This was impeccable, as to be expected from Allende. I found the characters to be very known to me by the first few pages. I was glad to see this “family” formed by the end of the story, they had all been searching for so long.

The Wind Knows My Name is an absolutely beautiful story about the cruelties of humankind and how it affects people for generations. Some parts of this book were gutting and it will leave you very emotional. But this is also a story of love and how we have to all look out for each other. I was so engrossed in each person’s chapter and did not want any of them to end. I also really enjoyed this author’s descriptions of foreign lands, especially South America. I learned a lot and saved some stuff to look up later. I really look forward to reading more from this author!!

The first chapters of this book were heartbreaking; even so, I felt that I was kept at a distance. The writing style had more exposition than I would have expected; it seemed more like reading a journalist's story than a novel. The characters were complex and sympathetic, and I wish there had been more character development rather than being told what happened to them. I'd recommend it for readers who are interested in parallel narratives of family sagas. There was a touch of mysticism and a hopeful tone. Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for a digital review copy.

Opening in Vienna in 1938, there's a heavy sense of dread as we follow a Jewish family on Kristallnacht. That dread is not unfounded and we know what happens that night as the family is torn apart. We follow the journey of the son, 5 year old Samuel, through the 1950s.

So abruptly you might get whiplash we're transported to Berkeley in the year 2000 with another displaced immigrant, a woman who escaped from El Salvador named Leticia.

A little less abrupt is the jump to 2019 and the last set of characters. I don't want to say more, and encourage you to *not* read the blurbs which give too much of the story away. The intricate weaving of the storylines is subtle, and discovering the connections Allende orchestrates leads to a deeper appreciation of the narrative.

She can tell a story, and that story is strong. I can forgive the whiplash, some on the nose dialogue, some convenient coincidences (oh you need x? My husband works at the airport! My cousin's wife's brother owns that store!), and some clunky prose, for the story, a sweeping tale of immigration, displacement, and what defines family.

My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende moves between time periods and continents beginning in Austria in 1938 when five-year-old Samuel Adler is sent with a trainload of children to England to escape the Nazis. It follows Adler to California and his life with his colorful wife and now as a widow living with a San Salvadorian caregiver during the pandemic. It blends the story of Anita, a seven-year-old, almost entirely blind girl living in the U.S. awaiting an asylum hearing, who escaped San Salvador with her now missing mother and the tale of the social worker and a lawyer trying to help the girl and find her mother. Allende’s attempt to tell so many stories in 272 pages falls short on character development while being long on melodrama. Adler’s love of music and his career in it along with Anita’s musical talent could have been better explored. The brief mentions of a grandmother’s intuitive powers and of a Anita’s possible sensitivity should have been further developed or eliminated.

You can read my updated final review on Goodreads. I couldn't justify giving this 3 stars. I felt no attachment to any of these characters because there were so many odd choices in terms of characterization, plot progression, and how the story concluded. The meat of this story feels like a social issues 101 explainer on things I, personally, am already well aware of and have knowledge of. It's painful how much this catered to people who don't care about global historical atrocities/tragedies like I'm begging Isabel Allende to stop over-explaining. Give your readers more credit.

Additionally, Frank and Selena are truly terrible. I don't care that they do morally good things for work in this book because they are such pieces of shit in their personal lives. At least Nadine had some sort of discussion with Samuel about the things they struggled with and learned from. It was certainly an attempt at complex conversations/feelings surrounding non-monogamy.

"The Wind Knows My Name" by Isabel Allende is a Blend of Family and Historical Fiction!

Two children, eighty-one years apart, are separated from their mother without explanation and under the most harrowing circumstances of their time.

In 1938, six-year old Samuel Adler's mother ensures he is on the last Kindertransport train out of Nazi occupied Austria to the United Kingdom and safety. He's alone, without money, doesn't speak English, only has one change of clothes, and his beloved violin...

In 2019, seven-year-old Anita Diaz, with her mother, board a train out of El Salvador to the United States and safety. Once they arrive, mother and daughter are separated. In the chaos, no one seems to know where the mother is located. Anita is alone, blind, doesn't speak English, and the only things she has are dreams of a Guardian Angel and the imaginary world she's created...

In "The Wind Knows My Name", Isabel Allende weaves together the lives of Samuel and Anita, two characters from different parts of the world and timelines decades apart. Then she does it again by bringing in another timeline and two more key characters that results in additional layers and depth to the story.

Isabel Allende's writing style is simplistic and easy, her storytelling is bold, passionate, and often circles around women and families. "The Wind Knows My Name" follows this pattern and it's why I keep coming back to this author. The fact that this book, at under 280 pages, with a deeper backstory and more character development than books with many more pages is another reason.

However, there certainly is a heck-of-a-lot going on in this story. Fewer secondary characters, keener focus on the connection between Samuel, Anita, and the two additional main characters would have elevated this story and my rating.

Isabel Allende is one my favorite authors and the reason I love to read is because of author's like her who write stories like "The Wind Knows My Name". Although this was not my favorite book from this author, I do recommend it to those who enjoy a blend of Family and Historical Fiction!

4.25⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Isabel Allende for an ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Powerfully written, as always. This story begins in Vienna in 1938 during Kristallnacht (night of broken glass) where Samuel Adler loses his father and is soon put on the Kindertransport to England to keep him safe from the Nazis but far from his family and everything he ever knew and loved. This was new ground in books I've read by Allende, but she moves forward from there in time and place to more familiar ground. We meet Leticia who with her father survived El Mozote, a Salvadorian massacre. While her entry into the United States in 1982 wasn't as difficult as emigrating today, we move forward to 2019 with young Anita and her mother trying to enter the US, at a time when children and parents are regularly separated at the border. Enter Selena, a social worker, and Frank, an attorney who are trying to help this young girl and reunite her with her mother. You might think these stories can't be tied together, but they actually can be, and it is done well. Allende takes the plight of immigrants and humanizes their stories in a way that touches all of us. We can't help but connect with these stories and hope for a brighter future for them. I have never encountered an Allende story I haven't loved, and I'm always impressed by both her beautiful language and the excellent job of her translators.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy. My opinion is my own.

Many thanks to the author, Ballantine Publishing and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
This book takes place during WWII and present day. This book had some woke undertones and it didn’t appeal to me. I suggest reading some positive reviews because this is only my own opinion.

Outraged by the US immigration policy that separates children from their parents at the border, the author has woven the story of one such fictional child into the historical context of two other children being separated from their families by state violence. This novel is thematically powerful but written with flat and sometimes rather didactic prose.

In 2019, 7 year-old Anita and her mother are fleeing violence in El Salvador but are separated at the border and Anita is put into a succession of group homes and foster homes.

In 1938, Samuel is put on a train in Vienna by his mother, along with hundreds of other Jewish children. He never sees his family again and goes into a variety of institutions in England before settling with a Quaker couple. His love of and skill at music leads him to Berkeley, CA.

Letitcia, Lety, and her father flee from El Salvador after the rest of their family is killed in the El Mozote massacre in 1981.

These three stories come together in the present day when Selena Durán, a Mexican American social worker takes on Anita’s case along with Frank Angliheri, a hotshot corporate lawyer.

There is a little of Allende’s magical realism but rather too much info dumping of facts about immigration which makes it sometimes feel less like a novel and more like a newspaper article. Still, I can’t fault the author’s passionate advocacy for immigrant children and for using her authorial skills to keep the story alive.

Thanks to Ballantine and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME by Isabel Allende is a beautifully-written and thought-provoking novel that explores the lasting effects of war and immigration on children and their families. Told in the dual timelines of 1938 and 2019 in both Europe and the United States. In Vienna in 1938, six-year-old Samuel Adler would never see his father again after he disappeared during Kristallnacht. Samuel’s mother managed to get him on the last Kindertransport out of Nazi-occupied Austria to the United Kingdom. All alone and with nothing but his violin, Samuel starts a new life with the couple that takes him in and we follow his life over the next eight decades. Leticia Cordero fled her homeland of El Salvador following a brutal massacre of her entire family in their rural village. Lety is later working in the home of Samuel Adler who is now eighty-six years-old. In Arizona in 2019, seven-year-old Anita Diaz is traveling with her mother from El Salvador, seeking refuge in the United States from a potentially deadly situation in their home country. Anita, who is blind, gets separated from her mother at the border and put in a camp all alone. Social worker Selena Duran is assigned Anita’s case. With the help of a high-powered attorney in San Francisco, Selena attempts to reunite Anita with the only known family she has in the US. The lives of all these characters become intertwined in extraordinary ways that will change them forever. I found myself totally engrossed in the heart-wrenching, yet hopeful story. The tragic circumstances each character faces and the parallels between their disparate experiences are relayed with raw honesty and compassion. This is a story I will not soon forget. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Isabel Allende writes gorgeous stories and the weaving of these 2 stories is wonderful.
The novel begins in 1938 soon after Kristallnacht in Austria, when Samuel Adler, a violin prodigy, is placed on a train and sent to England in order to escape being sent to a concentration camp by the Nazis. His immigration is difficult and he is raised by a Quaker family. He continues to study the violin and becomes part of the London Symphony Orchestra. His love for music (all forms) brings him to New Orleans - the birth of American Jazz - and he falls in love with Nadine, a wealthy debutant who is unconventional.
The second story is about 6 year old Anita Diaz and her mother Marisol, who escape El Salvador in 2020, and are separated at the border. She was shuttled through the foster care system, until her mother could obtain a permanent visa. Through the intervention of a young social worker, Selena, the two characters are brought together...any more would be a spoiler.
Allende parallels the effects of refugee immigration on the children from their aspects. Both grew up in families with close bonds, family traditions and values when lent them a sense of security. Both mothers sacrificed their family unity with the hope that their child could find a better life. Both children entered their new lives in a new country, with a different language, culture and without family. Each child copes with their losses differently, Samuel by immersing himself in his music studies; Anita by escaping to her imaginary world of Azabahar where she talks to her deceased sister, Claudia.
I loved the way the author developed the stories of the children, the sincerity of Selena, the care that Leticia provided, while bringing into consideration the challenges of the immigrants, and the dilemmas of trust and the losses that they suffered. I thought that the ending was a little too drawn out, and a few of the situations were improbable, although they did move he story along.
I received a free ARC of this book with it's gorgeous cover, from NetGalley and the publisher and the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Vienna, 1938 - Six year old Samuel Adler is sent to the United Kingdom via a Kindertransport train along with thousands of other Jewish children from Eastern Europe.
Arizona, 2019 - Seven year old Anita Diaz and her mother board another type of train, one fleeing danger in El Salvador bound for the United States. Separated from her mother under U.S. border policy, Anita finds herself as alone in a strange country as Samuel was eight decades earlier.
Both children are refugees fleeing hostile countries in hopes of freedom and safety. As their stories unfold, they intersect in a most unlikely way.

Isabel Allende once again weaves a story of families and unforgettable characters through multiple time periods. Highlighting issues such as the Holocaust, present day violence in Central America, and US immigration and border policies, Allende shares two remarkable children and the mothers who made sacrifices to protect their children. Heartbreaking and poignant, this timely story is all you’d expect from the brilliant Isabel Allende.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the gifted eArc in exchange for my review.

A great storyteller is able to weave a story of a young child commencing in Vienna during WWII who is sent on one of the trains carrying children to England to fast forward to present day where a young girl in El Salvador who is fleeing to the US with her mother. At the border in Nogales, mother and daughter are separated. A sad tale for both children yet Isabel Allende has written a beautiful story of survival, resilience and friendship and family from the ashes of both their stories. I particularly liked how music played such a role in this story. A thought provoking story from the horrors of WWII and the indignity that is happening on our border with immigrants. An engrossing read for teens to adulthood on social issues and justice to all readers of general fiction who are looking for a well written story. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for an advance reader copy; this is my honest opinion.

In 1938, Samuel’s mother does the unthinkable and puts her little boy on a transport train out of Austria and promises to get him when things settle down. Sadly, she was never able to return to him. In 2019, Anita is separated from her mother at the US border as they escape a dangerous situation in El Salvador. At the migrant camp, Anita is connected with Selena as her caseworker and Frank, a rising star at a high profile law firm. Frank and Selena work tirelessly to find Anita’s mother and any other living relative of hers in the US. And that’s when Anita and Samuel meet.

Allende has wonderfully written another tale that spans the decades, connecting WWII to present day. I loved the bond between Samuel and Anita and their connection of shared loss. The author is not shy about her political stance and it is very apparent through this novel as she describes the reality of the US border migrant camps amidst the backdrop of the pandemic.

Thank you to @netgalley and @ballantinecorp for the gifted advanced readers copy.

Allende has been one of my favorite voices since I was a teenager; that remains the same today. This is another incredible story that captures so many different elements of the human condition - another win for Allende.

At 272 pages, this book feels like it could have been longer. While I normally stick to lighter fiction during the summer months, I needed to sink into something with more substance. Allende’s writing is powerful. Her words capture the horrors of WWII and the tragedies faced as a refugee, but equally give you hope as you become invested in the stories of the characters. I found myself devouring this book in just a couple sittings.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As always, Isabel Allended writes with words sharp enough to pierce the blackest heart. I can't get enough from her. 5 stars.

Isabel Allende’s latest release brings to mind a famous quote. “History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the
damage is done.” - Sydney J. Harris

In The Wind Knows My Name, Allende expertly intertwined multiple storylines. Each strand highlights the trauma experienced by children separated from their parents, their indomitable spirit and the sacrifices parents make in order to provide a brighter future for their children.

The Wind Knows My Name
By Isabel Allende

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Samuel Adler is five years old violin prodigy when he is forced to leave Austria in the aftermath of the Kristalnacht. He is one of thousands of children who are shipped off to Britain as part of the rescue operation known as the Kindertransport. Decades later, seven year old Anita Diaz and her mother are fleeing from El Salavado to escape a different kind of danger. Anita is separated at the US Border from her mother in the wake of Trump’s 2019 Family Separation Policy.

Allende is a master storyteller well known for pointing out historic injustices and for giving voice to the voiceless. In typical style, she doesn’t pull her punches as she draws comparisons across history from the Holocaust, to the practice of forced placement of Native American children into government boarding schools or recent US Immigration Policy. The Wind Knows My Name delivers Allende’s message clearly. Some might say it is message at the expense of more fully nuanced characters. Nevertheless, I was fully invested in discovering the final outcome of these characters, appreciated how she wove these stories together and couldn’t get to the end quick enough.

TW: genocide, family separation, femicide, rape, torture, child abuse and neglect

4.5/5

What a beautifully written story by one of my favorite authors. I loved the characters in this book especially Leticia as she played a very important part in the lives of two main characters: Samuel Adler, who as a child in 1938 Vienna is sent to England via Kindertransport, a train taking Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Austria; and seven-year-old Anita Diaz who with her mother fled from the violence in El Salvador in 2019 and are taken into custody at the US-Mexico border while trying to enter the United States illegally. Anita is separated from her mother and is shuttled between foster homes. With the help of Selena Duran, a social worker with Magnolia Project for Refugees and Immigrants, and Frank Angileri a lawyer from San Francisco who after Selena's request agreed to represent Anita’s interests pro bono, together they attempt to help grant Anita asylum in the United States. The stories of Samuel, Leticia, and Anita are masterfully told and are heartbreaking. The ending is what I was hoping it would be, although I wish there had been a little bit more there as I felt it ended a bit abruptly. Even so, I absolutely loved this book. Once again Ms. Allende has written a most timely book with a very powerful message. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the review copy.