Isabelle Allende has written a historical novel about the Chilean War of 1891, between the Chilean Army, who sided with the president, and the Chilean Navy, who sided with the Congress. Her protagonist is Emilia Del Valle, a young girl whose biological father was Chilean, but never acknowledged her. Regardless, she kept his surname and as a journalist, travels to Chile to explore the country while covering the war. Unaware of the intense brutality between the combatants, she almost loses her life while in the midst of the fighting. She is arrested and thrown in jail, accused of treason, and only her lover can rescue her from a gruesome fate. Allende is a lyrical writer, but she presents the reality of war as the horror that it is. Not for the faint of heart…