“There’s a time to live and a time to die. In between there’s time to remember.”
Isabel Allende, Violeta
Title: Violeta
Author: Isabel Allende
Genres: Historical Fiction, Literary
Pages: 304 (Kindle)
Published: January 25th, 2022
My Rating: ★★★
Read: 1/15/2023 – 1/17/2023
Review:
Normally I really love deeply character-driven stories such as this. While there were parts I did enjoy, something didn’t sit right for some reason.
Nearing the end of her life, Violeta recounts her story starting from her birth in a small Chilean town. We follow her and her family through pandemics, political changes, and other important shifts in history as the decades pass. With this also comes the natural milestones of life such as adolescence and starting a family. All of this is told in a letter to her grandson.
For something that appears to be so close to the author, there is a glaring lack of emotion and empathy. I didn’t feel connected to Violeta at all, nor did I find myself particularly caring partway through the part of the book. Until then I was finding the narration reminiscent of The Dictionary of Lost Words. Overall, I found it just okay.
Likes & Dislikes:
What I liked:
- Getting to read about all of Violeta’s life.
- Interesting side characters.
What I didn’t like:
- The mystical stuff wasn’t for me.
- I was affronted by some comments surrounding the Catholic church.
- While interesting, a lot of the characters lost relevance quickly and it made the book feel long.
Afterthoughts:
I started listening to this on audio but ended up switching to the ebook. It helped with the pacing a little bit even though I liked the narrator, but I still couldn’t stay invested.