In the Midst of Winter: A Novel

This book was fantastic. Rich with current issues mixed with intrigue, romance and mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve recommended it to others already.

Entertaining while being educational and thought provoking! Characters were well developed and believable and formed a bond the reader roots for.

There are three Key People in this book: Richard Bowmaster is an NYU professor in his mid-sixties who lives in Brooklyn. He’s lonely, avoids physical contact, and does not drink because he’s an alcoholic. Richard is a widower and has a widower father named Joseph who was a Jew in Germany but managed to get out of the country in time. Lucia Maraz is an NYU teacher who is Richard’s tenant. She lives below him, is in her early sixties, and has occasional sex fantasies about Richard. She once touched him accidentally but he didn’t like it. She is originally from Chile and there is a chapter that deals with the September 11, 1973 overthrow of Salvador Allende’s government. (The author is well qualified to write about this because she lived in Santiago during this time and her father was a first cousin to Salvador Allende.) Evelyn Ortega is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala. She’s a young woman who could probably be the daughter of Richard and Lucia if they had produced a child. Richard rear ends her car in an accident and gets Lucia to help translate their conversation. After I read about Evelyn I thought the plot might move toward Richard & Lucia getting together and pseudo-adopting Evelyn as their proxy daughter. Wrong. We learn all of this about the three characters in the first seventy pages. Then the plot begins with a stunning event. Now we’re getting somewhere, I thought. Whoops, wrong again. We eventually get to page 245 and three more chapters on the characters’ background follow. At this point I almost tossed the book. But I was getting close to the end so I decided to stick with it and find out what happens. Unfortunately, it ended with a whimper instead of a bang. Overall I thought this novel was seriously unbalanced with much more character background than plot substance. I’ve read a number of Allende’s earlier books and was disappointed with this one.

I read this book for my library book club and was not sure what to expect. While the story was hard to read at times, I found that I could not put the book down. The writing is excellent and the story moves quickly. The characters are well-written and I found myself wanting to know what would happen next with the people in the book. I would recommend particularly as a good book club discussion.

This book was not this author’s best but did read easily I would recommend if you just like the author’s style

It’s such a good book, sad yet funny I would highly recommend it. It got my attention very quickly and turn it to a delight. I even bought the hard cover to give to a special friend, because I know she’ll love it.

Love her story-telling! Clarifies world politics as well as protagonists’ dories.

I enjoyed reading the separate stories of the three characters the perfect story teller Ms Allende is, but it was a torture reading these three individuals interact to make the book!!! As if the author was pressed for time when it came to connecting these three people one way or another!!! But luckily this novel didn’t stop me from following Ms Allende’s latest which are great and back on the track.

Interesting read .

The worst fates imaginable, yet every one carries an indestructible, fertile seed of optimism. Isabel Allende glorifies the power of love, of faith in the higher purpose of our existence in this terrible world full of perils and tragedies. She teaches us about the female power of resilience without being a typical so called "feminist" preacher.A storyteller that can make even the weather the most exciting subject that will keep you turning the pages.A warm soul full of indestructible optimism and love for humanity with all its imperfections and mistakes.I highly recommend every single book she wrote.Isabel Allende never ceases to surprise and fascinate, time and time again.

Delicia de livro, Isabel Allende divertida e emocional. Uma história inusitada sobre imigrantes nos USA e a vida afetiva na maturidade

Een prachtig en ook spannend boek, bij tijden zeer schrijnend, maar dankzij de compassie en steun van de hoofd-personen, toch een warm en ontroerend verhaal.

Tre storie emozionanti che si intrecciano per trovare un nuovo percorso