Violeta (Spanish Edition) by Isabel Allende
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Web ID: 14789284Stunning Historical Fiction!
Violeta is STUNNING. This is soulful telling of Violeta del Valle's life to her grandson. She shares memories of from youth that shaped her womanhood to lovers she had up until her death. The intimacy as which we learn her life is beautiful, making her real on the pages. Violeta experiences it ALL - riches, poverty, grief, joy, regrets and peace. Her story represents her love for the gift of life. This was my first read by this author, and it was absolutely fabulous. From its stunning cover to words inside, this novel is a MUST READ! Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and Penguin Random House Audio for the complimentary copy.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Classic Allende
The past 100 years as told through the voice of one woman whose life bears similarities to that of the author, the iconic Isabel Allende. The only reason I don't award it a full five stars is the lagging in the latter half, which tested my patience a bit. But as with all of Allende's heroines, Violeta is emblematic of her time and her history, drawing parallels between the Spanish flu and the current Covid pandemic, among other things.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
100 Years of Beautiful Story from a Master
NOTE: I received early access to this book through netgalley.com in exchange for writing an impartial review. Thank you Ballantine Books. Scheduled Publication: January 25, 2022. I should acknowledge up front that author Isabel Allende is a favorite of mine and I have loved nearly all of her books. This one is no exception. I find some books tend to be more plot driven, others propelled by character evolution, and a few full of rich, lyrical language that can read like poetry. In this historical novel, Allende manages to blend all three. As she so often does. Her descriptions of seemingly small moments include such touching detail that they often made me feel I was sitting in the room as a witness. This book is not just a well-crafted novel. It's literature. VIOLETA is a first person narrative, a woman writing down the story of her life as she approaches death. It's written to a specific person -- but you will need to discover who that is on your own. The book is also a story that closely follows the history of a century. Born during the Spanish Flu Epidemic (1920), Violeta begins her life in a large extended family with great wealth, largely because her father believes economic success grows naturally out of a willingness to take great risk. Not surprisingly, the 1930s Depression hits the family hard. A dramatic change in circumstance propels Violeta into a much wider, and far less protected world. As years pass, she experiences poverty, violence, marriage, passion, children, love affairs, tragedy, and successes and failures. All against the unfolding history of a South American country enduring repeated political repression and revolution. World War II, gangsters, drugs and hippies, addiction, abuse, and more reach into Violeta's orbit. Her priorities shift multiple times as she comes in contact with a wider variety of perspectives (Spanish-speaking elite, indigenous people, and ex-pats) and understands more about other realities surrounding her. Violeta's story is as challenging as the profound historical events impacting her loved ones, but also as dramatic and universal as the day-to-day experiences impacting EVERY woman's life (i.e. love, friendship, family). VIOLETA is a beautiful novel from the very first page, full of three-dimensional characters exhibiting all the foibles we recognize as simply part of human nature. Don't miss VIOLETA.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com