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Context Literature / OfLoveAndShadows

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1''De amor y de sombra'' is a 1984 novel by Chilean author Isabel Allende. In Pinochet's Chile, reporter Irene Beltrán and her photographer Francisco Leal strike up a close relationship that crosses all the boundaries. She is wealthy, from a family of junta supporters, and engaged to an officer, while he is the poor son of a communist, and is secretly working to undermine the dictatorship.
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3When the two journey to a remote village to investigate the miraculous trances of a young girl named Evangelina Ranquileo, their arrival coincides with that of the Lieutenant Ramírez and his troops. Following an altercation with Ramírez, the faith healer is kidnapped by the squadron, prompting Irene and Francisco's resolution to find her and indict the junta.
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5But in a land of arbitrary arrests and summary executions, the truth is a dangerous thing to seek.
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7In 1994, a film adaptation starring Creator/JenniferConnelly and Creator/AntonioBanderas was released.
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9!!This work contains examples of:
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11* CampGay: Marco, the hairstylist who works in Irene's magazine.
12* ConvulsiveSeizures:
13* DisappearedDad: Quite literally. Irene's father steps out to buy cigarettes and never returns, leaving his wife Beatriz with all his debts. He is believed to be one of "the disappeared". [[spoiler: Near the end of the book, it turns out he's been living with a mistress in the Caribbean the whole time.]]
14* DrivenToSuicide: Javier, Francisco's older brother, because of the shame of being unable to find work.
15* GoodShepherd: José, brother to Francisco, is a priest who works helping out the needy in remote villages. [[spoiler: He later helps Francisco reveal bodies in the abandoned mine.]]
16* ImpoverishedPatrician: Irene and her mother have fallen on hard times since Eusebio Beltrán disappeared.
17* IncompatibleOrientation: Marco's crush on Francisco, who is straight.
18* IntrepidReporter: Irene works for a women's magazine. After Evangelina is kidnapped, she interviews somebody who gives her information about Evangelina's fate and enough clues to find evidence. An attempt is made to assassinate her.
19* MagicRealism: Particularly where Evangelina is concerned. She is believed to perform miracles.
20* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler:Gustavo Morante]] is assassinated because he tries to get his country's armed forces on a good path.
21* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The Lieutenant Ramirez arrests [[spoiler:Evangelina after she beat him up single-handedly]]. He is so humiliated that he rapes and murders her.
22* SwitchedAtBirth: [[spoiler: Evangelina]]. Her mother took a peek when her own baby (dark-skinned, dark-haired, and with big black eyes) was coming out of her, and she immediately realizes that the fair-skinned baby is not hers.
23* PoliceAreUseless: When Digna Ranquileo realizes her baby was switched with another, she complains, as does another woman who gave birth at the same hospital. The police threaten to detain them for slandering the hospital staff, so Digna and the other woman just take home the babies they were given and give them both the same name: Evangelina.
24* SelectiveIgnorance:

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