This is the story of Violeta, her life framed between the Spanish flu pandemic of 1920 and the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The story is written as a letter to a loved one.

Isabel Allende is such a master storyteller! Her writing is precise, blunt, funny at times and always touching. Through her lines she intertwines the coming of age story of Violeta, her family, her personal relationships and their interesting dynamics, with the sociopolitical situation in Chile during those 100 years. She does not sugar coat any passages.

Violeta's recount of her life is sincere and unapologetic. There are as many harsh themes in the book as one can think of, and then some more. There is political persecution and poverty, drugs and prostitution, mafia, love, domestic abuse, there is also beauty and friendship, love and passion, understanding and plenty history lessons. Violeta's life is so complex that it makes everybody else's look dull and simple by comparaison, not a bad outcome.

A very emotional novel, that reads fast.

I enjoyed the read and would like to thank @NetGalley @ballantine @randomhouse for the opportunity of reading this ARC #Violeta[EnglishEdition]

Violeta by Isabel Allende. A multi- generational saga of historical fiction is the 100 year life story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman born in 1920 in South America. The story is narrated through an epistolary monologue between Violeta and her grandson.

In typically candid Allende style, the vivid narration takes you through the history of an unnamed country in South America, through the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, the rise and fall of democracies, the terrors of a military coup and a dictatorial regime, earthquakes, women's liberation movements and eventually the Covid pandemic. We follow her rising and falling fortune, her passionate love stories and her inimitable zest for life in the face of adversity.

The book is 400 plus pages but it's an easy fast-paced read. It was all the more special for me because I received an advance reader copy from @netgalley.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, multigenerational family sagas and stories about strong, independent women striving for success against all odds then look no further - this is the book for you!!
The book releases on 25th January,
2022. Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollinsbooks for the ARC

Thanks to Random House/Ballantine for my opportunity to read an ARC of Isabel Allende's Violeta.

The saga begins with Violeta Del Valle's birth in 1920 and ends one hundred years later, both events taking place during a world-wide pandemic. Violeta is the sixth child and only girl born into a wealthy family living in a South American "country of catastrophes." At the end of her life Violeta recounts her sometimes tumultuous experiences via letters written to her beloved Camilo.

After surviving the Spanish Flu pandemic her family is ruined during the Great Depression and goes into Exile living in a remote, rural area far from her family home. Despite the reduced circumstances her childhood ultimately provides the ability to face future challenges. She marries twice, has many love affairs and one common law marriage which produces two children and several grandchildren. Though never attending formal school Violeta becomes an astute business woman in later life partnering with her eldest brother.

Catastrophes abound in the course of Violeta's life, both personal and public. Her country is ravaged by earthquakes, political upheaval, poverty, misogyny, racism, war and corruption. She suffers through an abusive relationship, strained relationships with her children and more but in the end remains unbowed by the catastrophes of life.

Isabel Allende has written an expansive, harshly beautiful novel detailing the highs and lows of the last hundred years. The themes she highlights are numerous and daunting making the reader wonder if this is a cautionary tale for us to finally learn from. Fans will not be disappointed with this latest literary offering. Readers new to her work will certainly become fans as well.

Violeta was born in 1920, during the time the Spanish flu hit. The story is written in letter form from the 90 year old Violeta to her Grandson, Camilo. She tells him of the stock market crash that brought her family to financial ruin, causing her father to commit suicide. We learn about her greatest loves and her greatest losses. She talks about her governess who transformed her into the woman she became and she writes about her journey from a life of wealth to living in poverty.

This is a coming of age story, both for Violeta and her family. It has the most wonderful and jaw dropping twists and turns. If ever I could write a book, I hope it would be half as good as this. Five stars for this poignant, beautifully written story of one family’s saga through all of their trials and tribulations. Bravo.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

“Violeta,” told in the form of a long letter written by the protagonist, Violeta, to Camilo, (whose identity is not revealed until later in the book), recounts the 100 years of Violeta’s life, beginning in 1920, during the Spanish Flu epidemic, and ending in 1920, with the Coronavirus Pandemic. The book covered a range of experiences, from her childhood, her brief marriage to a veterinarian from a German immigrant family, her long and painful relationship with a black market pilot who was an abusive womanizer, and historic events such as the casinos in pre-Castro Cuba, the various revolutions and dictatorships in Chile, as well as earthquakes, deaths, etc.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked the book, particularly since the first quarter dealt at length with the minutiae of Violeta’s childhood. However, I suddenly realized that I was thinking about the characters and events depicted in the book hours after I had put it down. This was probably due in part to the fact that despite the limitations of a letter as the type of narration, the author was still able to convey the intricacies of character for most of the numerous individuals featured in the book. Moreover, the events described above, including the impact on the characters, proved a fascinating read.

In sum, although the book included a lot of details about many characters and events, the book was still able to hold my interest once I had made it past the first quarter of the book, when the story finally began to pick up momentum. If readers are patient with the slow beginning, they will be rewarded by a richly told tale full of vivid characters and compelling Latin American historical events.

(Note: I have read many of Isabel Allende’s books, including some in Spanish, so I was thrilled when NetGalley and Ballentine Books provided me an ARC copy of the book in exchange for my review.)

I tried really hard to get into this book. I love historical fiction. But this story left me feeling flat. There was no climax. Just a retelling of someone’s story. Which I usually enjoy.

Random House|Ballantine Books 😘
WoW Thank You again for the opportunity to read yet again another amazing story!

Violeta by Isabel Allende is beyond beautiful and entertaining.
This is one of the best fictions I’ve read this year!
This was a completely engaging, beautiful, outstanding story!
The style of the storytelling is nearly flawless in every way possible.
I was immediately drawn into the historical fiction parts. Very fascinating.
And held my attention from the very page!
Violeta is one hell of A woman. And her story is beautiful!

I can't thank the publisher, NetGalley and Author for the chance to read this novel!.
I will post to my platforms closer to pub date!

Another beautiful, thoughtful and captivating book by Isabel Allende. This was a great way to learn history as well and see how it affected the lives of the characters in the book. It is singular in its vision and on whose history it is about. An enjoyable read!

Violeta is born in South America as the youngest child to a family with five older boys, at the time in history just after the Great War and during the time of the Spanish flu epidemic.
She lives 100 years and dies in 2020 when coronavirus hits. Even after a century of living..at the end she says “where did those hundred years go?”
This story is told by Violeta to a loved one, and it doesn’t hold anything back..her passionate affairs, heartbreak, poverty, wealth, devastating losses, and the political upheavals she’s been witness to.
I really enjoyed the book, especially the first half which was more about herself with her family and close friends.
The second half became a little bogged down by all the political upheavals and other events in history..
Nevertheless, an engaging story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC!

4 stars

Violeta by Isabel Allende tells the life of a South American woman named Violeta del Valle. The book is set up as a letter to the mysterious Camilo. The reader does eventually discover who Camilo is to Violeta, but I won’t spoil it in the review.

Violeta describes her life as being framed by two pandemics. She was born in 1920 during the Spanish flu outbreak and died in 2020 during the covid 19 outbreak. Her comparisons of the two pandemics was very interesting given current events. The book is divided into four parts each covering a different time period in Violeta’s life. The parts are labeled exile, passion, absence, and rebirth. Violeta did not have an easy life. She suffered, but she also had a lot of love. Her story was beautiful, tragic, and inspirational.

I love Isabel Allende’s writing. I will automatically read anything that she writes ever since I read House of the Spirits in high school. I love her descriptions. The way that she writes about her characters’ experiences are always so thought provoking and emotional. She often includes strong female characters and Violeta is no exception. I highly recommend this book.

I was invited to read an ARC of Violeta [English Edition] by Isabel Allende. #VioletaEnglishEdition #NetGalley

4.5 Stars

Violeta entered the world in 1920, the youngest of five children, and the only daughter, during the years of the pandemic that began in 1918, and arrived in South America the year she was born. Soon after, the Great Depression will follow, and their family will settle in a more isolated area, where she spends her childhood, and where she will meet her first sweetheart.

As the story of her life and the life of her family is shared, her personal life is filled with the history of those years whose effects were felt by many, the inequality of the times, the losses and her personal heartbreaks. The Women’s Suffrage Movement had finally made progress in America, which shaped the course of women’s rights beyond those borders.

This story is shared in an epistolary style, she shares her life’s story with a loved one, it covers the hundred years of her life, the memories of her parents, the memories of those she loved, and those she lost, as well. Men she loved for their friendship and caring, and those she loved more intimately. Her children, the struggles and frustrations that went with raising them, and the intensity of her love for them despite the paths they took.

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 women's rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and ultimately not one, but two pandemics.

While she shares her story, the story of the changes in the world during these hundred years is also shared, as well as her regrets, her confessions and her love for the gift of this life, despite the heartbreaks that are inevitably included.

A lovely and inspiring story of a woman filled with a passion for life, lived on one’s own terms.


Pub Date: 25 Jan 2022


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books

A wonderfully vibrant and colorful new novel for Isabel Allende and historical fiction fans. I enjoyed learning about Chile and its culture and history through this story but I wasn't as emotionally invested or attached to the characters as I would have liked. I feel like that is a trait of historical fiction though. This novel covers a large breadth of time and history so it's certainly eventful and interesting, but it would have been nice to know a bit more about the characters' motivations and reflections on what was happening at the time. Regardless, it's still a good and worthwhile read.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital eARC. This book was SO GOOD! OMG I have not read a book this in a very long time. This is one great author. The details. The history involved. The characters. So true to life and so vividly detailed! The story lines were just wonderful. It was a really wonderful book. The end had me in tears.

This book provides quirky characters, nods to the present through the telling of history, dramatic turns of events, and passion galore. Although there are plenty of heavy moments, the overall tone of the story still manages to be fairly positive. Overall, an enjoyable read by a wonderful author.

Gorgeous, this novel traces a family through one woman’s voice. Allende’s magical realism is here, yet subtle. It’s in the ways her characters interact. This novel is lushly presented. Readers are on this journey with our main character through major life events.

My take: 4 out of 5. I was very excited to get an ARC copy to check out Isabel Allende's new book, and found it interesting to check her out in English as Ive only previously read her in spanish. This An epic tale expanding the life of a woman that is 100 years old, it falls very much in line of Isabel Allendes Books, lots of family and historical drama intertwined and with the Chilean political system at a lamplight. However, unlike long petal of the sea, which tended to drag on and be a bit tedious, this book was a breeze to read and the characters very engaging. I also loved the pandemic bookmarks of the storytelling, between two pandemics, which made it relevant and telling of the time, without digging to much into it (which has become a PTSD thing for me in book). Definitely recommend it for fans of Isabel Allende and of Historical Fiction.

This book is a look at the last 100 years from the lens of a 100 year old woman who has spent her life in an unnamed South American country as well as the USA. It’s Allende so the prose is fantastic, and overall I really liked it. The ending got a bit cliche for me, but I would definitely recommend

Epic. Spectacular. Compelling. Allende at her best!

From the first pages, Violeta drew me in. The writing is captivating and the story is so engaging. I wanted to know 'what's next' and had trouble putting it down!

This is a story of Violeta's life... it is one very long and loving letter written to someone she deeply loves. The story includes Chilean history (which I knew very little about) and bookends the life of Violeta tucked between two pandemics. It is brilliant and I found that bit of irony so perfect and gave an incredible glimpse into the unique life Violeta lived. If you think a person cannot change, this book will show you that change is absolutely possible... you just have to want it with everything in your being.

I want to thank NetGalley, Ballantine, and Random House for this ARC and this is my unbiased review of this book.

I highly recommend it! Really... this is a must read book!

Interesting historical fiction told from the perspective of Violeta Del Valle, a Chilean woman nearing the end of her life and sharing her story with a beloved relative. Violeta's life is bookend by two pandemics--influenza in 1920, and COVID in 2020. In between, she shares her experience of the Great Depression, wars, military coups and dictatorships, natural disasters, personal loves and tragedies, and social justice movements.

I wish this history came with a bit more self-reflection from Violeta. While I feel like I learned a lot about Chilean history, which was presented as the driving action for certain developments in her life, when it came to her (fictional) life, I don't know what lessons I was meant to take away because I was limited by what she did (or more often, did not) learn. Without that, it sometimes felt like a series of "and then this happened, and then this happened."

That said, it was generally entertaining and a colorful, detailed narrative that will appeal to Allende fans and those who love stories set against compelling historical backdrops.

Violeta is another Allende tour de force. While you are reading, you ARE Violeta. You see everything through her eyes, and she is a keen observer, as is Allende herself. There is no soft-pedal of the difficult situations that populate Violeta’s life, but this is by no means a depressing novel. For me, rather than depressed, I found myself intrigued, wanting to know what happens next. Isabel Allende is, above all things, a wonderful writer. Violeta is worth reading for the writing alone. But read it also for the story of an engrossing life. You won’t regret it.