Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

Isabel Allende is a consummate storyteller. Her narrator in this novel is Violeta, born in an unnamed South American country in 1920 during the flu pandemic, who tells her story at age 100 during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Violeta tells us of her spoiled childhood, her English nanny (who also has a fascinating back story), her marriage, separation, affairs, and children. Of course, there are also the politics which dominate much of South America's history of the 20th century. Violeta acknowledges her many mistakes in judgement, but throughout her narrative, her strength and resilience shine through.

I didn't know what to expect going into this read - first time ready any work by the author - but very much enjoyed it!

Loved the first half of the book but the second half was a little too political for my taste. If you are a fan of Isabel Allende (and I am!), I'm sure you'll enjoy this book.

This was my first Isabel Allende book and she did a lovely job of showcasing a multigenerational story. The characters are vibrant and expansive. Definitely recommend.

Considering I'm a huge historical fiction fan, I'm a bit surprised that this is my first book by Isabel Allende.

I'm not sure how her other books are formatted/told, but this one reads almost like a memoir. Violeta was born during one global pandemic in the 1920's and was succumbing to old age in our most recent. Retelling the trials and tribulations of her historic life to her grandson in a letter, we learn all about her and what it took to survive.

I enjoyed this one for the most part, but at times I felt like it read a little flat when there should have been quite a bit more emotion, but that's just my two cents on it.

What will you see when you look back on your life?

Violetta was born during the Spanish Flu pandemic on a stormy day 1920 and at 100 years old during the coronavirus pandemic she is writing to her grandson as her life winds down.

This is an epic story about a woman who overcame obstacles and has an inner strength, intelligence and find a way to live life on her terms. I enjoyed following her through her life of love and loss.

Thank you to Netgalley, Isabelle Allende and Ballantine Books for this ARC (I am sorry for the late review. I immensely enjoyed the story and needed time to savor it before I could put into words my thoughts)

A saga that looks back on the eventful 100 year life of Violeta. This book was hard to put down. Just when you thought that you were to a stopping point, something new would happen that would keep you reading.

The premise of this book sounded so intriguing, but the plot felt two-dimensional to me. The scope of the book was wide, but the depth of the events felt shallow. I cannot really say the importance of the plot or the narrator’s story; it could have been anyone’s story. Her writing can be very beautiful at times.

I loved this book, I found myself so invested in Violeta's story. The book reads like a memoir of the life of a fascinating woman. If you enjoy female centralized memoirs, epic family tales, character-driven plots about life, love, family, and what it is like to be a woman.

Parts of it like her upbringing on a farm in rural Chile felt so exotic and foreign but fascinating to watch, this formerly wealthy young girl and her family adapt to this life. How easily she does while older family members struggle.
In the middle chunk of the book, we see Violeta fall in and out of love, multiple times, get married and divorced, and struggle with an abusive relationship and motherhood. In this part of the book I found myself relating so strongly to Violeta (partly I am sure because this is the part of life I am in) her experiences and feeling are so universal. She experiences love and heartbreak and makes decisions both good and bad, repeatedly sometimes, but this I what makes her character feel so real.
The last part is of course focused on her later years, Struggling with what she feels is having failed as a mother, while also finally being happy and healthy, independent, finding healthy relationships, we see her take in her grandson and try to redeem her failed motherhood in caring of him.
In the background of all this is a country in turmoil with governments being built and collapsing and hard times for many, but these events definitely are very much in the background to Violeta's life.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book, it is not my usual read, but I found myself quickly drawn in, and though at times the pace could be a little slow, I still wanted to keep reading more about Violeta and her life..

This book was only ok for me. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and I felt like I wanted to read more about Violeta’s emotions. Rather than a letter to someone she loves, this may have been more successful as diary entries so she could be more candid. I think if you like novels about the changes someone sees in their lifetime, especially in South America, you may enjoy this book. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first foray into Isabel Allende, but I am not sure it was indicative of her larger body of work. The written letters format started to feel very clinical toward the end, and something about the story lacked heart for me. That said, there were still moments of beauty and I'm intrigued enough to want to try something else of hers.

A beautiful book! Main character writes a letter to her grandson and just explains the things that had happened to her when growing up. She also explains what has happened to her mother. Overall this was a good descriptive book with what happened to her. There’s a lot of memories and historic event she came to witness. Definitely worth reading.

Although I do wish that Allende would vary up her style a little, I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed Violeta, which chronicles the title character's life. As always with Allende, there are twists and turns, and I loved the way she incorporated history into the story.

Even though I suspect her next book will be similar, I will always be excited for a new Allende novel.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Violeta is a beautiful, heartfelt journey covering the 100 years of Violeta Del Valle’s life. A compelling take on a women’s life at the turn of the century in South America, Violeta follows its main character from her childhood trauma to married life and the romances and challenges that being a mother and a woman presented to her.

Written from the perspective from Violeta to her grandson, the narrator traces how each instance of her childhood, her young adulthood, built the foundation of customs, traditions and culture that so greatly influenced her life and the way she then in turn raised him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sweeping novel of a strong but flawed woman, not only acting as a leader in her family but in her town, her career and her surroundings. Both heart wrenching and and beautifully written, Violeta is another incredible Isabel Allende read to add to your arsenal.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group / Ballentine Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Violeta is an epic tale that spans, along with its protagonist, a century-long period that begins during the Spanish Flu and ends with our modern day pandemic. Technically, then, it is part of the growing body of pandemic literature, but as is always true for Allende’s novels, it is so much more.

I received a review copy, courtesy of Net Galley and Random House Ballantine, but had I not, I’d have found a way to read this glorious story anyway. It’s available to the public now.

Violeta is born to wealth and privilege, the only daughter in a large family. Schooled at home by a nanny, sequestered in a mansion with servants to do her bidding, she is unaware that her luxurious standard of living comes at a tremendous cost to others. Then the market drops, and her father, who has overextended himself with unwise investments, is ruined. Most of her brothers are already grown and gone, but one brother, Jose Antonio, had remained at home, groomed by their father to take over the business one day. “He was the model son, and he was sick of it.” After their father’s abrupt departure, Jose Antonio finds himself responsible for the family; with the local populace in a state of near insurrection, the only thing left to do is to take his family—including Violeta—and leave town. They remove themselves to a distant farm owned by poor but generous friends, and they learn to make do as they’ve never done before.

We follow Violeta through her early marriage to a German immigrant who was “so bland and boring that he inspired instant trust,” and then through a long, tempestuous relationship with a handsome thug named Julian, who makes his fortune in dark, horrible ways involving illegal substances, the CIA, and the Mafia. And here, Allende’s startling sense of humor is in full brilliant flower, as she describes his retrieval of ill gotten funds from the septic tank of their Florida home:

He pulled a filthy bag from the hole, dragged it to the kitchen and poured the contents out on the floor; rolls of wet bills covered in poop. Gagging, I saw that Julian planned to clean the money in our washing machine. “No! Don’t even think about it!” I shouted hysterically. He must’ve understood that I was willing to draw blood to stop him, because I’d instinctively grabbed the largest knife in the kitchen. “Okay, Violeta, calm down,” he begged, frightened for the first time in his life. He made a call, and a short while later we had two mafia goons at our disposal. We went to a laundromat and the gangsters paid everyone to leave. Then the men stood guard as Julian washed the poop-covered bills. After that he had to dry them and pack them in a bag. He brought me along because he had no idea how to operate the machines. “Now I understand what money laundering is…”

As with all or most of Allende’s protagonists, Violeta becomes a strong woman that can stand on her own, and who picks and chooses the men she wants to be with. She is beautiful, intelligent, and ends up with piles of her own money that she has earned in an ethical manner. And here is my one, very small issue with this book; just once I would like to see an Allende main character that doesn’t get rich, but is fine anyway.

I am late in reviewing this book, but it’s important not to try to rush through a story such as this one, because the literary alchemy Allende creates is the sort that must be appreciated at one’s leisure. Her novels are not page turners; they don’t try to be. Instead, Violeta is the sort of book you take with you on a spa date, or to your very own bathtub with bubbles, candles, and your favorite beverage.

Highly recommended to feminist readers that enjoy top quality literary fiction.

Violeta By Isabel Alende

A beautifully written story that spans 10 decades of the life and times of Violeta, a fiercely determined, strong-willed woman, who narrates us through her life's journey. The book starts out with Dear Camilo" and we soon come to realize this is the story Violeta is writing for Camilo. Who is Camilo? You won't find out until you are deep into the book and then, there is no stopping --buckle up for the ride!

As the book starts out in 1920, the narrator lets you know that she was born on one stormy Friday, and as you read on, you will understand that her life continued to be filled with stormy weather at every turn. She was the only girl in the large family of the Patriarch, Arsenio Del Valle.

The story speaks about the pandemic of that time period and how the Del Valle family combatted the disease. For the most part, they were locked in their large home, know as the Camellia House with their maids, cooks and washing women.

Arsenio decided early on that Violata, being his only daughter of his six children, needed an English governess-enter Miss Taylor. Miss Taylor plays an important role in not only Violeta's life, but also her brother Jose Antonio's life.

The story continues with the stock market crash of 1929, which proved to be extremely devastating to the family, both financially and personally. Fifty-seven years later, Camilo, as a teenager, sets out to dig through the past and unearth the family secrets.

The second phase of Violeta's long life, which her family referred to as Exile, had the family relocated to a semi-uninhabited province in the south, a landscape of vast cold forests, snowy volcanoes, ermerald lakes and raging rivers.

This well written tale, will illustrate for you Violeta's love escapades, her business acumen, her trek through motherhood and the losses of her family and friends. The journey really takes off when Violeta meets Julian, who she describes as "a spellbinding man, whom no one could ever compare to, because he had such an ability to captivate others, like a powerful magnet." This is one novel you don't want to miss.

This was truly a sweeping novel that span's the entire life of the main character, Violeta. The setting is somewhere in South America - interesting that the author never discloses the location but I suppose it allows for imagination and interpretation. Violeta is a lovely woman and is interesting enough for the whole book to be centered around. There are also quite a few intriguing characters that come in and out of her life throughout the book. The book covers so much life, so much history. One can only hope to truly experience life as Violeta did truly embracing all the joys and sorrows.

Violeta is the story of the life of a woman of that name. It is an amazing story, told by an amazing writer.

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.

“The fairy tale that all humans are equal before the law and in the eyes of God is a lie, Camilo. I hope you don’t buy into it. Neither the law nor God treats everyone the same. That is especially clear in this country.”

REVIEW•
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Isabel Allende’s new novel reads like a memoir- it is so intimate and detailed. Violeta is writing her life story as she nears death at 100 years old, her life bookended by the Spanish Flu and COVID pandemics. Though the South American country where her story occurs remains unnamed, it very much seems like Chile, and in the middle of her life, Violeta navigates her own societal role as her country descends into a brutal dictatorship.

Though it took a while to get into it, I enjoyed this book overall, and there is no doubt that Allende’s writing is stunning. I have been wanting to read “La Casa de los Espíritus” in Spanish for a long time and this has moved it higher up on my list.

Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for this eARC!

Beautiful story from the perspective of a woman born during the Spanish Flu pandemic and her final days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Per her usual gift, the novel is haunting and engaging.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of Isabel Allende's newest work, Violeta. This was the first book from Allende that I've attempted to read - I'm ashamed of that fact, but I was excited for this one! The premise sounded promising, but I started to get worried when multiple bookstagrammers posted negative reviews of this one, claiming it was difficult to get into and/or dull. I decided to give it a try for myself.

I'm sad to say that after just 5%, I DNF'ed this book. The story did not grip me at all and the writing felt very clinical. I could already tell that I would be unable to feel attached to the story's narrator; the writing was just bizarre. It did cross my mind that perhaps this was a translation issue more than a writing issue, but I simply could not continue.

I definitely still plan to read more of Allende's work in the future such as The House of the Spirits and A Long Petal of the Sea. Hopefully these reads will grasp my attention much more than Violeta.