Eva Luna is the daughter of a professor's assistant and a snake=bitten gardener - born poor, orphaned at an early age and working as a servant. Eva is a naturally gifted and imaginative storyteller who meets people from all walks of life. Though she has no wealth, she trades her stories like currency with people who are kind to her. As she shares her stories, she introduces an eccentric cast of characters: the Lebanese émigré who takes her in, her Catholic godmother who believes ibn saints, a street urchin who grows up to be the leader of the guerrilla struggle, a celebrated trans cabaret star and a young refugee whose flight from postwar Europe will change Eva's life forever.

Thankyou sofie777 for passing on this book. I do enjoy this author :)

UPDATE 11/10/20 I have enjoyed this author previously and this is probably one of her lesser known novels due to only being translated in recent years. Eva of the title is an orphan from an early age and works as a servant. She is a gifted storyteller and this is her way of getting through life by trading her stories to people who are kind to her. Throughout the novel she introduces us to a large cast of eccentric characters and always in that Allende style of magical realism but not so overpowering here.

OZ VBB pick.

Thanks very much, jeniwren. I have The Stories of Eva Luna on the shelf, so glad I have this as a companion book. I'll read this one first.