'The first lesson reading teaches is how to be alone'

The Infinite Plan Paperback

The Infinite Plan

Isabel Allende

This magnificent novel tells the story of Gregory Reeves, the son of Charles, an itinerant preacher. As a boy, Gregory accepts the endless journeying and poverty which is his family’s lot, never questioning the validity of his father’s homespun philosophy of life – the Infinite Plan. But, as manhood approaches, Gregory finds himself increasingly possessed by a yearning to escape. Hankering after worldly wealth, he longs to break away from the barrio, the teeming Hispanic ghetto of downtown Los Angeles where his family has finally settled. Gregory’s quest, so different from his father’s, takes him first to the killing fields of Vietnam, and thence to law school at Berkeley from where he pitches headlong into a hedonistic pursuit of the American Dream…

Reviews of The Infinite Plan

  • ‘The characters both convince and fascinate. The sense of place is stunning. Lyrical and passionate, Allende describes with equal vividness women preparing a feast in a slum back yard, a small town breathless in the heat of summer, or a battalion slaughtered by night on a mountainside. Allende’s writing is supremely elegant.’ Independent on Sunday

    ‘Devotees of Allende’s The House of the Spirits will rejoice to find again in her new novel the magical storyteller’s touch that transforms life into a compelling emotional adventure, leaving one breathless. A hopeful, warm-hearted, absorbing novel.’ Daily Mail

More from Isabel Allende