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Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER â?˘ This sweeping novel from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century. â??An immersive saga about a passion-filled life.â?ťâ??People Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first girl in a family with five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth. Through her fatherâ??s prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses everything and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling. She tells her story in the form of a letter to someone she loves above all others, recounting times of devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Her life is shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for womenâ??s rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and ultimately not one, but two pandemics. Through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humor carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and… (more)
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Violeta faces much adversity during her lifetime. Her wealthy family suffers a big change in fortune,
She endures one lackluster marriage and then embarks on a romance full of passion, but one that is not a healthy relationship for her. From that relationship her two children are born, each having their own struggles as they grow up, much of which Violeta feels she is to blame for not being a better mother.
She was blessed with a large and loving family and also surrounded by domestic help that stayed with her for most of their lives and were part of her family as well. I loved this aspect of the story.
Readers who enjoy reading about strong women, South American culture and good historical fiction will find this one a must-read. It has romance, family strife, political turmoil and inspiration all rolled up into one amazing story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.
From there the story involves the overthrown of the government, suspected involvement by the American CIA and the mafia. Violeta's two children lead very different and harrowing lives: the daughter becoming a drug addict and the son becoming a revolutionary eventually living in Norway.
The story spans 100 years as Violeta passes away during Covid. Her story is aimed at the grandson, the son of the addicted daughter who becomes a priest.
Occasionally, the story seems to take on an unbelievable slant, but overall is interesting and filled with likeable people, heartless people, and all in between. Eventually Violetta marries at the age of sixty plus to a bird watcher from Norway. Good read.
For 100 years, between 1920 and 2020, the world underwent monumental changes. The character Violeta del Valle, lived through that time, and this is the tale of all she became cognizant of during her life. It is written in the form of a
Chile was infested with protesters that were unhappy with the status quo, with instigators of revolt and discontent. One group or another searched for more and more power and provided less and less independence for the citizens, as they gained more and more control over the population. Often, in what seemed the quest for more freedom, more limitations, instead, were placed upon the people. Violence and death, fear and deprivation, were the result of revolutions meant to improve lives. Dissenters simply disappeared as they were taken away without charges and silenced with abandon. Lives were lost and so was the country that had once been loved as a shining example to the world. Only the select few could thrive. Did this happen only in Chile? No, the century was certainly one of turbulence for many.
All the experiences of humanity occurred in Violeta’s time. From what some would consider her own wanton behavior to the chaste life of her grandson Camilo, life in all of its incantations played out on the pages of this novel. Violeta experienced life with several men, some whom she adored and some whom she came to dislike. With her first husband, she had no children. With her lover she had two, Nieves and Juan Martin. With her second husband she experienced true happiness. Those in her life ranged from the meek to the powerful, the intellectual to the visceral, from the emotional to the dispassionate, and all that lies in between. As readers, we witness a world in flux through the letter Violeta is writing to someone she cares deeply about. We also witness the history of her world as it is affected by life and death in all of its fury and grandeur. During her time on earth, many historic and memorable moments occurred. Some, like war and disease were tragic, and some like women’s suffrage and incredible technology were constructive, but all of the events were momentous. Allende has told the story from one pandemic to another. She has told the story of a world that grew in positive ways and retracted in negative ways, in a constant pattern of a revolving door.
Through all the years of disease, war, and other turmoil, Violeta was always able to fall back on her optimism and eventually became engaged in fighting for women’s rights and a more democratic society. Even as much was taken away during her lifetime, much more was achieved. As she witnessed a world of deprivation for those who were not privileged, she realized that much of her life was spent in ignorance of the plight of others. She became an activist for civil rights and a philanthropist for those in need. The book touches on every human behavior and every major event during her century of life, from WWI to the threat of WWIII, from the Spanish Flu to Covid 19, from economic prosperity to the Depression, from religious freedom to anti-Semitism, from the birth of the feminist movement to women’s suffrage, from the Cuban and Russian Revolutions to Woodstock, from villains to heroes, and all that occurred in between.
During her life she met heroes of sorts and villains of another sort, from her father who fell from grace to her brother’s alternate politics, to Julian Bravo, a hero in the RAF who was a scoundrel as well, to Roy Cooper, a man for hire, who had a soft, hidden heart, from the German Fabian Schmidt, a cold Veterinarian to the Norwegian Harald Fiske, a caring birdwatcher, personalities of every stripe are featured. From Josephine to Etelvino, both caretakers, from Yaima the healer, to Dr. Levy the therapist, from the slow-witted Torito to the heights of Edmund Hillary who climbed Mt Everest successfully, to charity and sacrifice to the depths of human depravity, from Latin America to America to Europe, all types of human beings are displayed in their glory and their shame.
No character in the book was one-dimensional, instead there were many facets to his or her own nature and personality. Nothing and no one was all pure or all evil. The book, a whirlwind of facts and emotion, was read by a calm narrator with a soothing voice that led the reader through the wealth of information within Violeta’s turbulent existence.
REVIEW: This was a very good book. Violeta is the story of a young Chilean woman who lives through a hundred years of history. Being born in 1920, we see
The writing of this book was beautiful, and while the book itself was desperately sad and full of loss, there was also hope to be found within the pages. There are many characters who come in and out of the story – almost too many to always keep clear – but it didn’t matter, since that is how people come in and out of everyone’s life.
This is a beautiful book, and I recommend it to all readers, especially those interested in 20th century Latin American History.
I really like the premise of this book, spanning one hundred years between pandemics – what a great idea for framing a story. Violeta’s life is eventful, full of passion, change, and heartbreak. Violeta’s personal life serves as a mirror for the ups and downs of the historical drama. Other themes include women’s rights and what it is like to live under an oppressive regime.
The only part that did not work quite as well is the epistolary choice. I was not convinced that a grandmother would share details of her love life with her grandson. But this is a minor quibble. The characters are well developed, and the descriptions of the region are stunning.
I am a fan of Allende’s writing. I have now read ten of her books, and her work is consistently strong. I received an advanced copy from the publisher, Ballantine, via NetGalley.
The eponymous narrator, born in 1920, is writing down her life story in 2020, and to avoid spoilers I will only say that Violeta's
Flipping through pages at random, here's a typical example: "...It took him under two hours to get me a travel permit from the regional commander. Those were other times, Camilo. Now you can find out someone's identity in under a minute and even the most intimate details of their life, but in the seventies that wasn't always possible." Surely anyone born before 1995 knows this?
And another: "For three years the right-wing propaganda had been sermonizing about the horrors of a Communist dictatorship. Now we were experiencing the real-life terrors of a Fascist one. The military junta claimed that these were only temporary measures, but that they would continue indefinitely, until Christian and Western values were restored to the nation. I held on to the illusion that our country had the most solid tradition of democracy on the continent that we'd been a model of civic duty in the world that we'd soon have elections and democracy would be reinstated."
Moments of impersonal precis are almost inevitable in historical fiction, but there's far more here than needed, as if it were rushed to press without time to edit. In the end it often feels like Allende's true audience is more like a modern high school student than someone well into middle age. And perhaps it is?
Isabel Allende's latest masterpiece, Violeta, is a chronicle of a woman's life sweeping across a century of history, written in epistolary form.
"There is a time to live and a time to die .In between there's a time to remember."
In her last days, Violeta Del Valle writes a letter to her
Abandoning her devoted husband to be with her lover, conceiving 2 children out of wedlock and embarking on building her own career fueled by her own ambition and refusing to conform to the strictures imposed by restrictive societal norms, Allende's Violeta is a strong and willful woman who lives life on her own terms, makes mistakes and learns from them , takes responsibility for her own fate and reinvents herself every step of the way while gathering much wisdom in the course of her long eventful life. In many ways she is a woman who is way ahead of her time. Her story is one of family and friendship ,her many loves, loss and setbacks, courage and ambition. More importantly,in Violeta, the author portrays a woman with the indomitable will to survive , grow and prosper in the backdrop of volatile political climate , changing societal landscape and personal tragedy and upheaval.
Isabel Allende's prose is elegant and a joy to read. Among the strong female influences in Violeta's life, the characters of Aunt Pilar, Facunda, Teresa Rivas and her family and Miss Taylor are superbly crafted. Strong characters and masterful storytelling are typical of Isabel Allende's novels and in Violeta she does not disappoint.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.