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Isabel Allende was born in Chile, and now lives in California. She worked for many years as a journalist before writing the internationally bestselling novel The House of the Spirits. Since then she has published the equally highly-acclaimed Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, The Stories of Eva Luna, ‘The Infinite Plan and ‘Paula.
An incredibly engaging, fascinating, and rather beautiful read, this book will stay with me for some time. A couple seek refuge after the Spanish Civil War and end up in Chile, where years later they again face exile. Covering the period from 1938 through to 1994, this is a story that crosses continents, examines topics such as fascism, war, and migration, yet is as intimate as intimate can be. I entered and thought no more about the fact that this was translated from Spanish by Nick Caister and Amanda Hopkinson, it is so clearly, simply, and fabulously done. Within the first few pages there were tears in my eyes. I couldn’t stop reading, thoughtful and sensitive, yet not afraid to focus on unbearable sorrow, this feels as though it could be a biography. As Isabelle Allende explains in the acknowledgments, while this is a novel, with fictional characters (though based on people she has known), the historical events and people are real. She says: “This book wrote itself, as if it had been dictated to me” and I truly felt that. A Long Petal of the Sea opened my eyes and my heart, and has left me wanting to know more. Coming as highly recommended by me, it has also been chosen as a LoveReading Star Book.
Honest of heart and exhilarating in spirit, Isabel Allende’s The Soul of a Woman is an inspirational account of the writer’s lifelong feminism. Interweaving autobiography with astute commentary, it presents a stunning tapestry of a life lived fighting inequality in all its forms as it seeks to light the way for a better world. “When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating,” Allende begins this stirring memoir, referring to seeing her father leave her mother “with two toddlers in diapers and a newborn baby” when she was three, compelling them to move to live with her grandparents. It was here that Allende’s “anger against machismo started” as a result of realising that her mother and the housemaids were subordinates without voice or resources. The contrast made between the stoniness of patriarchy (an aggressively imposed system that “grants dominion and privileges to the male gender” and “punishes those who defy it”) and feminism’s ocean-fluid nature is sublime. Feminism “moves in waves, currents, tides, and sometimes in storms. Like the ocean, feminism, never stays quiet.” An ocean metaphor might also be applied to this book - it undulates beautifully as Allende recounts her life through feminist lens. The tone is invigorating, and charmingly familiar too, with interjected “by the way” digressions, as if in the company of a wise and passionate friend. And, like the kind of friend who brings joy to any gathering, Allende ends this book with a bright beam of optimism. While aware that inequalities have never been deeper (“we can’t continue in a civilisation based on unbridled greed and violence”), she believes that this is a time for reflection, a time to ponder what kind of world we want to live in following the brutality of a global pandemic. For Allende, that’s a world in which “peace, empathy, decency, truth, and compassion prevail.”
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An incredibly engaging, fascinating, and rather beautiful read, this book will stay with me for some time. A couple seek refuge after the Spanish Civil War and end up in Chile, where years later they again face exile. Covering the period from 1938 through to 1994, this is a story that crosses continents, examines topics such as fascism, war, and migration, yet is as intimate as intimate can be. I entered and thought no more about the fact that this was translated from Spanish by Nick Caister and Amanda Hopkinson, it is so clearly, simply, and fabulously done. Within the first few pages there were tears in my eyes. I couldn’t stop reading, thoughtful and sensitive, yet not afraid to focus on unbearable sorrow, this feels as though it could be a biography. As Isabelle Allende explains in the acknowledgments, while this is a novel, with fictional characters (though based on people she has known), the historical events and people are real. She says: “This book wrote itself, as if it had been dictated to me” and I truly felt that. A Long Petal of the Sea opened my eyes and my heart, and has left me wanting to know more. Coming as highly recommended by me, it has also been chosen as a LoveReading Star Book.
November 2017 Book of the Month From present-day Brooklyn and Guatemala, to the turbulence of 1970s Brazil and Chile, this stunning novel from the ever-satisfying, ever-surprising Allende is a triumph of storytelling, and a timely exposition of the plight of immigrants and refugees. Chilean Lucie has been invited by an associate, Richard, to teach Latin American and Caribbean Studies in Brooklyn. At the age of 62, Lucie “intended to enjoy her remaining years of good health... She wanted to live abroad”. But, while Lucie made this move with fire in her belly, and a longing for love in her heart, her flames of hope are somewhat dampened when it becomes clear that neurotic Richard has no interest in romance. But life has a habit of conjuring up the unexpected, which is what happens when Richard is involved in a car collision with a young Guatemalan woman. Nervous, stammering, and unquestionably traumatised, Evelyn reappears on his doorstep late at night. From that moment, three lives become inextricably linked as Lucie, Richard and Evelyn embark on a road-trip to deal with the unexpected cargo in the trunk of Evelyn’s car, sharing their harrowing stories with open honesty along the way. Novelists are often advised to show, not tell, but Allende breaks this “rule” of writing with characteristic brilliance. She tells the life stories of her three captivating protagonists with incisive, involving detail. Their personal histories wend readers through the tangled politics of Chile and Brazil, and through the excruciating experiences Evelyn endured while growing-up in Guatemala. While salted with stories of tragedy and brutality, this remarkable novel is also spiced with grace, endurance, and the solace that comes from “discovering that lives are often alike and feelings similar”. What’s more, it’s saturated with the glimmering glow of a love that was surely meant to be. ~ Joanne Owen
A captivating collection of short fiction by one of the most beloved writers of our time Eva Luna is a young woman whose powers as a storyteller bring her friendship and love. Lying in bed with her European lover, refugee and journalist Rolf Carle, Eva answers his request for a story 'you have never told anyone before' with these twenty-three samples of her vibrant artistry.
A gripping thriller from the bestselling Isabel Allende. For Amanda Martin and her friends, Ripper was all just a game. But when security guard Ed Staton is found dead in the middle of a school gym, the murder presents a mystery that baffles the San Francisco police, not least Amanda's father, Deputy Chief Martin. Amanda goes online, offering 'The Case of the Misplaced Baseball Bat' to her fellow sleuths as a challenge to their real-life wits. And so begins a most dangerous obsession. The murders begin to mount up but the Ripper players, free from any moral and legal restraints, are free to pursue any line of enquiry. As their unique power of intuition lead them ever closer to the truth, the case becomes all too personal when Amanda's mother suddenly vanishes. Could her disappearance be linked to the serial killer? And will Amanda and her online accomplices solve the mystery before it's too late?
The author of 'The House of the Spirits' returns with a gritty yet transcendent tale of teenage addiction. Abandoned by her parents as a baby, Maya has been brought up by her tough grandmother Nini and her gentle grandfather Popo. But at school, the teenage Maya finds herself drawn towards the wrong crowd. Before she knows what's happened, Maya's life has turned into one of drug addiction and crime. Things go from bad to worse as Maya disappears into the criminal underworld. To save her from her old associates, Nini sends Maya to a remote island off the coast of Chile. Safe amongst her new neighbours, Maya feels compelled to write her story and slowly she begins to heal. But can she learn to live with her scars, and will her past ever catch up with her?
A gripping thriller from the bestselling Isabel Allende. For Amanda Martin and her friends, Ripper was all just a game. But when security guard Ed Staton is found dead in the middle of a school gym, the murder presents a mystery that baffles the San Francisco police, not least Amanda's father, Deputy Chief Martin. Amanda goes online, offering 'The Case of the Misplaced Baseball Bat' to her fellow sleuths as a challenge to their real-life wits. And so begins a most dangerous obsession. The murders begin to mount up but the Ripper players, free from any moral and legal restraints, are free to pursue any line of enquiry. As their unique power of intuition lead them ever closer to the truth, the case becomes all too personal when Amanda's mother suddenly vanishes. Could her disappearance be linked to the serial killer? And will Amanda and her online accomplices solve the mystery before it's too late?
Abandoned by her parents as a baby, Maya has been brought up by her tough grandmother Nini and her gentle grandfather Popo. At school though, teenage Maya finds herself drawn towards the wrong crowd. Before she knows what's happened, Maya's life has turned into one of drug addiction and crime. Things go from bad to worse as Maya disappears into the criminal underworld. To save her from her old associates, Nini sends Maya to a remote island off the coast of Chile. Here she lives among a traditional rural people, the Chilote, who have remained untouched by the materialism of the modern world. Basking in the warmth of the Chiloe community, Maya feels compelled to write her story and slowly she begins to heal. But can she move beyond her pain, find forgiveness and learn to live with the scars of the past?
Early in her career, Isabel Allende translated Barbara Cartland's books into Spanish so to introduce this book as 'historical novel meets chick-lit' may sound rude, but it is not meant to be. Set in the late 1700s / early 1800s and sweeping from Haiti to New Orleans, you won't find yourself bogged downby historical detail - for this is a human story with all the breathless excitement and pace you would expect from a contemporary novel. There's cruelty, racism, love and lust. Just like our world today!
June 2010 Good Housekeeping selection. Isabel Allende’s new novel is the epic story of a slave girl set in 18th-century Haiti and New Orleans.
Allende has a magical, lyrical style that lifts her stories into a realm of their own, and she is not an easy read. Then along comes this trilogy, of which this is the last, and I wondered what had happened to her. I discovered she wrote these for teenagers but the message of hope and fulfilment struck a chord with adults too. They are simply written with a strong moral message. Interesting.Comparison: Philip Pullman, C S Lewis, Paulo Coelho.Similar this month: None but for a spiritual adventure try Diana Cooper.
From one of the world's best-loved storytellers comes a magical novel of adventure and discovery. This is the final instalment of Isabel Allende's celebrated inspirational trilogy of the journeys in Africa of Alexander and his grandmother Kate, along with their animal spirits Jaguar and Eagle. The novel soars with radiant settings and spirits, corruption and slavery amongst a clan of pygmies, and ultimately, an extraordinary friendship. Between them all, they launch a spectacular and precarious struggle to restore freedom and return leadership to its rightful hands. Although Allende’s legion of fans will enjoy this trilogy it is very different from her usual novels. Teenagers, however, will absolutely devour it. Comparisons: Wolf Brother, Shadowmancer
Best selling international author, Isabel Allende tackles her homeland head-on in this staggering, epic romance. 'Portrait in Sepia' is both a magnificent historical novel set at the end of the nineteenth century in Chile and a marvellous family saga peopled by characters from 'Daughter of Fortune' and 'The House of the Spirits', two of Allende's most celebrated novels. As a young girl, Aurora del Valle suffered a brutal trauma that has shaped her character and erased from her mind all recollection of the first five years of her life. Raised by her ambitious grandmother, the regal and commanding Paulina del Valle, she grows up in a privileged environment, free of the limitations that circumscribe the lives of women at that time, but tormented by terrible nightmares. When she finds herself alone at the end of an unhappy love affair, she decides to explore the mystery of her past, to discover what it was, exactly, all those years ago, that had such a devastating effect on her young life. Richly detailed, epic in scope, this engrossing story of the dark power of hidden secrets is intimate in its probing of human character, and thrilling in the way it illuminates the complexity of family ties.
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One of Carol Drinkwater's favourite books. May 2011 Guest Editor Carol Drinkwater on The House of the Spirits... Since discovering this book, I have bought every Allende, but for me this remains her finest. It recounts the horrors of living under Pinochet’s regime in Chile. At the heart is a family’s story. Allende paints a world that is magical, epic, heartrending, harrowing. A masterpiece. The Lovereading view... Spanning four generations, Isabel Allende's family saga is populated by an often eccentric cast of characters. Together, men and women, spirits, the forces of nature and of history, converge in a brlliantly realised novel.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'A powerful love story spanning generations... Full of ambition and humanity' Sunday Times 'One of the strongest and most affecting works in Allende's long career' New York Times Book Review Victor Dalmau is a young doctor when he is caught up in the Spanish Civil War, a tragedy that leaves his life - and the fate of his country - forever changed. Together with his sister-in-law, he is forced out of his beloved Barcelona and into exile in Chile. There, they find themselves enmeshed in a rich web of characters who come together in love and tragedy over the course of four generations, destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world. 'A masterful work of historical fiction about hope, exile and belonging' Independent Online 'A defiantly warm and funny novel, by somebody who has earned the right to argue that love and optimism can survive whatever history might throw at us' Daily Telegraph 'Allende's style is impressively Olympian and the payoff is remarkable' Guardian
**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** **The captivating new novel from the multi-million-bestselling author of The House of the Spirits and The Japanese Lover** 'In some of the most beautiful passages in the novel, Allende explores the gentle but redemptive depths of mature love and the paths it can take . . . Allende has an unflashy wisdom to offer, a maturity that illuminates her storytelling . . . it pursues an age-old question: how to live a full life and find meaning, not just survive or endure one's past' Financial Times on In the Midst of Winter New York Times bestseller Isabel Allende returns with a beautifully crafted, multi-generational novel of struggle, endurance and friendship against the odds. Amid the biggest Brooklyn snowstorm in living memory, an unexpected friendship blossoms between three people thrown together by circumstance. Richard Bowmaster, a lonely university professor in his sixties, hits the car driven by Evelyn Ortega, a young, undocumented migrant from Guatemala. But what at first seems an inconvenience takes an unforeseen and darker turn when Evelyn comes to him and his neighbour Lucia Maraz, desperately seeking help. Sweeping from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala to turbulent 1970s Chile and Brazil, and woven with Isabel Allende's trademark humanity, passion and storytelling verve, In the Midst of Winter is a mesmerizing and unforgettable tale. Praise for Isabel Allende: 'Isabel Allende is a master storyteller. When it comes to love Isabel writes from the heart to the heart and I feel all the richer for having been touched by her' Santa Montefiore 'If Allende's life depended on her narrative gifts, she'd not only survive, but reign' Los Angeles Times 'Isabel Allende is the most romantic of writers and The Japanese Lover is a novel of high romance and lush sensuality, unashamedly about the enduring power of love and ending on a note of grace' The Times 'Lush storytelling, with a liberal dusting of South American magical realism and a multi-gener ational narrative sweep' Financial Times 'Internationally beloved Allende, as effervescent in her compassion, social concerns, and profound joy in storytelling as ever, brings both humor and intensity to this madcap, soulful and transporting tale of three survivors who share their traumatic pasts ... Allende has a rare and precious gift for simultaneously challenging and entrancing readers' Booklist, starred review 'Grief and loss are transformed into healing friendship in this fantastic novel ... A suspenseful, icy adventure. Filled with Allende's signature lyricism and ingenious plotting, the book delves wonderfully into what it means to respect, protect, and love' Publishers Weekly 'This winter's tale has something to melt each frozen heart' Kirkus Reviews
**The remarkable novel from the multi-million-bestselling author of The House of the Spirits and The Japanese Lover** Meet the unforgettable Eva Luna: a lover, a writer, a revolutionary and above all, a storyteller. 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 emigre who takes her in, her Catholic godmother who believes in 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. As Eva tells her story, Isabel Allende brings to life a complex South American country - the rich, the poor, the sophisticated - in a novel that celebrates the power of imagination and storytelling. Praise for Isabel Allende's Eva Luna: 'Vibrant, colourful characters; the ordinary fused with the grotesque; a Latin American setting, tropical this time; vivid, elegant narrative. The narrator, Eva Luna, is herself a story-teller in the Allende tradition' Guardian 'An evident affection for words, compassion for the oppressed and the inarticulate, the daring ambition to draw cross-sections of whole societies . . . Allende's work glows' New York Times 'Sumptuous . . . a tale that spans forty years and moves from a surreal jungle to a modern-day urban capital where even the most apolitical are driven to risky anti-government activities' Chicago Tribune 'Allende rearranges reality with a blend of memories, mysticism and imagination' The Philadelphia Inquirer 'A remarkable novel, one in which a cascade of stories tumbled out before the reader, stories vivid and passionate and human' Washington Post 'Magnificent . . . Allende is a prodigious fabulist, weaving extraordinary tales' Publishers Weekly
**The moving novel from the multi-million-bestselling author of The House of the Spirits and The Japanese Lover** Irene Beltran is a force to be reckoned with. As a magazine journalist - an unusual profession for a woman with her privileged upbringing - she is constantly challenging the oppressive regime. Her investigative partner is photographer Francisco Leal, the son of impoverished Spanish Marxist emigres. They are an inseparable team, and - despite Irene's engagement to an army captain - form a passionate connection. When an assignment leads them to uncover an unspeakable crime, they are determined to reveal the truth in a national overrun by terror and violence. Together they will risk everything for justice - and ultimately to embrace the passion that binds them. Praise for Isabel Allende's Of Love and Shadows: '[Allende] can just as deftly depict loving tenderness as convey the high fire of eroticism. And when you've successfully mingled sex and politics with a noble cause, how can you go wrong? New York Times Book Review 'Allende is a born storyteller' Chicago Tribune 'The people in Of Love and Shadows are real, their triumphs and defeats are so faithful to the truth of human existence, that we see the world in miniature. This is precisely what fiction should do' Washington Post 'We are by turns enchanted and entertained . . . Allende has married the world of magic and political evil most credibly' LA Times Book Review
This collection of poetry by over fifty Latin American Women spans an entire century and is a seminal work in Latin American translation.
**THE NEW YORK TIMES?BESTSELLER** The captivating new novel from the multi-million-bestselling author of The House of the Spirits and The Japanese Lover. NowtheNew York Timesbestseller.New York TimesbestsellerIsabel Allende returns with a beautifully crafted,multi-generational novelofstruggle, endurance and friendship against the odds. Amid the biggestBrooklyn snowstorm in living memory, an unexpected friendship blossomsbetween three people thrown together by circumstance. Richard Bowmaster,a lonely university professorin his sixties,hits the car driven byEvelyn Ortega,a young, undocumented migrant from Guatemala. But what at first seems aninconvenience takes an unforeseen and darker turn when Evelyn comes tohim and his neighbour Lucia Maraz, desperatelyseeking help. Sweeping frompresent-day Brooklyn to Guatemala to turbulent 1970s Chile and Brazil, and woven with Isabel Allendes trademark humanity, passion and storytelling verve, In the Midst of Winteris a mesmerizing and unforgettable taleread for you by Dennis Boutsikaris, Alma Cuervo and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
New York Times and worldwide bestselling ';dazzling storyteller' (Associated Press) Isabel Allende returns with a sweeping novel about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil.In the Midst of Winter begins with a minor traffic accidentwhich becomes the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story between two people who thought they were deep into the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmastera 60-year-old human rights scholarhits the car of Evelyn Ortegaa young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemalain the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn. What at first seems just a small inconvenience takes an unforeseen and far more serious turn when Evelyn turns up at the professor's house seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant Lucia Maraza 62-year-old lecturer from Chilefor her advice. These three very different people are brought together in a mesmerizing story that moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil, sparking the beginning of a long overdue love story between Richard and Lucia. Exploring the timely issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees, the book recalls Allende's landmark novel The House of the Spirits in the way it embraces the cause of ';humanity, and it does so with passion, humor, and wisdom that transcend politics' (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post). In the Midst of Winter will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
This reprint of a White Pine Press classic brings together an astonishing range of work from the turn of the century to the present. Despite cultural maxims encouraging them to be silent, women continue to speak, often through the language of poetry, where there is an abundance of intuition and the possibility of reclaiming power through language. In the work included here, we see how the common threads of courage and inventiveness can be woven into a bright tapestry of women's voices that presents a true picture of a culture that must create its own history. Over fifty poets, including those well-known, such as Gabriela Mistral, Alfonsina Storni, and Cristina Peri Rossi, and those just emerging are included. Marjorie Agosin, editor of the Secret Weavers series, is well-known as a poet, writer, and human rights activist. She is a professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
From internationally bestselling author Isabel Allende comes an exquisitely crafted, multigenerational love story. In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis and the world goes to war, young Alma Belasco's parents send her overseas to live with an aunt and uncle in their opulent San Francisco mansion. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family's Japanese gardener, and between them a tender love blossoms, but following Pearl Harbor the two are cruelly pulled apart. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to reconcile her own troubled past, meets the older woman and her grandson, Seth, at Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, and learn about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.
From New York Times and internationally bestselling author Isabel Allende, an exquisitely crafted love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from San Francisco in the present-day to Poland and the United States during the Second World War.In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belascos parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the familys Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his familylike thousands of other Japanese Americansare declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Franciscos charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years. Sweeping through time and spanning generations and continents, The Japanese Lover explores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption, and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives. Written with the same attention to historical detail and keen understanding of her characters that Isabel Allende has been known for since her landmark first novel The House of the Spirits, The Japanese Lover is a profoundly moving tribute to the constancy of the human heart in a world of unceasing change.
A gripping thriller from the bestselling Isabel Allende. For Amanda Martin and her friends, Ripper was all just a game. But when security guard Ed Staton is found dead in the middle of a school gym, the murder presents a mystery that baffles the San Francisco police, not least Amanda's father, Deputy Chief Martin. Amanda goes online, offering `The Case of the Misplaced Baseball Bat' to her fellow sleuths as a challenge to their real-life wits. And so begins a most dangerous obsession. The murders begin to mount up but the Ripper players, free from any moral and legal restraints, are free to pursue any line of enquiry. As their unique power of intuition lead them ever closer to the truth, the case becomes all too personal when Amanda's mother suddenly vanishes. Could her disappearance be linked to the serial killer? And will Amanda and her online accomplices solve the mystery before it's too late?
The author of 'The House of the Spirits' returns with a gritty yet transcendent tale of teenage addiction. The narrator and protagonist of MAYA'S NOTEBOOK is a 19 year old girl who grows up in Berkeley, California, and falls into a life of drug addiction and crime. To rescue Maya, and save her from the criminal types pursuing her, Maya's Chilean grandmother sends her to a remote island off the southern coast of Chile. Here she lives among a traditional rural people, the Chilote, who speak an older form of Spanish and have remained largely isolated from the materialism, crime, and fast-paced contemporary life which is our own. The book alternates between the narrative in the US and that on Chiloe, the island, so the two strands of the story unfold for the reader at more or less the same time. This new book is very different from Isabel's previous historical novels: a contemporary setting; an American (of Latino descent) teenage drug addict as the protagonist and narrating voice; a realistic style of writing rather than a magical realistic one (Chiloe exists, and one can visit it). Maya's voice is modeled on that of Isabel's teenage granddaughter, a native of the Bay area (San Francisco, Berkeley).
Neglected by her parents, nineteen-year-old Maya Nidal has grown up in Berkeley with her grandparents. Her grandmother Nini is a force of nature, a woman whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973. Popo, Maya's grandfather, is a gentle man whose solid, comforting presence helps calm the turbulence of Maya's adolescence. When Popo dies of cancer, Maya goes completely off the rails, turning to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime in a downward spiral that eventually bottoms out in Las Vegas. Lost in a dangerous underworld, she is caught in the crosshairs of warring forces. Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile. Here Maya tries to make sense of the past, unravels mysterious truths about life and about her family, and embarks on her greatest adventure: the journey into her own soul.
As a girl, Clara del Valle can read fortunes, make objects move as if they had lives of their own, and predict the future. Following the mysterious death of her sister, Rosa the Beautiful, Clara is mute for nine years. When she breaks her silence, it is to announce that she will be married soon to the stern and volatile landowner Esteban Trueba. Set in an unnamed Latin American country over three generations, The House of the Spirits is a magnificent epic of a proud and passionate family, secret loves and violent revolution.
'My name is Eva, which means life , according to a book of names my mother consulted. I was born in the back room of a shadowy house, and grew up amidst ancient furniture, books in Latin, and human mummies, but none of those things made me melancholy, because I came into the world with a breath of the jungle in my memory.' Isabel Allende tells the sweet and sinister story of an orphan who beguiles the world with her astonishing visions, triumphing over the worst of adversity and bringing light to a dark place.
