Violeta is a coming of age story written in an epistolary style in a very long manuscript she sends to her grandson, Camilo. Violeta Del Valle came into the world with the Spanish influenza pandemic in 1920, and, now 100, faces the Coronavirus pandemic. There is a lot of “telling” here as Violeta packs a century’s worth of her incredible life as well as the salient world and Chilean events into 336 pages. After the world economy crashes with the Great Depression, her family is “exiled” to a farm in Nahuel in southern Chile. She finds herself while living a very modest life. As time passes, she also writes of her loves including her love affair with an abusive man (and Camilo’s grandfather). Allende firmly places Violeta’s life within changes women’s rights, religion, and politics as Chile moves from a fascist to a democratic government. The cover is lovely as well, matching the contents of the book.

This is the first Allende book I've read and there was a lot about this book I really enjoyed. Allende created a strong female character, the namesake of the book, who drives this sprawling story. I loved learning more about the span of her life- from the flu pandemic in 1919 to the COVID-19 pandemic today. Violeta is a passionate, brave and engaging heroine. What I didn't love about the book was it felt very surface-level. Because it spans 100 years, I felt like you never get too deep in any moment. This is also true for Violeta's retelling of her life- it never gets too deep or complex. This may be a result of the retelling of an entire life by a 100+ year old woman, so it may be an intentional format for this story, but it kept me wanting more- more understanding of the emotions and understandings that drove the action of the story. It was a great story, though.

I am a long time fan of Ms. Allende. I have seen her on book tours and have read a good many of her books. She is proficient in telling a beautiful historical tale infused with elements of truth, fiction and magical realism. This story is told through letters written to her grandson over a time span of 100 years-1920 to the present, taking us through the last 100 years of Chile's history and political theater. I am not a fan of this writing format but she has a lot to say. We see her life story through an honest and harsh lens which is something she excels at. She is sincere and apologetic with her story as we travel from the Spanish Flu up to the present pandemic. Themes that run through it are political persecution, domestic abuse, drugs, corruption, friendship, love and family. I will admit that at times it became a tedious read and I do attribute most of that to the format. I felt like I was outside of the story as opposed to being emotionally connected. Thus my 3.75 rating. I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and author for the ARC.
3.7+ rounded up

Isabel Allende is a consummate storyteller. Her narrator in this novel is Violeta, born in an unnamed South American country in 1920 during the flu pandemic, who tells her story at age 100. Violeta tells us of her spoiled childhood, her English nanny (who also has a fascinating back story), her marriage, separation, affairs, and children. Of course, there are also the politics which dominate much of South America's history of the 20th century. Violeta acknowledges her many mistakes in judgement, but throughout her narrative, her strength and resilience shine through. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Violeta by Isabel Allende
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the third book I’ve read from this author and just like the others, this didn’t disappoint. Violeta was born in 1920 during the Spanish flu pandemic and died 100 years later during the corona virus pandemic. She writes about her long life to her beloved grandson, Camilo. The novel takes place mostly in a South American country, where Violeta lived most of her life. The country is never mentioned by name, and the capital is also just mentioned as the “ capital”, never by name. The author was born in Peru and raised in Chile. According to my research, the events mentioned in the book, political upheaval, regime changes, a major earthquake definitely follows Chile history in those years. It would make an interesting book club discussion why the country and historical figures were never mentioned by name.
I loved this novel, read it in 4 days, spending hours reading. The many characters were real, believable, you loved or hated them, you laughed and cried with them. So many issues raised, feminism, homosexuality, abortion, social ills, domestic violence, drug cartels just to name a few.
As Violeta is aging, slowly the people who she shared her long life with are dying. As I am getting older, this is such a sad part of aging, losing your parents, relatives and friends.
Overall, a beautifully written 5 star book, and I don’t often give 5 stars.
Thanks NetGalley, Random House Publishing and Isabel Allende for the advanced copy.

In 1920, Violeta Del Valle was born in a South American country during the Spanish flu. Her upper class family consisted of five older brothers, a mother exhausted from multiple births and miscarriages, a father who considered it his duty to populate the world with children, a grandmother who sat silently, and two spinster aunts. Her father spent his time making the most money he could in ways that weren’t always legal while she grew up spoiled by her mother and aunts, and became a terror to the household. Violeta’s bad behavior was finally addressed when her family hired Miss Taylor to become her governess. They expected a prim governess from England, but expectations are not always reality. Though she wasn’t what the family expected, Miss Taylor would go on to become one of the most important influences in Violeta’s long life.

Violeta would live for 100 years (passing on during the 2020 COVID pandemic). Allende’s lyrical narrative of Violeta’s life is told through letters written to Carmelo, her grandson. Readers are drawn into realistic explanations of loves won and lost, the fight for women’s rights, political turmoil, mass murders, dictatorships, the United States’ involvement in foreign affairs, as well as the heartbreak and joy that occurs during a 100 year lifespan. The saga of Violeta Del Valle’s life should not be missed.

Highly recommended for Adults.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed several books by Isabel Allende, and this one is no exception. Told as the (fictional) autobiography of a 100 year old woman on her deathbed, this book nonetheless has a large cast of characters and settings. As usual, Allende deals with the topics of revolution and politics in South America, and I was interested enough to do some searching to determine what nations she referenced.

Violeta was born in 1920 during the influenza pandemic, and is now living in our current time of the coronavirus pandemic. These two events bookend her life, which is also touched by revolution, war, natural disasters, and personal/family tragedies. This book reads like hearing someone reminisce about their life, which could be boring but in this case I found it to be entertaining and thought-provoking. Because we only hear Violeta’s point of view, it is interesting to consider if the other characters would tell their parts of the story consistently or not.

I found myself wishing a bit for some of Allende’s magical realism, but aside from that, I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it for fans of Allende.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Why would anyone want to read a book made up entirely of a letter written to a loved one? Well, because it's Isabel Allende who's doing the writing, for one thing. This could be classified as Violeta's memoirs, but it certainly does not read like a memoir. I had a hard time putting this book down at the end of the day.

Don't be put off by early references to the C19 pandemic. That's not the focus.

Violeta experiences events and relationships that for the most part are not at all relatable to the average reader. But - we all go through challenges in life, and we have the choice of surviving and moving on, or plunging into despair and turning into miserable curmudgeons. Violeta doesn't just survive, she flourishes. She doesn't do it alone of course, and there are tears shed over her losses, hardships, and bad decisions, but she spends 100 years growing. And isn't that sort of the point of living?

Thank you to NetGalley, Isabel Allende, and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for an ARC of this book.

Isabel Allende demonstrates her masterful story telling abilities in her saga about Violeta Del Valle that spans 100 years from her birth in 1920 until her death in 2020. Violeta's story is written in the form of a letter to her grandson towards the end of her life. Writing from the vantage point of someone who has had time to reflect on a long and amazing life full of opportunities, passions, and losses gave Violeta a strong and thoughtful voice. There were many times in the book that I had to pause and think about Violeta's experiences. From Violetta's birth in 1920 during the Spanish flu epidemic until her death during a pandemic, there were many historical events that affected Violeta. After The Great Depression, her family lost everything in the city and had to begin a different life in the country. Through all of the changes and upheavals, Violeta demonstrated an ability to adapt to new circumstances, no matter how difficult. Violeta's determination, passion, and sense of humor gave her the skills needed to adjust to a changing world and to deal with both the personal tragedies and uplifting moments of her long life. Even after you have read the last page, this book will continue to resonate with you.

Isabel Allende is one of my very favorite authors. She writes beautifully and never ceases to amaze me with her epic storytelling. I've enjoyed everything she has written. I was fascinated that this entire novel is written as a letter from Violeta Del Valle to her grandson, Camil0 It is filled with her memories of a life well-lived and contains the joys and tears of her lifetime. Violeta's life spans 100 years. She was born in 1920 during the Spanish flu and died in 2020 at the start of the coronavirus. She lived through two pandemics, earthquakes, hurricanes, the Great Depression, a World War, political upheaval her home country in South America. She recounts times of both poverty and wealth, domestic abuse, her daughter's struggle with drug addiction, and the various men she loved during her life. This is a story of family and relationships, of growing up and building a meaningful life.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published January 25, 2022.

Violeta, the main character, was born in 1920 as the Spanish Flu pandemic reached her unnamed South American country. This book details the hundred years of her life that ends during the Covid pandemic, including marriages, children, revolutions, and deaths.

I wanted to like this story more than I did. It is a well-written, well-researched book. It also is filled with every controversial subject that has happened in the past 100 years - suffrage, divorce, abortion, same-sex relationships, fascism, socialism, drug abuse, physical abuse, adultery, religion, wealth redistribution, and more. At times, this reads like a propaganda piece from the far-left as the author goes from topic to topic in Violeta's life, instead of a novel about aging, wisdom, and seeing the waves of change over the course of time.

Not family friendly due to language, sex, and adult themes.

Violeta , the youngest of five male siblings was born during the the pandemic in 1918 and passed away during the current pandemic. This story spans 100 years of Violeta' s life , her family, their relationships and how events in history shaped their lives.
Violeta , lives in South America, and as her story is shared with us, we see the inequality, challenges, the struggles and most of all her resilience .
Violeta shares her life in a letter to her grandson that she has raised.
This novel is beautifully written as all Allende novels I have read .
Many thanks to Netgalley for an opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Violeta.
The story and most of the characters I loved (of course not Julien Bravo). A remarkable epic story spanning 100 years, of family, friends that become family and trials and tribulations of their intersecting lives.
I was pleasantly engrossed in the characters, story and writing.
I will be looking forward to reading more from Ms. Allende

Extremely grateful to Netgalley for the opportunity to enjoy/escape into the world of Violeta. Ms. Allende’s; Violeta captured my attention from the first few pages. Her smooth writing style feels like a family conversation filled with personalities, history and passion. My first impression of Violeta as a child was spirited and spoiled, then she won my heart after the tutelage of Miss Taylor. Both Violeta & Miss Taylor’s characters uncoiled to create intrigue as they followed their heartfelt personal truths. Violeta’s decision to follow her passion in love was an adventure I didn’t always understand but it was Violeta’s adventure, filled with historical facts and courage. I would be amiss if I didn’t say how much I enjoyed every character in her book, Teresa Rivas, Jose Antonio, Roy Cooper, Torito to name a few. Ms. Allende does not disappoint.

If you are the kind of person who would love to sit down with your grandma and hear her talk for hours about everything she’s ever lived through, Violeta may be the perfect book for you. Written as a letter from a nearly 100-year-old woman to her beloved grandson, this novel feels exactly like that sort of conversation.

Violeta has lived through the Spanish flu pandemic of 1920, the Great Depression, civil unrest, and political upheaval. Her life has been shaped by poverty, social ruin, and many meaningful relationships, and through her letter, she endeavors to impart her story and experiences to the next generation.

I expected to love this book, but it didn’t quite work for me. The storyline felt more like a narrated historical timeline than an actual plot, and the book itself more like a memoir or an autobiography—a chronological collection of memories throughout a lifetime, some more detailed than others, but none lingering long enough to leave a lasting impression on anyone but the narrator who holds them in their recollection.

I enjoyed and appreciated Isabel Allende’s subtle, nuanced commentary on the important issues woven into the fabric of Violeta’s story—women’s rights, social hierarchy & class, sexual identity, loss—but all of that seemed to get lost in the decades of history being recapped. Not a bad book, but probably not one I will remember as particularly meaningful.

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Thank you to Isabel Allende, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Violeta is the story of one woman's life in tumultuous Argentina, bookended by the influenza pandemic of 1919/20 and the Covid pandemic of 2020. While I've stayed away from most books that mention the pandemic (it feels too soon!), I trust Allende, and that trust was not misplaced. She handled a very raw topic with a grace and lightness that felt comfortable, almost like a passing breeze.

One thing that struck me throughout the reading of Violeta was how it gave a beautiful sense of scale to the trajectory of a life. I love how many times Violeta fell in love, how many times she allowed herself to change her mind and how the phases of her existence blended seamlessly together. Allende is a masterful writer who allows her characters to flow through time, influenced by but not buried underneath the weight of the world around them. This is a gorgeous read.

Allende has done it again! Written as a letter to her grandson, Violeta is a delicious novel that spans the century from 1920 - 2020. Violeta is born during the Spanish flu pandemic and dies during the coronavirus pandemic. Her 100 years spent in an unnamed Latin American country and US are full of drama, from her family growing up to the family she creates. Violeta spends her youth in the capital and then in the desolate southern countryside where she learns to love the land and its people. She is headstrong and determined to make a life for herself, not follow the one that her mother, maiden aunts and brother have planned for her. Violeta is successful in business, has a tumultuous affair which results in 2 children, all while living through the country's experiment with democracy and the subsequent years of brutal military dictatorship.

Allende's character development is flawless, as we learn to love and understand Violeta and her decisions. Her sense of place brings us to this unnamed country, its capital, its city and its countryside. The reader can see the land and its people, feel the stress of the authoritarian government and the love of the family that Violeta ultimately creates.

Anyone who loves epic novels, Latin America and beautiful writing should read Violeta. The fluidity of the prose alone is enough to pick up this book. I highly recommend.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for an ARC copy.

Isabel Allende’s new book, Violeta, is a family saga set in South America about a woman who follows her heart through many good and bad choices. At 100 years old, Violeta documents her life in a letter to her beloved grandson. She has endured abuse, scandal, political unrest, war and of course, true love. As usual, Allende melds historical events with personal stories and challenges. I enjoyed this book although I found some parts to go on too long for my taste.

As Violeta nears her 100th year, she writes her memoir to her grandson. Her life often parallels the turbulence experienced in her Latin American country of origin. She marries a man she doesn't really love and then leaves him for a passionate lover, who is also a liar and a violent man. At the same time her country is facing political turmoil with a great deal of violence perpetrated on the people. Throughout this time Violeta prospers financially because she has good business sense. However, her personal life is a shambles and much sadness and grief follows her. Violeta's 100 years covers every emotion and circumstance that can be imagined but because of her inner strength and determination, she prospers both financially and emotionally. She learns to love and be loved and to enjoy life with all its prosperity and pain.
Allende writes beautifully and has a magical way of interweaving the politics of the nation with the lives of ordinary people. This is a cautionary tale of dictatorship and evil but also a message of hope and love.

Violeta is the new book by Isabel Allende. I have read almost all of Allende's books and enjoyed them. This book, however, reminded me of my favorites that she has written. It is in the style of Daughter of
Fortune and some of her earlier works. Violeta is telling her grandson her life story. He was raised by her when his mother died, so they have a special relationship. Violeta has lived an interesting and full life, and has survived many of the difficulties that women face. She has been rich and poor, was both adored and abused, and gives an honest depiction of her life. This is an epic novel that examines political upheaval and relationship issues in a style that is purely Allende. I enjoyed this book and want to thank Netgalley and Random House Ballantine Publishing for giving me an opportunity to preview this book in exchange for an honest review.