitty: La Señora ("The Lady")
53	* NoNameGiven: La Señora, La Madrina ("The Godmother"), El Negro ("The Dark-skinned Dude", [[ValuesDissonance without the same racist vibes that the word has in the USA.]])
54	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Toyed with. Eva stops menstruating as a teenager [[spoiler: after Zulema's suicide]]; she mentions that to [[spoiler: Riad Halabi before their single night]] and speculates it's due to the trauma but doesn't make a fuss out of it, though later Mimi insists she must go to a doctor. [[spoiler: She "recovers" her menstruation later, seeing it as a sign that she's not afraid of falling in love anymore]]
55	* PapaWolf: Eva's boss and ParentalSubstitute, Riad Halabi, is '''pissed off''' when [[spoiler: he finds a half-naked, beaten, borderline unconscious ''and'' BoundAndGagged Eva in the police station, after she's wrongfully accused of killing Zulema while he's outside the village.]]
56	-->Riad: "W-What have you done to my little girl?!"
57	* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: Eva shows some traits when she falls for Huberto as a pre-teen, and when they get involved after several years she waits for him since he can only visit her counted times. Uncommonly for the trope, [[spoiler: Mimi]] criticizes her when they get together because [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim she thinks he's not good enough for Eva]]. [[spoiler: It's ultimately averted when they break it off amiably, and she goes with Rolf while he continues fighting in the guerrilla.]]
58	* PluckyGirl: Eva, Eva, Eva.
59	* RaisedByDudes: The Franciscan missionaries that found little Consuelo were, well, all men. And they were kinda MaternallyChallenged in these regards for obvious reasons, so they handed her to a nun convent as soon as they could.
60	* LaResistance: [[spoiler: With Huberto, now known as "Commander Rogelio", as its RebelLeader.]]
61	* RomanAClef: in story. The book we are reading? Her autobiography, which she also wrote as a ''[[SoapOpera sucessful telenovela]]''.
62	* ShipperOnDeck: Rolf's aunt and uncle, Burgel and Rupert, strived to have him engaged to one of their daughters. Even lamenting that there weren't two Rolfs for each girl.
63	* ShippingTorpedo: Mimi does NOT like it when Eva dates [[spoiler: Huberto]], and often openly wonders "WhatDoesSheSeeInHim".
64	* ShoutOut: At some point, Eva recalls a Colombian gentleman with huge moustache that sold millions of copies of his novel. Creator/GabrielGarciaMarquez says hello.
65	* SiblingTriangle: Averted with Rolf and his cousins, who go the AThreesomeIsHot way instead. According to the narrative, the girls already shared pretty much everything up until then so they saw no problem in sharing a lover as long as the three were honest to each other about it.
66	* TheStoryTeller: Eva's biggest "gift" is her ability to create and tell stories, ever since she was a kid. (She inherited it from Consuelo). It's actually so important to her it often saves her from poverty and sometimes even ''death'', and her biggest goal is to become a writer.
67	* SupremeChef: Huberto's best friend El Negro. Justified, he works in a restaurant.
68	* StreetUrchin: Eva spends some time as this [[spoiler: as the RedLightDistrict is disbanded]]. A while later, she's taken in by Riad Halabi.
69	** Huberto is this from the beginning.
70	* ThatThingIsNotMyChild: [[spoiler: La Madrina gives birth to a deformed stillborn kid, and tosses the tiny corpse to the trash.]]
71	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Rolf's cousins and first loves. The eldest is a HardDrinkingPartyGirl who can [[OneOfTheboys out-drink males]] and [[ClusterFBomb swears like a sailor]]. The youngest daughter is [[GirlyGirl cuter, girlier]] and described as being quite coquettish.
72	* TransEqualsGay: Defied. Melecio specifically points out the trope and denies it, even when people refer to her as a gay man instead of the trans woman she actually is. [[spoiler: As the female-bodied Mimi, she keeps defying the trope via searching for male love interests ([[LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces though she's not very lucky until almost the end]].)]]
73	* [[spoiler: VelvetRevolution: For the most part, the transition from dictatorship to democracy. Save for LaResistance, that is.]] A JustifiedTrope: [[spoiler: this is what actually happened in Chile.]]
74	* VocalDissonance: Eva's CoolBigSis Mimi is a beautiful woman with a very deep voice. [[spoiler: As said below, Mimi is the re-invented and finally able to transition Melecio; she manages to find a medium of sorts, voice-wise, and "reserves" her deepest pitch for when [[BewaretheNiceones she needs to make a point]].]]
75	* WhatBeautifulEyes: Eva's most striking physical trait are her almost yellow eyes. [[spoiler: She got them from her father, a native man who had exactly the same eye color.]]
76	* WorldsmostBeautifulWoman: A certain lady named Mimi is regarded as such. [[spoiler: She is actually Melecio after she reinvents herself.]]

Context Literature / EvaLuna