Violeta (Spanish Edition)

Siempre leer a Isabel es una aventura. Este libro te muestra 100 anos y todos los acontecimientos desde la perspectiva de esta valiente mujer, honesta, apasionada,exitosa.

Su narrativa me transporta, Isabel tiene una habilidad fabulosa de llevarnos en el tiempo y el espacio, dentro de sus historias. Casi que puedes ver y sentir lo que escribe! Me encanta su estilo, no soy una lectora consagrada pero ella me ha llevado a tomarle gusto a la lectura. Recomiendo este libro como un buen comienzo para el mundo entretenido y fascinantes de los libros

First, an apology. Although I am reviewing the Spanish version of Violeta, this review will be in English. I read Spanish fairly well, but write it poorly. Because Amazon forbids mixed-language reviews, I translate the quotes below to English.Violeta is told in the first person by Violeta del Valle, a character reportedly based on Isabel Allende's mother. Violeta was born during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1920. The Spanish flu is generally dated to 1918, but delayed a couple years in reaching Chile, as she explains. (By the way, the country in which Violeta was born and in which most of the story takes place is never named in the book, but it is obviously Chile. Other nations are named when the action is taking place in them, for instance Argentina, Estados Unidos, Congo, Norway.) Violeta survives from pandemic to pandemic:"I was born in 1920, in the influenza pandemic, and I'm going to die in 2020, in the coronavirus pandemic. Such an elegant name for so malignant a bug!"Early in her story Violeta receives this advice from her teacher:"You are not a brat. Defend your independence, allow no one to decide for you. For that you must be able to value yourself alone. Do you understand me? -- she told me. I have never forgotten that admonition."That is very uplifting, but in the event is not necessarily great advice to give to a girl who lives in a time and place where women have no rights that a man is bound to respect. Violeta makes some stupid decisions. Now, it is not a great character flaw to make stupid decisions. Even the smartest people do stupid things sometimes. The consequences depend on many things, among them whether you live in an environment that tolerates error. Violeta does not, and as a result is unhappy for much of her life. But happiness should not necessarily be ones life goal. Violeta is in fact an intelligent and capable heroine, who accomplishes much in her life. So don't give up on her, even though you will feel the urge to strangle her more than once.My review title, "One hundred years of oppression", is somewhat misleading. It is not inaccurate -- oppression is a continuing theme throughout the hundred years of Violeta's life. However the focus gradually shifts from suffering oppression to fighting it as the story goes on. The book ends on an uplifting note.My main problem with Violeta is that the story is not a story. It's just a long recital of the things that happen to one person. There is little structure, nothing of that "a Beginning, a Middle, and an End" that Godard said a story should have. Actually, as Violeta herself recognizes, there are many beginnings, many middles, and many ends in her story.Now, your mileage may vary, but for me this lack of structure seriously detracted from the value and enjoyment of Violeta. There is of course the argument to be made that an unstructured list of events one after another is a more accurate reflection of real life than a well-told story would be. I agree, but I am not so attached to realism as to be indifferent to story-telling. I am a fan of fantasy and science fiction. As Somerset Maugham wrote, "A true story is never quite so true as an invented one." That is a little too suspiciously glib, yet there is a real argument to be made for Maugham's claim.

The media could not be loaded.  Ame el libro y la portada es muy linda pero viene en un recubrimiento de papel y no plasmada en la pasta dura del libro.

Hacia tiempo que una novels no me cautivaba de esta manera. Hermosa, desenfadada, real, dolorosa -la descripcion Dr la muerte de la hija es magistral- y llena de historias de amor

Muy interesante

Me gustó la narrativa, de fácil lectura te va sumergiendo rápidamente en el mundo de Violeta y te vas sintiéndome identificado con las historias que entrelazan el andar de esta novelaLamentable, pareciera que Isabel no se puede desprender de seguir contando historias de la dictadura a pesar de no vivir hace tantos años en Chile. Eso hace decaer al menos mi interés y pensar , más de los mismo; la misma culebra enrollada de otra forma.Seguramente para los seguidores de Isabel Allende quedarán extasiado con este nuevo relato, poner en evidencia el maltrato a la mujer por años es muy relevante para hacer cambios en las diferentes culturas donde se sigue oprimiendo a las mujeres . “Mostrándoles el mundo pero diciéndoles que no pueden ser parte de el”

Que rápido pasaron por la intensidad de todo lo vivido… recorrido histórico y emocional sin necesidad de un lenguaje denso para darle profundidad y realismo.

Magnífica lectura

She is my favourite writer so I haven't had a book that I disliked

Novela de agradable lectura en la que a mi juicio se describen certeramente las relaciones ante las distintas etapas de una vida

Al ser de pasta gruesa se ve elegante y es mas resistente

Super recomendado, pasta dura impresion de alta calidad y que decir del texto. Totalmente recomendado.