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Violeta - Isabel Allende

 


Description

One extraordinary woman.
One hundred years of history.
One unforgettable story.

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first daughter in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth.

Through her father's prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses all and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling.

In a letter to someone she loves above all others, Violeta recounts devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy, and a life 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. Through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humour will carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.

Review

Such an interesting story spanning 100 years.

The book is written as a fictional autobiography of Violeta. She is telling the story of her life to someone; who at first, we do not know who this person is. The writing as always is so very beautiful by this author.

I was mesmerised by the story which begins with the Spanish flu epidemic. It was certainly educational as well as a good story. That is until the politics began and I lost some interest for a while. Fortunately the characters who come in and out of Violeta's life are interesting and I read on wanting to know what became of them.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

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