Violeta is born in 1920 in an unnamed country in South America. The war is not long over, and the Spanish flu is just taking hold. The story is written as a letter to a loved one, but the identity of the person is not revealed until much later in the story.
She lives in the city and her family is well off, so Violeta is fairly happy as a child. They hire a young woman from Ireland to be her nanny/governess. When the depression hits, her family loses everything and must escape to live with some relatives in the country. Through it all, Violeta adapts and mostly thrives.
She lives for over 100 years and dies during the current pandemic. So she sees another world war, as well as political upheaval in her country. Along the way she falls in love, and out of love, maybe a couple of times. She remains close to her family and always helps them when she can.
It is a beautiful story and was so easy to read. Allende just has a way of writing that makes you fly through the pages. I should probably give some credit to the translator, as Violeta was originally written in another language. Spanish? I'm not sure. But it reads so incredibly easily. I will read anything Allende writes.
If you've never read anything by Allende, Violeta is a good place to start, although I also really loved Daughter of Fortune. In any case, I highly recommend this author.
Published by Ballentine, January 25, 2022
eARC obtained from NetGalley
336 pages
eARC obtained from NetGalley
336 pages
Rating: 4.5/5
Glad you enjoyed this so much; I have this one to read soon.
ReplyDeleteI have only tried to read one Allende book and had a difficult time with the magical realism. Does this one have that, too?
ReplyDeleteThis one does not. I think I’ve read three of hers, and I don’t recall any of those having anything magical.
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