Violeta

I have read and enjoyed several books by Isabel Allende, and this one is no exception. Told as the (fictional) autobiography of a 100 year old woman on her deathbed, this book nonetheless has a large cast of characters and settings. As usual, Allende deals with the topics of revolution and politics in South America, and I was interested enough to do some searching to determine what nations she referenced.

Violeta was born in 1920 during the influenza pandemic, and is now living in our current time of the coronavirus pandemic. These two events bookend her life, which is also touched by revolution, war, natural disasters, and personal/family tragedies. This book reads like hearing someone reminisce about their life, which could be boring but in this case I found it to be entertaining and thought-provoking. Because we only hear Violeta's point of view, it is interesting to consider if the other characters would tell their parts of the story consistently or not.

I found myself wishing a bit for some of Allende's magical realism, but aside from that, I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it for fans of Allende.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Wow. What a beautiful story! I know the story is fictional, but it was told with so much detail and soul that if you had told me it was an autobiography, I would have believed you. Historical fiction is my favorite genre of fiction, and this book hits all the right spots for me.

I can't believe it took me this long to pick up an Isabel Allende book; I will definitely be back for more!

“Es imposible describir la experiencia de esfumarse en el vacío negro del universo, desprendida del cuerpo, los sentimientos y la memoria, sin el cordón umbilical que nos une a la vida. Nada quedaba, ni presente, ni pasado, y al mismo tiempo yo era parte de todo lo que existe”.

Violeta es de esas personas que te caen bien, pero que de repente se tira comentarios medios raros (a veces sólo por ignorancia) y no sabes bien cómo responderle. La narración es muy poética y entretenida de leer; me mantuvo con ganas de saber más con cada capítulo que terminaba.

Nunca se menciona en qué país se desarrolla su vida, pero es fácil saber que se trata de Chile por cada hecho histórico que Violeta narra en sus 100 años de vida: la toma de los terrenos en el sur, los terremotos, la elección democrática de un presidente socialista, el golpe de estado, la pandemia.

La mención al feminismo, la diferencia de clases sociales y, sobre todo, lo que se vivió durante la década de los 70's hasta el fin de la dictarura, son los espacios en los que sentí más empatía por Violeta y su familia. Sin embargo, como ya mencioné, a veces Violeta resulta ser muy buena para criticar a ciertos personajes o a contarle a su nieto (a quien le escribe sus vivencias) ciertas experiencias que si mi abuela lo hubiese hecho, me habría hecho sentir mucha vergüenza ajena.

No le doy 5 estrellas sólo porque me sobraron las tantas menciones religiosas y me faltó más de ese realismo mágico que esperaba encontrar.

Normally I really love deeply character-driven stories such as this. While there were parts I did enjoy, something didn't sit right for some reason.

Nearing the end of her life, Violeta recounts her story starting from her birth in a small Chilean town. We follow her and her family through pandemics, political changes, and other important shifts in history as the decades pass. With this also comes the natural milestones of life such as adolescence and starting a family. All of this is told in a letter to her grandson.

For something that appears to be so close to the author, there is a glaring lack of emotion and empathy. I didn't feel connected to Violeta at all, nor did I find myself particularly caring partway through the part of the book. Until then I was finding the narration reminiscent of The Dictionary of Lost Words. Overall, I found it just okay.

Wow, there was a lot to this book. It's the story of an entire lifetime, so there's definitely a lot to get through!

I loved the beginning of Violeta. Her life as a child was so incredibly interesting, and I found myself feeling sad when the story continued and she was older. I loved the story of the woman who comes to her home as a nanny...their relationship is fascinating, and continues to be that way throughout the book.

While I was really engaged for about the first half of this book, the second half didn't shine as brightly for me. It's certainly an incredible story, and there's no doubt that Isabel Allende is an experienced, immersive storyteller. I've heard good things about other books of hers (specifically A Long Petal of the Sea), and I would like to pick up one of those.

Violeta, though, gets a little bit too mired in politics for me. I enjoyed reading about the politics of a region I don't know as much about, but the story got too focused there for me, with longer descriptions about what was going on with the politics in multiple countries. I like a side of politics with my stories...this verged too far into the political content for me.

Read my full review: https://literaryquicksand.com/2021/10/review-violeta-by-isabel-allende/

Me pone triste no haber amado un libro de Isabel Allende, pero una vez habria que pasar. Violeta me pareció sin sal, no me interesaba ni cuando algo le pasaba o cuando tenia mala leche. Al final concluí que a ella tambien no le interesaba demostrar emoción; o tal vez sea por haber escrito al nieto. Lo que puedo decir es que voy a leer Eva Luna una otra vez para acordarme de lo buena que es Allende y leer su próxima obra.