Enjoyed this book set in 1920s South America after the Great War, the Spanish flu pandemic and leading into the Great Depression. The family saga is what drew me in, and the story is what kept me.

With Violeta, Ms. Allende delivers another epic tale spanning generations and weaving historical events. It is a familiar tactic that she is famous for and one that never grows old as the human connection to stories transcends time and space. In reading this, you will become emotionally invested in the characters, rooting for them, understand and support the decisions that they make, even if some of them are not exactly from a place of wisdom.

An Independent Woman

This story starts in 1920 with the birth of Violeta during the Spanish Flu pandemic and ends in 2020 with the Covid 19 Pandemic. It covers all the years in between. It is the story of one woman, her family, her friends, her lovers and business partners.

Through all the stages of her life daughter, wife, mother, lover and business partner Violeta strived to be an independent woman and leading a life of her own choosing. She was one that could not be caged, could not be held back.

She campaigned for women's rights to birth control, abortion, divorce and against domestic abuse. Even though at times she was herself a victim of abuse. She found wealth in the city and peace in the country where she felt most at home.

Through hurricanes, floods, dictators and social unrest she lived and raised her two children and her grandchild. She gambled with the mafia and traveled the roads and back roads with her lovers. She lived and loved in her own way, built an empire with her brother in the pre-fab housing market and left most of her money to her son who became a priest.

I liked the story as it described the different parts of the country she lived in the Canary Islands, the politics, the people that lived there and their different customs and ways of living. The rich, the poor, and the crooked. The good, the bad and the indifferent.

It was a good story and I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend it.

Thanks to Isabel Allende for writing the story, Random House for publishing it and NetGalley for making it available to me.

I have never read an Isabel Allende book until Violeta and I’m just sitting here asking myself HOW is this possible? The author has such a vivid, rich way of describing historical fiction settings and I can’t wait to go back and read some of her previous novels! I am impressed.

Violeta is a story told in the form of a letter to her grandson about her whole life. Violeta was born during the Spanish flu pandemic and she lives through the COVID pandemic. The story is about her life during these times and all the historical events in between.

Any time you pick up a book by renowned Isabel Allende, you know you're going to be taken on a journey, and this one is no exception. Her latest novel is a story told through letters about a woman, born in 1920, who gives us a bird's eye view of South America through the great calamities and upheavals of the early 20th century.

Like all Allende books, this one is a lush historical epic full of gorgeous descriptions that will transport you to another place and time, and it will probably make you reluctant to leave. Told in beautifully vivid and mesmerizing prose, this story explores the bonds of family, friendship, and love against the most stunning and memorable backgrounds.

Wow. This was one of my favorite reads of 2021, and of course, it was the last book I read in 2021. Go figure.

I found this nearly impossible to put down. Any spare moment I had I was opening up this eBook, including while waiting in line at Universal Studios. I stayed up until 4 am finishing it, and as someone who deeply treasures their sleep, that’s a huge endorsement.

This is a sweeping story about one woman’s life, the upheaval, joys, loss, grief, and love that she has experienced. Violeta was born in 1920 in South America. Throughout her long life, she experienced the world around her change in terrible, amazing, and scary ways. She tells the story of her life in a letter to someone named Camillo. The reader isn’t aware of who Camillo is until about two-thirds of the way through the story.

"The first years of my life had been a tug of war; I was constantly trying to impose my will and, since I always got my way, I didn’t feel safe or protected." - Violeta

This is the type of story I absolutely love. Incredibly character-driven, and almost mundane, but that mundaneness makes it so human.

Violeta has been through so much in her life, with a life bookended by pandemics. She was forced to grow up so quickly, I was rooting for Violeta throughout this entire book. I was heartbroken for what she had to endure as a child and deeply touched by how much love she had to give to those around her. Even though Violeta had to endure a tremendous amount, and went through events I wouldn’t wish on almost anyone, she still had a life full of love, family, and happiness.

"The journey of life has long and tedious stretches, step by step, day by day, without anything exciting happening, but memory is made up of the unexpected events that mark your course." - Violeta

This book is going to stick with me for a long time to come. It truly made me an Allende fan, and I’ve purchased several of her books and have them on my immediate TBR list. There’s something so special about an author who can write a character that feels so real and human. That has flaws, imperfections, goals, aspirations, and dreams that completely make sense, are consistent, and make the reader truly fall in love with the character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for gifting me this Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Epic is a perfect description for this historical/literary fiction by Isabel Allende. I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to read this pre-publication thanks to NetGalley. I have read other works by Isabel Allende, and as was the case with VIOLETA, I always feel as if I have read something very worthwhile at the end of an Allende novel.

The opening scene is in Chile when the so-called "Spanish flu" pandemic reaches the homeland of the wealthy Del Valle family in 1920. One comment in the narration is interesting: that this pandemic was labeled "Spanish" because Spain had published numbers of cases/deaths while other countries were occupied publishing World War I news.

First-person narrator Violeta was just an infant at that time, but she tells her story as a flashback and in the form of letters, addressed to Camilo, her grandson. I found myself forgetting that this novel was told in letters until Violeta occasionally mentioned Camilo by name. The letter format neither added to nor detracted from the overall reading experience for me.

The privileged Del Valle family who brought a nanny from England to care for spoiled little Violeta is now facing financial ruin as the Great Depression follows the 20th century pandemic. Eventually, their mansion is crumbling, but the land it sits on is still very valuable. When they first flee to a less developed area to escape the pandemic, they bring what they think is valuable -Tiffany lamps. Only to discover that the area they've gone to does not have electricity.

The despair and desperation of the Del Valle family are no different than 21st century: pyramid schemes, financial ruin, death, divorces, scandals. Violeta lives to 100 years old and dies during the start of the Corona Virus pandemic. I think one of the strengths of this book is to help younger generations appreciate how much life remains the same. There may be new inventions and gadgets, but human relationships, sorrow and joy, are a common thread for us all.

It was a strong four-star reading experience for me. Thank you Random House and Net Galley..

Thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine Books, and the author for providing this ARC.

Overall Rating: ⭐️/5
Edition: ebook
Originality: ⭐️/5
Character Development: ⭐️⭐️/5
Favorite Character: Torito, because how can you not love the guy who throws himself out there to save others.
Recommend: 👎

As a woman who has lived 100 years, Violeta experienced uncountable loss. To aid in preparation for her final days, she writes a letter detailing her past to her missionary grandson. The Spanish flu, the Great War, the Great Depression, Women’s Rights, the Covid 19 Pandemic. Violeta lived through these hardships and more.

This book took FOREVER to read. Is it just me, or does it seem like many authors these days - especially historical fiction writers - are using the whole “old lady sharing the story of her life with (insert 2nd important character here)” theme a bit much?

It didn’t help that I could not stand the main character, who the book so happens to be titled. The summary for this work of literary fiction suggests Violeta is passionate, determined, and full of humor. Honestly - I viewed her as the complete opposite. I felt she really had no personality until she began describing her life experience towards the end of the book. Other than that, I really only saw her as someone who just went with the flow of things. She didn’t really take responsibility for her life. Though, oddly, she was immoral for the times and family she came from when it came to intimacy and marriage. In her long letter to her grandson, Camilo, Violeta mentions her friend wants her to go to confession before death. But she couldn’t bring it upon herself to confess to Camilo. This was a complete contradiction, considering the entire letter is a confession. I mean, she even details his mother’s drug addiction and her own personal sexual experiences. Last time I checked, that's confessing some deep rooted information some kids don’t need (or want) to know about their mothers and grandmothers.

This was my first Isabel Allende novel. YES. I know this is not her first rodeo and her books have made the top of the charts. If you love her writing, great. I hope you love this. I would actually love to know what someone who has read all of her previous titles thinks of this work in comparison.

This book started it brilliantly and I was totally engrossed in the story. I just loved this authors previous works. However just over half way through I started to get slightly bored and felt the story seemed to dip a bit. So ended up just an ok read for me.

This book starts out really strong and I was really engaged, but something happened somewhere after the halfway point and I got a little bored.

This tells the story of Violeta, born during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1920 in an unnamed South American country, and dying in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

I really enjoyed the story when she was a young woman, following her own path. The book also details what it's like to live in a country in South America with an unstable government. That is rather interesting also. Some of this is really rushed and other parts seemed drawn out.

If you like an epic tale of historical fiction, I definitely recommend this.

Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors, I think I've read every single one of her books, and I will always pick up one of her books. I've been really lucky that for her last couple of books that I have received early access to provide a review.

Allende is a Chilean author and many of her recent works incorporate the Pinochet dictatorship in some aspect. It seems as though in her older age, Allende is attempting to reconcile events that touched her and her loved ones lives so closely. It's resulted in some of her most personal works and Violeta lands among those works.

The book traces the life of Violeta from her birth in 1920 through her death in 2020 through a journal that goes to her grandson. You are immediately immersed into the lives of the family from their depths of poverty to immense highs. It is both intensely personal and beautifully written. It is so easy to get lost in the lyrical writing of Allende and Violeta is worth picking up after its upcoming release.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the early access in exchange for my honest review.

4.0. This is a hard book to review. I have really enjoyed Allende’s other novels, but this is not, in my opinion, on the level as her others. I liked it at times, and yet felt it was pedestrian and too long and difficult to slog through at other times. It’s an interesting story of a South American woman born during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1920 and ending during the COVID pandemic. An incredible life, Violeta was born into extreme wealth, but fell into hard times at a very young age with her father’s unorthodox business methods. This part of her life was critical to who she became and propelled her journey later in years as a successful businesswoman, but also as prescient and understanding of her frailties, mistakes, and vulnerabilities. She went to live in what might have been the southern part of Chile which was fascinating to me, as that’s a beautiful place in the world, including it’s pristine majestic natural beauty and simplistic life in rural countryside living. We follow Violeta through her life with many ups and downs, with family, friends, loves, politics —including times of repression—and women’s rights, including domestic violence that covers everyone, no matter their economic standing, especially in a culture that dismissed it. This novel does include some of her magic realism which I enjoy, but the political realm took too much precedence in my opinion. An interesting saga, but not to the level of her other novels. I still will look forward to her future novels as she is a gifted writer. I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased and candid review.

Interesting to read a hundred years of history of a South American country. A lot of violence and upheaval occurred. The book held my interest as all Isabel Allende’s books do. I recommend this book.

Many thank yous to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for this honest review. My final book of 2021!

The premise of this book is fabulous - Violeta is telling her life story through letters to her grandson, and I was immediately attracted to the concept. This work is full of the descriptive, literary fiction-style writing that many enjoy, but for me, it really slowed down the plot and I thought the beginning was really slow. I loved the relationship with Theresa and Miss Taylor, and thought that was an important point to tie in, and the story started picking up a bit when she was talking about her marriage and her children - until then, I might’ve actually put this one aside to come back to because it was so slow moving. This is my first book by this author, so I’m not sure if this is her normal style.

Overall, great concept and nice literary style of writing, but fell a bit short for me to really grab my attention. It was just okay.

This was a gorgeous, lush story. The language itself was enough to the hook the reader from the beginning and hold them all the way through. This book brought new perspective to our current plight and gave me hope for the future. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this piece and can't wait for more from Ms Allende.

Isabel Allende is the queen of the family saga, and this book absolutely wrecked me. It begins in 1920 Chile, where Violeta is born at the time of the Spanish flu. It then follows her 100-year life, and the political changes and violence that take place in Chile, all the way until the COVID pandemic of 2020. (To be clear, this is not a book about COVID, though it is mentioned briefly at the end.) This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of Violeta's life, detailing loves and losses amongst turmoil. Isabel Allende is quickly becoming a must-read author for me. I love historical fiction that teaches you something, and I have learned so much about Chile's turbulent history through her books. I highly recommend picking this one up and immersing yourself in Violeta's story.

Violeta by Isabel Allende
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

First, thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
This book is the story of Violeta Del Valle, who at 100 years old, writes down the story of her life for her grandson, Camilo. In this story, Violeta tells Camilo about those she loved, her two husbands and an obsessive affair with a man who also brutalized her. Violeta became a successful business woman in her own right; and was at the forefront of women’s and political issues. She sadly didn’t find true love and compassion until much later in life.
I’ve enjoyed several Isabel Allende books, including a few I loved: House of Spirits, The Japanese Lover and Daughter of Fortune. Violeta wasn’t one of my favorites. It dragged for me and I looked forward to finishing it. On a positive note, as always Allende offers strong characters; and a beautiful – but maybe better edited – narrative – her ability to help you visualize location and landscape is one of the best. It had a lot of darkness, was very intense and I felt it jumped around so it was confusing at times. I didn’t pick up on the narrative style until much later in the book so I wondered to whom the author or protagonist was speaking for much of the book.

Love, love, love!

First I want to thank Random House /Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

If you weren't already a fan of Isabelle Allende then you will be after reading Violeta.

Violeta was born in 1920 when the Spanish Flu reached the shores of her South American country. Thus begins the incredible life of Violeta which reads like a memoir that she has written for her grandson, Camilo. She recounts her life of prosperity and poverty, love and loss, democracy and fascism. A century later she passes away during another pandemic.

The beauty of Allende's storytelling draws you in and doesn't let go. You celebrate and grieve along with Violeta as she navigates through a life filled with family, lovers, and children in a country that has crashed into a dark time. My eyes filled with tears at the end as she bestows her last words of wisdom on to her grandson and embraces her death with calm and peace.

Gosh this woman can write, the words just flow effortlessly and beautifully. If you like/love Allende's writing then you will no doubt love this one as well, maybe even more so than her other works. While I enjoyed the story, for me it's the writing that drew me back each time to this story. It's the writing that also bumps this 4.5 star read to 5 stars. I loved that we followed Violeta from her start in to the world to her exit from this world and everything in between; her life, the times, the generations and the events. Beautifully done, I'll read anything more Allende writes in the future.

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me. Disappointing, because I love Isabel Allende’s books. The writing is good, beautiful in places, but the way this story is told is very off-putting. Because the book is written as a long letter from a 100-year-old woman to her grandson, I found it hard to get invested in the issues presented, or to connect to the characters emotionally. I wanted to be drawn into the lives of the characters, to be immersed in the events which were being narrated - and that is the problem, this was a story being told, not one the reader can get lost in.