𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲’𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻.

This novel is about two immigrant children growing up decades apart undergoing the trauma of upheaval from country, home, and family. The tale begins in 1938 with the Adlers living in Vienna as the Nazi’s are becoming more powerful and antisemitic policies are in effect. Rudolph, a family physician, and his wife Rachel, who teaches music to supplement their income, try their best to suppress their fears, to keep Samuel, their five-year-old son from understanding the enormity of what is happening. An observant, mature boy who possesses a rare musical genius, particularly on the violin, he cannot be shielded from the violence that is being unleashed upon their Jewish community, no one can. On the night of November 9th, during Kristallnacht (the November pogroms), their course is set, desperate to save her family Rachel knows her only choice is to send Samuel with other children on the Kindertransport train bound for England, despite her fear of the family splitting further apart. Making sure he can at least take his violin aboard; she tells him as soon as his dad gets home, they will be reunited in the pretty country of England and that she loves him. It is with great sacrifice and pain that she sees her only child off, forever. So begins his new life without his family, and the rest is a nightmarish history.

2019 Seven-year-old Anita Díaz alongside her mother Marisol escaped violent gangs in El Salvador, including a bad man who wanted to kill Marisol and made it to Arizona, despite being denied asylum, they entered illegally but not without injury. Marisol is detained and taken to a private prison in Texas, and soon Anita loses contact with her. A trial is set, but the child refuses to return to her dangerous country without her mother. Trapped in limbo, living in a group home for migrant children, she has a special way of seeing. She keeps hope alive and learns to cope with her loneliness and fears through conversations with her imaginary friend. She believes her angel will take them, and her mother once they are reunited, to Azabahar, a far better place than this world. Is everything she sees imaginary, or is she gifted? We learn about the trials of children like Anita and Samuel, things that would bring many adults to their knees. In time, Samuel and Anita come together, and he is reminded of the time in his life when he too had to say goodbye to his mother and was swallowed by the unknown. Samuel more than anyone experiences true compassion for the girl. It is a story about the plight of the displaced, what events force them to flee their homeland, and the resistance they are met with as well as the welcome some offer. It’s much harder to process thinking about children enduring it all, worse still when a parent isn’t there to comfort them. For both Samuel and Anita, it is endless, torturous waiting, left to imagine what has happened to their loved ones, and a child’s mind doesn’t harbor such darkness, as what happened to Samuel’s family after he fled. It is a book meant to be a voice for the children without country, disrupted lives trapped in a damaged immigration system through no fault of their own, those who have been forced to leave childhood behind too soon and how they carry their past forever, but with hope for a secure future.

Yes, read it.

Published June 6, 2023

Random House

I enjoyed this but admit it sometimes lost my interest. I appreciated the idea of tying two separate historical events together (protecting children during WWII and the current border crisis) but at times it felt disjointed. Overall a good read but not one that will stay with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Isabel Allende is a masterful storyteller, and this book is no exception. I love how she is able to weave timeline and characters together across time and the world. Each character is written so thoughtfully and beautifully, that the reader cannot help being pulled into the story. Honestly, I think everyone should read this book. It deserves to be considered a modern classic.

Isabel Allende’s THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME combines historical and contemporary timelines, family, and a touch of magic to weave a tale that kept me enthralled. Allende is skilled at storytelling and tackling the unexpected. The storylines seemed to be parallel without a place to intersect, but slowly they come together leaving you to wonder how it was done so smoothly.
I discovered Allende many moons ago, during my undergraduate career, in Spanish, and have been a fan and avid reader ever since. Her novels never disappoint.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#THEWINDKNOWSMYNAME #ISABELALLENDE #BALLANTINEBOOKS #ELVIENTECONOCEMINOMBRE

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- Allende has been a hit or miss author for me, but this one was a mix of both. Allende has a writing style that can swoon even the readers who don't pick up a book often, like a siren call, but what lacks for me is the characters. it depends on what novel, but this book, i felt disengaged from the characters, but not fully knowing why. overall, it's a decent book, but it is not my thing.

THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME was another winner by Isabel Allende, who writes beautiful stories with lyrical prose. She has a way with words and pulls you into a story and its characters immediately.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME.

This book broke my heart in the best way. I enjoyed following characters and exploring different time periods. This book was so tragic and sad, but I loved the exploration of human resilience and found family.

I really enjoyed this book. More than I was expecting to. Allende weaves multiple storylines together to creative a cohesive and powerful narrative focused on immigration, what it means to be human, and how we care for each other. We start in Austria in 1938 with Samuel’s story of separation from his parents and then follow Anita, in present day El Salvador who is also separated from her mother as they travel to the US. Helping Anita are Selena and Frank who add to the complexity and beauty of the story. I don’t want to give too much away about how all of these characters come together but I enjoyed how the author pulled them together and showed that beauty can come from ashes. But, we all have to pay attention and be moved to action.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Allende never fails to produce a work of relevance and her latest is another example.
The story begins in Austria and the plight of Samuel Adler, a Jewish man caught up in the horror of Nazism. Then, the plot switches gears and we are caught up in the current horror of immigration from Central America to the US. Yet, throughout the political and social upheavals of the past and the here and now, the humanity of people pervades. Moral principles prevail throughout the darkest times and those darkest times are brilliantly written.

Allende is a master storyteller and the beauty of her words brings the story home. The narrative stays with you long after you've finished the book.

I love Isabel Allende’s other books. This one has the same vibe and I was hook right at first. Unfortunately, as the story progressed, I had a hard time keeping interest. I was about 35% of the book and I can’t keep up. It was a DNF to me. The he plot line is very good I have to give that, even though I can’t tell how it ended. Slow burn and long narratives sometimes can be tricky.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

Thank you to Random House, Ballentine, and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

Isabel Allende has an incredible way of finding humanity in her stories of trial and tribulation. I know when I read her books that I will feel an incredible range of emotions. I especially loved The Wind Knows My Name because only she could take Nazi Germany, connect it with our current immigration crisis, and put together an incredible story of resilience, love, and human decency. Her characters are never perfect, but full of humanity and all that comes with it. Her books are tidy, with no extra fluff just to have fluff. You get the full story without it getting too much extra people or emotions; I love it.

Allende is always a must read and The Wind Knows My Name feels like another fabulous edition to her oeuvre.

Absolutely beautifully written. Allende weaves a touching story with a wonderful cast of characters. I highly recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC giveaway!

My love for historical fiction ebbs and flows. It always reignited with an Allende novel and this was no exception. The characters and emotions here are on par with her other stories so if you’re a fan you’ll love this one for sure!

Isabel Allende is a living legend, a literary genius and fierce defender of human rights, foremost of women and immigrants. The Wind Knows My Name is a novel that features the struggle of two generations of immigrants, those that came to the U.S. during the Holocaust, and those that are coming here now from Latin America. Allende moves us seamlessly from one set of characters to the next, and then back again.

My thanks go to Net Galley and Random House Ballantine for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

I have been reading Allende’s work for decades. To read her stories is to be transported. In this case, the protagonists include two small people designed to possess the human heart. Samuel is a Jewish violin prodigy, still quite small as this story unfolds; his parents send him to safety when the Nazi occupation of Vienna takes hold, thinking that they will square things away and join him later. Of course, they are never able to do that. Our present-day protagonist is Anita, a Guatemalan immigrant child that is nearly blind. She is separated from her family at the U.S. border, and does her best to stave off loneliness by talking to her sister, Claudia, who is dead.

On the one hand, Allende is, to my way of thinking, on the side of the angels here politically. She always is. But if this feels a bit lecture-like to me, a diehard fan, it seems unlikely that she will reach a lot of newer readers. Usually I bond with her characters and carry them around with me for some time after I have turned the last page, but this time I find I am watching the page numbers go by. The person I feel most affinity for is Samuel, the tiny child clinging to his precious violin, but he disappears quickly and when he returns, he is an old man. Another reviewer commented that too much is told here, and too little shown, and that sounds right to me. And as much as I love Samuel, I also am burned out on historical fiction set during World War II. I hope in her next project, the author will turn in another direction.

To Allende’s many devoted readers, this book is recommended with the above caveats.

I will read any book Isabel Allende wants to publish, forever. Her writing never fails to transport me to another time, place and culture, to teach me things I didn't know, and to make me think about the intricacies of cultural norms and relationships I otherwise wouldn't have. The Wind Knows My Name was, as always, beautifully written and filled with memorable characters. It was a bit more pointedly political in places than I felt it needed to be, but I suspect that's only because I agree with her point of view so thoroughly that I didn't need convincing.

Thank you Ballantine Books and Net Galley for the ARC! Isabel Allende's writing does not disappoint and her writing is beautiful, as you would expect. The story is so moving - I loved the evolution of the characters even though I found the different timelines a bit overwhelming at times. Really enjoyed this read and want to read it again!

A timely look at political turmoil and immigration. Allende does an exceptional job of drawing parallels to the experiences of her characters in two seemingly different time periods and historical moments. I was completely enthralled in all aspects of this novel and invested in each of the characters. I could not read it fast enough. I sincerely hope that this novel finds a wide audience. It is really great.

I enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was really well done. It made you want to keep reading.

This is the second book I've read by Allende and certainly not the last. The storyline spans the 1940s (WWII) to 2022 (post-Covid) and the story moved quickly. I was worried that the storyline moved so quickly that I would not have time to get attached to the characters but that was not the case. You have plenty of time to fall in love with each character and will be moved by each character's life.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In Allende’s latest novel, she introduces us to Samuel, an octogenarian whose mother made the excruciating decision to send him out of Vienna on the Kindertransport to England in 1938.

We also meet 8 year old Anita who fled violence in El Salvador in 2019 with her mother only to be brutally separated from her in Nogales under Trump’s barbaric border reform laws.

While over 80 years separate these two situations, there are more parallels and commonalities not only in their life stories but that occurred in Nazi controlled Europe and corrupt, guerrilla infested El Salvador than one would want to believe.

Overall this book didn’t read like Allende wrote it. The characters were all so flat and the writing felt very listy and boring. Super disappointed.