3.5 rounded up
Violeta - 100 years old - tells her life story in one long, dialogue-less letter to her grandson. It's an interesting story, but it's 100 years long! At the end, she would say something like "I almost forgot I was married to that man in my youth" and I had the same thought - "I almost forgot that too! Feels like 60 years ago!" I loved that it opened with the plague in 1920 and ended with covid. I found I couldn't just leave it - I wanted to know what happened. Definitely felt like an memoir & that was well done.

This book was really boring for me. I tried to get into the story several times but the way it was written was just not for me. It was dull most of the time even the points where things did happen it was told in such a blank way that it wasn't interesting enough to keep reading. I got halfway through until I dnf'd it . This was the first I've read of this author but I don't feel like the writing style is for me. I may pick it up in the future but I don't have a desire to now. Disappointed because this was one of my most anticipated books of the year but it was just not enjoyable for me.

A beautifully written masterpiece. I will remember Violeta Del Valle for a long time.
If you enjoy sweeping family sagas, this book is for you.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.#Violeta/English Edition#NetGalley

Born into one pandemic and lived to see the next, Violeta is one heck of a woman and the book reads as her personal retelling towards the end of her life. A lot can happen in a century and Violeta is witness to history throughout her life. While at times it read a bit like the rattling off of events and people, it’s full of colorful characters and puts forth the (radical!) idea that people change throughout their life, learning and growing based on their experiences. My only qualm with the book was that the last 3/4 read like a wrap up of the characters - like the epilogue of a movie. I kept assuming it was the end only to find more chapters to follow.

I’m an Isabel Allende super fan, but have missed her intricate, multi-generational sagas. Luckily, Violeta has arrived, and it’s everything you want from a true Allende epic. I couldn’t read this fast enough, but was also so sorry to turn the last page.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing. Absolutely loved it. I very, very rarely read a book twice, but I'd read this one again. I only wish I'd kept a character list, as there were a ton of people and intertwining relationships to keep track of.

Looking back on her 100-year life in a narration directed to her grandson, Violeta, is unapologetic in the non-traditional life she had. Her father committed suicide and thrust the family into bankruptcy. Fleeing to a rural area farm, she grows up and married a German immigrant, but finding him boring she begins an affair with a handsome pilot. Although the country is unnamed, it has to be Chile, and her life documents the events which lead to the rise of a dictator and the Dirty War. Violeta remains with her lover for many years, has two children with him and suffered mental and physical abuse before finally leaving him for good. What is remarkable about Violeta is her ability not to hide what many would consider an adulterous life but shows how the double-standard was reflected on female behavior but not male behavior. Along with her personal life, she reflects on how her search for financial independence led her to accept an evil regime for personal gain. But seeing her daughter die after a life of drug addiction and raises her grandson as her own child, Violeta realizes that others were not as fortunate as she was, and she uses her wealth to help others. Her one hundred years of wisdom show in her declaration that if you want to help others you need money.

This lyrically lush historical fiction by Isabel Allende is my first dip into her extensive collection of written works, and it most certainly won’t be my last. Violeta, Allende’s most recent book, originally caught my eye because of the vivid cover and the expansive synopsis.

Written as a long letter to a “mysterious” loved one, Violeta del Valle, begins with her birth in in South America in 1920 and covers the next 100 years of her life in this narrative format. Violeta’s life story includes many extraordinary events during this time period: two pandemics, the Great War, the Great Depression, the fight for women’s rights, the rise and fall of tyrants.

It’s historical fiction at its finest. A fascinating way to highlight significant events that helped shape our today, but through the dynamic lens of a woman who is passionate, determined, fiercely loyal to those she loves and to a country that she calls home. Make sure you have that box of tissues handy because this book is emotional and inspiring.

If you are a fan of gorgeously written, epic historical fiction narratives, then I’m sure you will enjoy Violeta by Isabel Allende.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this opportunity to read and review.

In 2020, in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, Violeta del Valle, who is now 100 years old and in her last days, writes to her grandson Camilo recounting her life story.
Born in Chile in 1920 during the Spanish Flu pandemic, there is a just inevitability that a century of war, struggle, discrimination, marriages, good, evil, selflessness, challenges, depression, love, loss, happiness and accomplishment should end when the world is in the midst of a global pandemic.
Violeta has lived her life fully. A life exquisitely captured by the events of her country and Violeta’s journey.

Isabel Allende is a master at weaving compelling stories and characters. She sucks you into their world and you keep turning the pages marvelling at the words. The story is told by the letters written to her grandson and the world comes alive.

This is an intense, gripping and dramatic saga which is a brilliant read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This sweeping epic covers so much, and it was a thrilling whirlwind of a read. From the love and complexities of a family, to war, race, gender and sexuality, this tale is told as a memoir in the form of a familial love letter, spanning a century from the early of days the Spanish civil war, to the present day.

Covering a head-spinning number of remarkable historical events - the Great War, the so-called Spanish flu, the rise of drug cartels, Cuba, US involvement with the Cold War - Allende delves into implications of these events globally on the women's movement, drug culture, and other pivotal movements that shaped history.

Violeta, the riveting narrator, suffers through war, economic depression, great loss, and great love. The story explores how women suffered with lack of freedom and gender inequalities, domestic abuse, obstacles to financial freedom, and the perils of being a woman and a mother during war. It also explorers the push and pull of motherhood, not to mention historical parallels to today’s political climate, the current pandemic, and the ongoing fight for equal rights for all people. But Allende’s soaring prose and compelling narrative makes the reader forget what very serious and contemplative topics are being discussed throughout the story, the reader losing themselves instead in what it means to be so very human.

This novel read so quickly and with such a fluid and matter-of-fact style that the depth sneaks up on you.

Spanning a century, with pandemics as the opening and closing parentheses, this intimate yet sweeping epic will pull you in from the first page, and won't let you go until the last. The compelling but simple narrative language is at once intoxicating and spellbinding.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Such a beautiful written novel. It will take you over a span on hundred years full of love, heartache, scandal, and determination.

THIS. BOOK. I am a long time fan of Isabel Allende and I love how much time this story spans. It felt like a beautiful marriage of all the things I loved about One Hundred Years of Solitude by GGM and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. The language is beautiful and it was impossible to put down. Can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this one. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I really enjoy reading historical fiction and this one was no exception. I loved the writing and the way the story flowed and I had such a hard time putting this book down.

While I’ve love a couple other Isabel Allende books, this one unfortunately wasn’t my favorite. I felt pretty disconnected from Violeta, our narrator. The potential of a book about a lifespan from pandemic to pandemic was really intriguing to me, but the pacing was just too slow considering the wide timeline. There was such a focus on other characters and on an unnamed country instead of Violeta herself that even though she was narrating, I didn’t connect with her. She went through so much, but without much emotion. Despite not loving this book, I’ll definitely still read Allende books in the future.

Thanks so much to Ballantine for the copy of this book!

I could not get into this book; therefore, I didn’t finish. Just was all over the place and some of the brutality I didn’t like. I would like to try another book by this author on a different topic.

I have loved books by the Latin American masters since before I was in college, and Isabel Allende has been one of my favorites since reading THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, her debut novel, in Spanish, for my Hispanic Literature class. In recent years, my reading habits have unintentionally veered away from Allende's and other author's novels, but her latest, VIOLETA, reminded me of how much I love and miss the novels. I am still thinking of this beautiful novel and know it will live on in my thoughts.
Written as a letter to her Grandson as the end of her life nears, Violeta weaves a tale of an extraordinary life well-lived, of so many lessons learned, and woman both ahead of her time and, at times, constrained by the time she lived in. Allende’s writing and storytelling has only gotten stronger since her first novel and I am in awe of how masterfully she draws the reader into the story and Violeta’s life. Forty years after her first novel, Allende continues to dazzle.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#Violeta #IsabelAllende #BallantineBooks #RandomHousePublishingGroup

I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love everything by Isabell Allende. Her writing is beautiful along with a sense of time and place. I highly recommend this author for anyone who enjoys her prior novels.

Isabel Allende’s latest novel Violeta is a beautiful story of the life of Violeta Del Valle spanning 100 years. Thank you to NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Having read some of Allende’s short stories in school and enjoying them, I had high expectations for this book and I was bot disappointed. It’s hard to find books written in the second person, I think mostly because it is difficult to do well, but this book felt like reading a personal memoir. Although slow at times, I am glad I kept reading because this is an absolutely beautiful novel. Born during the flu pandemic and living to see the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Violeta lives the history we only read about in books and learn about in school, from the Great Depression and World War II to a brutal dictatorship in her South American country and its return to democracy. Violeta experiences so much in her life through her romantic relationships, her children, and her grandchildren and it’s so beautifully done. This book, along with Allende’s short stories, definitely has a place in my classroom.

Thank you so much for giving me an ebook ARC of this book in exchange for my review!

Wow, I really loved this book! It was such a beautiful and immersive story that hooked me in from the start. The concept was so intriguing and really drew me in. I think the author did an amazing job spanning the whole book over 100 years, and showing important historical events in a modern lenses. It was so fascinating to see Violeta go through so many major historical events spanning so many years, and it really changed my perspective on how we view history. The character development of Violeta was so great and I really enjoyed seeing her grow and change as a character. This was such a powerful and amazing story that I will be recommending to all of my friends!

A poignant story and beautifully written.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.