Publication
New York : Perennial, 2002, c2001.
Collection
Call number
Fiction A
Physical description
304 p.; 21 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
In nineteenth-century Chile, Aurora del Valle suffers a brutal trauma that erases all recollections of the first five years of her life. Raised by her regal and ambitious grandmother Paulina del Valle, Aurora grows up in a privileged environment but is tormented by horrible nightmares. When she is forced to recognize her betrayal at the hands of the man she loves, and to cope with the resulting solitude, she explores the mystery of her past.
User reviews
LibraryThing member countrylife
“Recounted in the voice of a young woman in search of her roots, Portrait in Sepia is a novel about memory and family secrets “, says the jacket copy. I saw it as not so much the telling of a mysterious mystery, but of the lives of a fascinating family. I really enjoyed getting to know these
I have not read Daughter of Fortune, which apparently precedes this tale. Although there were allusions to the previous history of several characters, I did not feel as though this story suffered from a lack of more information about them. If it suffered from anything, it would only be the inclusion of more than I’d ever sought to know about Chilean political history. :)
The Epilogue is short, but so poignant. Should you consider it a spoiler (although I don’t believe that to be so in this case), be warned, for I copy half of it here:
‘Memory is fiction. We select the brightest and the darkest, ignoring what we are ashamed of, and so embroider the broad tapestry of our lives. Through photography and the written word I try desperately to conquer the transitory nature of my existence, to trap moments before they evanesce, to untangle the confusion of my past. . . . In the end, the only thing we have in abundance is the memory we have woven. Each of us chooses the tone for telling his or her own story; I would like to choose the durable clarity of a platinum print, but nothing in my destiny possesses that luminosity. I live among diffuse shadings, veiled mysteries, uncertainties; the tone for telling my life is closer to that of a portrait in sepia.’
Interesting story; well imagined and well told. I enjoyed it.
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people, so real were they to me, as an onlooker in San Francisco to the life of privilege lived by some of them, and to the life of working hard and giving back of another part of the family; then travelling with them to Chile and witnessing how their lives changed with health issues, and during the time of political unrest; and watching as Aurora grows into her Self, with her camera as her help. I have not read Daughter of Fortune, which apparently precedes this tale. Although there were allusions to the previous history of several characters, I did not feel as though this story suffered from a lack of more information about them. If it suffered from anything, it would only be the inclusion of more than I’d ever sought to know about Chilean political history. :)
The Epilogue is short, but so poignant. Should you consider it a spoiler (although I don’t believe that to be so in this case), be warned, for I copy half of it here:
‘Memory is fiction. We select the brightest and the darkest, ignoring what we are ashamed of, and so embroider the broad tapestry of our lives. Through photography and the written word I try desperately to conquer the transitory nature of my existence, to trap moments before they evanesce, to untangle the confusion of my past. . . . In the end, the only thing we have in abundance is the memory we have woven. Each of us chooses the tone for telling his or her own story; I would like to choose the durable clarity of a platinum print, but nothing in my destiny possesses that luminosity. I live among diffuse shadings, veiled mysteries, uncertainties; the tone for telling my life is closer to that of a portrait in sepia.’
Interesting story; well imagined and well told. I enjoyed it.
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LibraryThing member kraaivrouw
I like Isabelle Allende. She's a wonderful storyteller of sweeping epics populated with people who might appear ordinary, but are far from it. Reading her books feels to me like sitting with my Mississippi grandmother & her sisters listening to their stories of my family's history (everybody's
I enjoyed this book which tells the story of Aurora del Valle & the secrets her family kept from her. Throughout the story we meet the usual contingent of whacky aunts & uncles, gentlemen callers, & strong women who defy their time & society's limitations. The book was partly set in San Francisco & I liked that, too, although I think she writes about Chile with more conviction than she does about the Bay Area.
I agree with those felt that this wasn't Allende's best work. Certainly when compared to The House of the Spirits or Eva Luna, it lacks something undefinable, but perhaps soul is the correct word. I was struck by the narrator's claim at the end:
"Each of us chooses the tone for telling his or her own story; I would like to choose the durable clarity of a platinum print, but nothing in my destiny possesses that luminosity. I live among diffuse shadings, veiled mysteries, uncertainties; the tone for telilng my life is closer to that of a portrait in sepia."
Maybe that's the ultimate problem - this narrator's voice lacks the vibrancy of others the author has written. A good read, but not outstanding.
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family has some magic in it).I enjoyed this book which tells the story of Aurora del Valle & the secrets her family kept from her. Throughout the story we meet the usual contingent of whacky aunts & uncles, gentlemen callers, & strong women who defy their time & society's limitations. The book was partly set in San Francisco & I liked that, too, although I think she writes about Chile with more conviction than she does about the Bay Area.
I agree with those felt that this wasn't Allende's best work. Certainly when compared to The House of the Spirits or Eva Luna, it lacks something undefinable, but perhaps soul is the correct word. I was struck by the narrator's claim at the end:
"Each of us chooses the tone for telling his or her own story; I would like to choose the durable clarity of a platinum print, but nothing in my destiny possesses that luminosity. I live among diffuse shadings, veiled mysteries, uncertainties; the tone for telilng my life is closer to that of a portrait in sepia."
Maybe that's the ultimate problem - this narrator's voice lacks the vibrancy of others the author has written. A good read, but not outstanding.
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LibraryThing member birdy47
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Allende creates such interesting and flamboyant characters.
LibraryThing member MarysGirl
This is a sequel to Daughter of Fortune, a bridge to The House of the Spirits and not quite as good as either. Portrait in Sepia is written as the memoir of Aurora del Valle, granddaughter of the intrepid Eliza Sommers and formidable Paulina del Valle from Daughter of Fortune. Isabel Allende uses
I'm not denigrating the psychological effects of witnessing a personal tragedy, or saying rich people can't be unhappy; just that it didn't make for compelling reading in this particular book, especially against the background of poverty and war that Allende provides. The most interesting parts, for me, were catching up with the characters from Daughter of Fortune and seeing the seeds planted for The House of the Spirits (both of which I very much enjoyed). There are several more engaging characters than Aurora, which make the book worth reading; including Severo and Nivea del Valle, the parents of the main characters in The House of the Spirits. The Chilean history is also interesting and well integrated. I would recommend Portrait in Sepia for folks who want the bridge from Daughter of Fortune to The House of the Spirits, truly enjoy character-driven fiction and/or are interested in Chilean history. For those who like more plot-driven fiction, this will be a disappointment.
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her usual style of intense character portraits, lyrical descriptions and background history of Chile to tell us what happened to all our favorite characters from that book; but her heroine is a lack luster vehicle. To me, Aurora came off as a "poor little rich girl." Sure, she was orphaned, but raised by people who loved and cherished her. She watched a horrible tragedy as a child that gave her nightmares, but lived a life of luxury and intellectual indulgence. Even in an unhappy marriage, she found refuge in sympathetic and loving in-laws who did nothing to curb her eccentric behavior or limit her in any way. Aurora takes up a modern hobby (later profession) in photography, rides in men's clothing, and has an affair--all with no, or even threatened, consequences. She faced little in the way of personal obstacles, which is the essence of conflict in a character-driven story.I'm not denigrating the psychological effects of witnessing a personal tragedy, or saying rich people can't be unhappy; just that it didn't make for compelling reading in this particular book, especially against the background of poverty and war that Allende provides. The most interesting parts, for me, were catching up with the characters from Daughter of Fortune and seeing the seeds planted for The House of the Spirits (both of which I very much enjoyed). There are several more engaging characters than Aurora, which make the book worth reading; including Severo and Nivea del Valle, the parents of the main characters in The House of the Spirits. The Chilean history is also interesting and well integrated. I would recommend Portrait in Sepia for folks who want the bridge from Daughter of Fortune to The House of the Spirits, truly enjoy character-driven fiction and/or are interested in Chilean history. For those who like more plot-driven fiction, this will be a disappointment.
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LibraryThing member debnance
Quite a ride! Portrait in Sepia is as enthralling as any American soap opera, with beautiful women and reluctant lovers and mismatched husbands and wives. Portrait in Sepia is more than a great tale with intriguing characters and inventive plot twists, though. It's also a thoughtful look at the
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blending of cultures and ethnicities and the difficulties and joys the blending brings.Note: I'd not realized Sepia is a sequel; I wish I'd known this and read Daughter of Fortune first. Show Less
LibraryThing member mojomomma
Daughter of Fortune is one my favorite books and this story is based on Eliza and Tao Chi'en's granddaughter, Aurora. She is effectively orphaned as a newborn and is raised first by her maternal and then her paternal grandparents, who move her to Chile. Aurora's story is interesting, but Aurora as
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a character lacks the strong personality of her more interesting grandmothers. Show Less
LibraryThing member Joycepa
Isabel Allende has written a trilogy of novels that span the history of Chile from 1843 to the 1960s. The first one she wrote, House of the Spirits, was actually the last in the series. Then came, in order of publication, Daughter of Fortune, which was chronologically the first, and introduced a
The hallmark of all these stories is the presence of strong women, all of whom defied the conventionality of the time and went on to do what they wanted with their lives. Although Portrait in Sepia is narrated by Aurora, the granddaughter of one of the characters who appears in Daughter of Fortune, the central character of the story is Paulina del Valle, an eccentric, imperious woman who is in incredibly sharp businesswoman, living in San Francisco at the story’s opening. Eventually, she and Aurora live in Chile, surviving two wars.
The history that forms the background against which the characters move is fascinating. Not only do we get the political and military history, but also the customs, attitudes and social mores of the various levels of Chilean society during that time.
But nothing compares with the characters that Allende draws, especially the women, both conventional and non-conventional. It is through their eyes that we learn what is occurring politically, through their eyes that we see the outcomes, through their eyes that we observe the movers and shakers of Chile.
Portrait in Sepia doesn’t have any magical realism in it, but it doesn’t need it--the events of the times are bizarre enough without any fabrication. And Allende can write.
I was born in the early morning, but in Chinatown the clocks obey no rules, and at that hour the market, the cart traffic, the woeful barking of caged dogs awaiting the butcher’s cleaver, were beginning to heat up.
Not only is she wonderfully descriptive, but powerfully imaginative, incorporating eccentric details into the story that leave you marveling.
Portrait in Sepia is worth reading if only for the history, but the central characters are unforgettable, and some of them will go on to their fates in House of the Spirits .
Highly recommended.
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family that would become important in the rest of the story. In 2001, she published the linchpin book, Portrait in Sepia, which spans the period from 1862 to pre-World War I.The hallmark of all these stories is the presence of strong women, all of whom defied the conventionality of the time and went on to do what they wanted with their lives. Although Portrait in Sepia is narrated by Aurora, the granddaughter of one of the characters who appears in Daughter of Fortune, the central character of the story is Paulina del Valle, an eccentric, imperious woman who is in incredibly sharp businesswoman, living in San Francisco at the story’s opening. Eventually, she and Aurora live in Chile, surviving two wars.
The history that forms the background against which the characters move is fascinating. Not only do we get the political and military history, but also the customs, attitudes and social mores of the various levels of Chilean society during that time.
But nothing compares with the characters that Allende draws, especially the women, both conventional and non-conventional. It is through their eyes that we learn what is occurring politically, through their eyes that we see the outcomes, through their eyes that we observe the movers and shakers of Chile.
Portrait in Sepia doesn’t have any magical realism in it, but it doesn’t need it--the events of the times are bizarre enough without any fabrication. And Allende can write.
I was born in the early morning, but in Chinatown the clocks obey no rules, and at that hour the market, the cart traffic, the woeful barking of caged dogs awaiting the butcher’s cleaver, were beginning to heat up.
Not only is she wonderfully descriptive, but powerfully imaginative, incorporating eccentric details into the story that leave you marveling.
Portrait in Sepia is worth reading if only for the history, but the central characters are unforgettable, and some of them will go on to their fates in House of the Spirits .
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member magooles
This book is much quicker and not as beautifully written as its predecessor, but it finishes the original story nicely. It is more of a continuation of Daughter of Fortune than a novel that can stand out on its own. I would have been disappointed to read DoF without having a more final ending to
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the story and Portrait in Sepia does that. Show Less
LibraryThing member vegaheim
south american lady (after many hardships) marries chinese herbalist. (second book after daughter of fortune? can't remember) lots of bigotry
great read. couldn't put it down. third book of isabel allende; want to read more of her books
great read. couldn't put it down. third book of isabel allende; want to read more of her books
LibraryThing member atheist_goat
I couldn't really figure out what the point of this book was, except to show what happened to the characters in Daughter of Fortune. Which could have been achieved by tacking on an epilogue to DoF, by far the superior book.
LibraryThing member mldg
When I finished Allende's Daughter of Fortune, I was disappointed. I felt the story was not complete. Portrait in Sepia continues the story and brings it to a satisfying conclusion. There is a lot about Chilean history which I liked.
LibraryThing member shootingstarr7
This was the first book that I read by Allende, and I'm not sure whether or not that was a good thing. While I very much enjoyed it, it hasn't led me to seek out other works by her. I found some of the situations to be far-fetched, but given the context of the time, they are not wholly out of
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place. I would say it's not essential to have read her previous works first, but from what I understand, they provide the backstory. Show Less
LibraryThing member SWOODRUFF
started to read it 4/24/07 and realized that I have already read it, although I don't remember the plot. It must not have been memorable for me.
LibraryThing member bonneyandrews
This was a good book, but not as good as I expected. While it had an interesting story, it had few relevations about life in it. Perhaps being older and having read a lot, it just didn't speak to me at this stage of my life, but it impressed me more as a good historical novel about San Francisco
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and Chile, two areas I don't know much about. I will probably read other of her books, but not necessarily in any hurry. All that said, at least this was not a whitewashed view of history or a standard bestseller romance. It had some substance beyond the normal bestseller. Show Less
LibraryThing member cindyloumn
LOVED this book. I love all the chracters and the twists and turns and how quirky they are. Sequal to "Fortunes Daughter". really like this author.
LibraryThing member Avril
If you read Louis de Bernieres' and Isabel Allende's fiction on South America you can begin to understand its tragedy. She writes from the heart of it, as the daughter of Chile's murdered Prime Minister; he write as an acute observer. Both are superb.
LibraryThing member Nickelini
A solid novel of historical fiction, set in late-19th century San Francisco and Chile. A family saga with interesting characters and some lovely descriptions of the Chilean countryside--Allende always gets me dreaming of traveling to South America. For readers who shy away from Allende because her
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masterpiece House of the Spirits is considered magic realism, relax--despite the plethora of misapplied tags here at LT, there is zero magic realism in this novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member elizabeth.a.coates
This was no Daughter of Fortune. After reading that one I was dying to get a hold of the sequal. Allende lacked originality with Portrait in Sepia. It was like she was unable to think of new characters so just repeated the archetypes used in her previous novel. While I still enjoyed the story
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overall it definitely wasn't as good as I was expecting. Show Less
LibraryThing member jewelknits
Quick Take: I read "Daughter of Fortune", somehow skipped the middle novel, "The House of the Spirits", and read the third-in-series. (I didn't know it was a series until I started reading this one and realized that I had read of this family before). Great historical, multigenerational,
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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character-driven fiction with enough drama to keep you reading as much as possible. Allende is a truly gifted writer, and this is a marvelous book.Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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LibraryThing member vdt_melbourne
Nice, simple, fluffy read. I liked it
LibraryThing member starbox
This is the follow on to Allende's 'Daughter of Fortune', which I read 13 years ago. Bits returned to me as I read, but you can read this as a standalone work.
Took me a while to get into it, but it really is very well written, full of vivid characters and with a definite South American, magic
Took me a while to get into it, but it really is very well written, full of vivid characters and with a definite South American, magic
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realism feel to it. It's a family tale: the lovely daughter of a Chinese herbalist and an American pastry shop owner becomes involved with the syphilitic som of a wealthy Chilean family, headed by the matriarch Paulina del Valle (ably assisted by Williams, the butler.) The fall out, the events...war, unhappy marriages, the rediscovery of long lost characters...all comes together to make a truly lovely read. Show Less
LibraryThing member eilonwy_anne
This was an evocative and fairly straightforward novel in the form of a family memoir. Its initial setting in 19th century San Francisco is rich and charming, its characters winning and iconic. It has something of the Victorian in its narrative rhymes -- the echoes of one generation's fate in the
Audiobook note: The narrator was fabulous, and very convincing (although I'm no scholar of Spanish or Chilean native, so I could easily be deceived.)
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next -- and its coincidental encounters. It never failed to interest and touch me, even when I foresaw the next twist in the road.Audiobook note: The narrator was fabulous, and very convincing (although I'm no scholar of Spanish or Chilean native, so I could easily be deceived.)
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LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
In a meandering journey over decades and continents, the life of a family is explored, including all its unusual secrets and strained relations against diverse backdrops of war, racism, and illness.
This book was sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time, and I was looking forward to reading it
Allende obviously has talent, but this title at least was not particularly in my favorite writing style -- her sentences are lengthy, paragraphs go on for pages, and there aren't really chapter divisions. It felt very dense to get through and too much like "work" instead of enjoyment.
The characters were interesting and quirky, but sometimes felt a little one-dimensional. In addition, because the book kept jumping around in time (and small perspective shifts as well), it felt difficult to get a real handle on a character as they kept being reintroduced. I later found out this book is technically a sequel to one of Allende's other titles, so perhaps reading that first might have helped. However, I just don't think it was my cup of tea.
This book was sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time, and I was looking forward to reading it
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when we chose Allende as the author for the Monthly Author Reads group. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I kept waiting for something happen, but the book never really seemed to pick up steam. It seems like Allende was working up to a big reveal at the end, except the reveal wasn't particularly surprising.Allende obviously has talent, but this title at least was not particularly in my favorite writing style -- her sentences are lengthy, paragraphs go on for pages, and there aren't really chapter divisions. It felt very dense to get through and too much like "work" instead of enjoyment.
The characters were interesting and quirky, but sometimes felt a little one-dimensional. In addition, because the book kept jumping around in time (and small perspective shifts as well), it felt difficult to get a real handle on a character as they kept being reintroduced. I later found out this book is technically a sequel to one of Allende's other titles, so perhaps reading that first might have helped. However, I just don't think it was my cup of tea.
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LibraryThing member ElizabethCromb
Allende weaves an intricate tale around the diverse cultures of Chile, America, China and England while also recounting a very personal story.
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Audiobook narrated by Blair Brown
This is the third book Allende has written about the Del Valle family. Though it was the last published, in chronological order it falls between Daughter of Fortune and House of the Spirits, but can easily be read as a standalone novel. The sweeping scope of this
I love Allende’s writing. There is a decidedly Latin beat to the flow of her sentences. And her descriptions are full of sensory highlights – the reader smells the sea air, feels the quality of fine fabrics, suffers in the tropical heat, hears the cacophony of a busy marketplace, and tastes the herbs and spices of Chinese or Chilean cuisine.
The characters are larger than life and run the gamut from a wealthy Chilean grand dame to a Chinese herbalist to an English butler and a Serbian physician. I greatly appreciated the family tree printed in the text version, and wished that I also had a map handy to help with the geography.
While she is known for magical realism, there is little of that in this book, aside from a reference to the ghost of Aurora’s grandfather being ever present. I think I need to go back to House of the Spirits and read it again….
Blair Brown does a fine job performing the audio version. She has good pacing and enough skill as a voice artist to clearly distinguish the many characters.
This is the third book Allende has written about the Del Valle family. Though it was the last published, in chronological order it falls between Daughter of Fortune and House of the Spirits, but can easily be read as a standalone novel. The sweeping scope of this
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book takes us from mid 19th-century San Francisco to early 20th century Chile, and is narrated by Aurora Del Valle, a fiercely independent woman who followed her own destiny regardless of convention. I love Allende’s writing. There is a decidedly Latin beat to the flow of her sentences. And her descriptions are full of sensory highlights – the reader smells the sea air, feels the quality of fine fabrics, suffers in the tropical heat, hears the cacophony of a busy marketplace, and tastes the herbs and spices of Chinese or Chilean cuisine.
The characters are larger than life and run the gamut from a wealthy Chilean grand dame to a Chinese herbalist to an English butler and a Serbian physician. I greatly appreciated the family tree printed in the text version, and wished that I also had a map handy to help with the geography.
While she is known for magical realism, there is little of that in this book, aside from a reference to the ghost of Aurora’s grandfather being ever present. I think I need to go back to House of the Spirits and read it again….
Blair Brown does a fine job performing the audio version. She has good pacing and enough skill as a voice artist to clearly distinguish the many characters.
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Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2002)
Around the world in 80 books (Chile)
Language
Original language
Spanish
Original publication date
2000
ISBN
9780060936365