what a beautiful story and tribute. Allende keeps getting better. This was such a gorgeous story with unforgettable characters and great love.

This is my first novel to read by Isabel Allende. A sweeping saga of a woman who lives a span of 100 years (1920-2020). Born in South America during the Spanish Flu Pandemic and ends during the Covid Pandemic. Love, romance, natural disasters, political uprisings, violence, domestic abuse, illegal operations, Violeta experiences it all. The story is told as a journal type letter to a Camilo, a much loved one. Memories compiled to tell of a century of life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for sharing an ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy Isabel Allende storytelling style. She evokes time and places that is so convincing. The main character Violeta is fleshed out so well as her family members and lovers. A good curl up and read the day away sort of book.

This was my first Isabel Allende novel and I was excited to read it. It covers the life story of Violeta. Born in a small south American country, she lives through not one but two pandemics, the Spanish Flu and Coronavirus, Historical fiction is my favorite genre, especially a meaty saga, I finished this a few days ago and I'm still trying to figure out how I felt about it. On the surface it ticked all my boxes, sweeping saga full of interesting characters, politics, family drama and historical events. But for some reason, I had no problem putting this book down for a days at a time and really had no vested interest in any of the characters. I didn't hate it, not did I love it. It seemed like a story someone was telling me as opposed to a story I was experiencing, if that makes any sense. I can't say I'd recommend it but I also can't say for sure if it was simply a case of wrong time, wrong place. I'm giving it 3 stars but would have done if 3 1.2 if that were an option.

Violeta is a compelling saga, told in classic Allende style. This sweeping tale chronicles the life of a woman who witnesses deep social change and blistering political subjugation over her century-long life in South America. The writing is richly layered and the story is compelling.

Curl up on the couch with this great read! I was so involved in the story that when my husband opened my office door I jumped in my seat from being taken out of Violeta's world and then leapt back in as soon as possible.

This review will be posted on January 22, 2022 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

Believe it or not, this was my first time reading Isabel Allende. (I know. I'm questioning my life choices up until now too.) The novel takes the form of a manuscript the titular Violeta Del Valle is writing: the story of her life. The manuscript reads like an oral history she is telling to Camilo, the person she loves most in this world. Who Camilo is only becomes clear as you fall wholeheartedly into Violeta's epic life. Her life spans 100 years, from birth during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1920 to death in the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. This novel was beautifully written. It was lush, epic, and filled with rich detail. Allende writes with powerful prose that is so effective and so impactful, it doesn't require much ornamentation. (That said, there were a small handful of moments when I wish I knew more about how Violeta felt, rather than her just telling us what happened to her, but I suppose that's a result of the novel's format.) Also, there were a few instances of the novel feeling a bit like a history textbook; this isn't called out to malign the real events represented, but to wonder if those events would merely be recited by someone who lived through them? In all though, I adored the time I spent with this novel. Allende gave us dynamic and sharply defined characters. The primary and secondary characters were unforgettable and I couldn't help but care deeply for (most of) them. #Violeta Rating: 😊 / really liked it
•
This book is scheduled for publication on January 25, 2022. Thank you Ballantine Books and @randomhouse for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a fan of Isabel Allende and will read nearly everything she writes. Here we have the story of a woman’s long life lived in interesting times in South America. She lives with passion through loss and love, and speaks with insight about both of those things and about turbulent political changes. The life is well-imagined.
It’s the form of the storytelling that does not work for me. I look for a strong sense of place in my reading. This story is told in a very long letter to a relative. Thus, it’s in first person with so many references to a you we can’t identify through most of the book that it can almost seem as if it’s in second person at times. Second person can be annoying to read. Also, by definition, it’s a tell, not show form which takes a sense of immediacy away. I felt as if I was reading the whole thing through a gauzy fabric. That it works as well as it does is a testament to Allende’s mastery, but this is not my favorite work by her.
I received a free ARC of this novel. This is my completely honest opinion.

Like most Allende, I lost sleep reading this novel. It takes place mostly in Chile and at times in the United States as well as Norway. Even Argentina is mentioned. It is a beautiful and descriptive novel about the life, from birth to death of the titular character of Violeta del Valle. Her loves; familial, romantic and life passions. I really enjoyed it but for me, it’s hard not to love Allende’s writing as she is in my top three favorite authors of all time. If you’ve ever enjoyed her work, this one will win you over as well. I liked how Violeta took responsibility for her failings but also thought on them and tried to be better.

Allende is brilliant, again.

She tells an intricately woven saga in the voice of the main character, Violeta, who is (mostly) sympathetic. In fact, none of the characters is perfect or one-dimensionally horrid.

The story begins when Violeta was a young child and moves chronologically through her life, except for some backgrounding sections of the other characters and the perilous political environment they endured. Their relationships ran the gamut between abusive and affirming, but all deeply felt and richly portrayed. The ending is exquisitely poignant.

Somehow, Allende brings together internationality, geopoltical shifts, political environments, people with widely diverse backgrounds, limitations, views, values and life experiences into a coherent, believable story. It should be recommended reading for students of history and cultures.

I have enjoyed several books by Isabel Allende. I appreciate her ability to craft wonderful characters and her flowing descriptions of life in South America and it’s history. That said, I didn’t really take to this book.

Told in an epistle format, it starts out strong. Violeta is born on a stormy night in 1920, during the Spanish flu pandemic. Her personality is fairly subdued in her early years. But once she meets Julian Bravo, she learns to live passionately (in both love and anger). We watch her family live through the Great Depression, wars, political upheaval, and other events in history. Violeta experiences love, loss, oppression, heartache, and rebirth in her 10 decades.

It was around the time of the great earthquake that my interest began to wane. I didn’t find many characters to cling to in this one and didn’t love Violeta. I found the chronological layout boring, to be honest. It felt like I was reading a history textbook. She’s a writer I admire and I will continue to read her work, but I wouldn’t recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for sharing an ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

I really wish I could give this book a better review but it felt like the author wanted to tell us a history lesson by weaving a story of a family into it. A little bit too unrealistic for one woman to experience so much.

I really enjoyed this book and the beautiful writing. It is a book based on family, friends, love, and heartache. The characters are well developed and there are many strong female characters, including Violeta herself, who I felt was "ahead of her time", as we like to say these days.
The novel is written as a letter from Violeta to Camilo reminiscing about her lifetime spanning over 100 years. Her life starts during the Spanish Flu and ends with Corona Virus. Violeta describes in her letter how the way of living in her country changes over time, the political power struggles over the years, and the people she meets along her journey and how they have shaped her life.
One thing that stands out to me is that we can always look back to history and see that life revolves cyclically. Many events that happened in the book are not much different to what we are experiencing today.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

⭐⭐⭐.4
This is my 6th author, Isabel Allende novel. Totally loved "he Japanese Love" and" Daughter of Fortune"..
I recently read “A Long Petal of the Sea” which, of course, was good. However, a different writing style than her other stories. This story is somewhat similar to that novel. The two novels I mentioned are still on the top of my fav list.
Violeta del Valle was born in 1920 and lived to be 100 years old ~ she lived as they say ‘A life well lived’. She experienced the Great Depression and two pandemics ~ the Spanish Flu as well as Covid.

This historical fiction is based on several true events.
Story is told by Violeta in letters to her grandson Camilo.
Perhaps this story is similar to Isabel Allende, who was born in 1942 in Lima, Peru.
Her fans are going to just loves this. True a few of us miss her original stories.

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 25, 2022.

I find all of Isabelle Allende’s books to be extremely well written, and she never fails to educates me about a completely different culture in a time in history that I know little about. Violeta is no different. Narrated by a 100 year old Violeta in the form of a letter to her grandson, we learn about her life in an unnamed South American country, and what a life it was! Since Allende is a political person, we read about military takeovers and right wing governments that have caused an incredible amount of violence during her lifetime, from 1921 to 2021.
What saves the book from being a history lesson is the story of her love life, her children, friends and family. Her descriptions of the cities and rural places Violeta lived, her family sagas, and her wide range of complex character development in this book compelled me to read the book in a few days. I did not want to put it down.

Masterfully written! The descriptions were written so vividly and realistically, everything felt very real. Violeta was such a great main character; headstrong, ambitious, and determined. I felt a rollercoaster of emotions as she recounts her experiences amid global events such as the Spanish Flu and the Great War; with Isabel Allende’s prose, it was hard to not to feel sympathetic. The backstories for the side characters made them feel more real. Even if some had minimal dialogue, you would know their personality and what they were good at. The ending was fitting, only a bit underwhelming for me.

Gorgeously written as always. There’s something about Isabel Allende’s writing that once I start I find it difficult to stop. Like A Long Petal of the Sea, this is a realistic historical novel that weaves personal history alongside that of global history. The story spans a hundred years (1920 - 2020) – beginning and ending with a pandemic – and is told through letters written by Violeta Del Valle to a man named Camilo.

The book isn’t much on the plot, it’s more like a legacy. It’s Violeta narrating her life experiences in South America. Isabel Allende wrote everything so smoothly and vividly, I felt like I was there with her. The story itself was intense, often heartbreaking and nostalgic. I don’t think this would have worked had Violeta not been such a great main character; had she not been so ambitious, headstrong, and determined to have her way. Her putting men in their respective places was one of the best things in this book. For each place in South America she visits, the cultures and customs were also very much distinct; so were the family dynamics, sometimes it drove me crazy. The side characters were well-written, the backstories provided for each made them feel more real and made me more sympathetic to some, incredibly mad at others. There was something here I didn’t expect to see in a novel like this but I was happy for its inclusion! (don’t want to say what it is, may be a spoiler). However, there were instances in this book wherein I felt bothered, although it’s nothing I haven’t already read in A Long Petal of the Sea. As for the ending, it was satisfying but left me a bit underwhelmed. Despite that, I thought this was a very heart-wrenching, thought-provoking read. I think this will stay with me awhile.

I have been a fan of Isabel Allende for some years. Her books always manage to mesmerize me and “Violeta” is not an exception to that rule?

What an enchanting story. The long life of an extraordinary woman; her experiences with the “disappearing” in Argentina, her many loves and lovers, her work for the benefit of women. What an amazingly well lived lived 100 years of life the main character in this story lead! Written as a long, last, letter from Violeta to her grandson (who she raised), the books radiates pain, sorrow, joy, and the everyday struggles that mark the lives of everyday women.

As always with this author, my only complaint is that the book ended too soon! I am grateful to the publisher for granting me the delight to red this powerful novel early.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for the chance to celebrate this deftly written, expansive novel Violeta is the newest book from an established and justifiably celebrated Isabel Allende. Despite being a life long reader and fan of literary fiction and women writers, I actually did not read my first book from this author until last year but was an immediate fan of her writing. Violeta, written as a letter to her love, allows for a captivating examination of her life over 100 years, which means that the reader leaves with a full understanding of this character, her life, and her reflections. I am in awe of a writer who can write with such elegant vividness and create a world and realistic characters with words; this is a book that I am still thinking about after finishing it last night and, given a busy work week, that speaks to how much the writing moved me.

What stood out for me is the sense of connection that this book brought to me, a connection from pandemic to pandemic that never felt draining or hard to process but instead allowed for an examination of what it means to live during and through these times, what it means to not give in or give up when days and the world are filled with turmoil and unease. I appreciate a strong female protagonist and Violeta stands out as confident, nuanced, and vibrant, a woman who explored business, love, motherhood and her own place in her world during a time when women faced many challenges and barriers. I am a reader who also truly appreciates multi generational sagas, family dramas, and character driven stories that recognize the importance of the time in which the character lived. Reading such a well written novel from new to me favorite writer is a reward in itself but to have a book that captures so many themes and characters that resonate with me is an unexpected treasure.

This book reflects so much of why I love to read and why literary fiction and multigenerational sagas should be celebrated. I am grateful that I can have the chance to support this book with my reviews.

where to find my reviews for this book now and closer to publication date:
I will be sharing my appreciation and love for this wonderful book on instagram, my blog and book review sites. I am also an affiliate of bookshop.org and will add this book to my recommended upcoming books and my own personal favorites list. I will also be recommending this to my literary fiction book club as a must read next year and adding it to my personal friends and family book club reading list as well.

This is a beautifully relevant book in our current Covid world. The characters each perfectly written and serving the appropriate purpose in Violeta’s narrative of her life. I will highly recommend this book to all my book loving friends!