Violeta

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/