A book that was just "all right." Heavy on the telling, which, for me, made the reading experience far less immersive and powerful than it would've, or should've, been. That being said, the epistolary conceit of the novel definitely lends itself more towards telling, but perhaps epistolary novels simply aren't for me in this case.

As always, Allende wrote a book of such magnitude and staying power. The narrator, Violeta, was born in 1920 during the Spanish Flu epidemic and concludes with covid's appearance, 100 years later. So many topics are covered. There is war, revolution, poverty, drugs, love, unrest, cheating and happiness. Violeta is a memorable character as are many others, and there are many, many, others.
Her prose is so beautifully constructed. She has such a talent of making you feel angst and joy simultaneously. Her descriptions of war and poverty are so realistic.
Brilliant, as always!

I very much appreciate being gifted this copy of Violeta by Isabel Allende, and the opportunity to read & review it. Thanks to the publisher.

Headline: If this book were an Indian movie, it would totally rock the subtitle "The 100-year journey of a privileged Chilean woman towards feminist benevolence"

Author: Isabel Allende

Date of Publication: January 25, 2022

Legacy: Allende is arguably the most widely read Spanish author in the world.

Genre: Historical Fiction

How I heard about this book: Got an advance review copy of the e-book from Netgalley.com. I chose it because of the author's name.

Appropriate Audience: Adult

Rating: 3

This review is going to be a short one because even though I got an ARC, this book has been in publication for almost a year; and most of all of there is to be said about it must have already been said! However, it was compelling enough for me to write something about it, so here we go!

I hadn't read any Isabel Allende books before requesting this ARC, but I surely had read about them - all high praise, of course! This book certainly proved right all of it! Allende's writing is beautiful, mellifluous, and SO well-researched, that you can almost touch the landscape (and the times) while reading about them. And all this without the screenplay-like "show, don't tell" trend of today's novels. What Allende describes is not superficial scenery at all!

As for the story, Violeta is a saga! And as far as sagas go, it is one of the tolerable ones I've read (I love finite stories, not generational sagas) - all thanks to Allende! As a character, Violeta is very interesting, entrepreneurial, flawed, but unique! The other characters are also rather interesting, and make you think long and hard about human nature.

All in all, I enjoyed reading it!

I have enjoyed reading Isabel Allende since I first read House of the Spirits in the early 90s. I love the way she weaves her stories into historical context to help you to understand more than just the stories of her characters but what the world was like that they are experiencing. In this story, I struggled to connect with many of the characters; however, that did not detract from the overall story for me. If you are new to this author, I wouldn't start with this book, because I have enjoyed other stories more than this one, but Allende is a gifted writer and you really can't go wrong with any of her books.

Isabel Allende’s Violeta is my favorite book that I read this year. As a huge fan of Allende’s other novels, I had high expectations of this book and can happily say that Violeta smashed through all of them. Violeta, the narrator, was born in 1920 during that pandemic and recounts the story of her life to someone named Camilo (who readers learn more about as the novel unfolds so I will not spoil anything by explaining more here). She lives through revolutions, unrest, peace, grief, and happiness. This novel is beautifully written and evokes much emotion. Another phenomenal books by Allende!

A beautifully written story with characters that jump off the page. I only found out after I read it that she has written about the extended family in some of her other books and I am anxious to check those out!

Isabel Allende is an amazing writer and Violeta doesn't disappoint. The characters are beautifully written and compelling.

It has been a hot minute since reading this book. Here is what I remember....

1. I liked the story overall.
2. Violetta was a bit toxic herself.
3. Men aren't great and they don't deserve unquestioning loyalty
4. The father-daughter relationship made me unconfortable
5. I would of smacked Violetta in the face if she was my friend for her behavior and unwavering loyalty to bad men.

I can understand why this story is well received. But I do find myself having issues with weak women. And while Violetta grows, she let's her weakness cost her a daughter.

Really good book. The plot was well-written and engrossing. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Violeta is a sweeping story in the 100 year life of Violeta Del Valle. Violeta relates her life to Camilo, her beloved grandson. Throughout those 100 years, Violeta has seen and experienced much, from her birth during the Spanish Influenza outbreak, through war, and revolution. Allende never disappoints, and this was definitely a gratifying read.

This book was written in long letter form and tells the story of Violeta's life. It was mostly interesting, but it did get tedious at times. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I don't think it will be memorable.

Review coming soon. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

5 of 5 Stars! She is an absolutely stunning author!
Pub Date January 25, 2022
#Violeta #IsabelAllende #NetGalley

Wow this story was an emotional ride. This was my first book by Allende but I may have to check out their other books. I love reading books in journal form, it seems for me at least to make it more intimate. With Violeta’s story. It took me a minute to get into the story and while some of her choices in life I couldn’t understand, although I’ve never been in those situations, you can’t deny the epic life she had throughout all those major events. I hope to one day be able to share my life like that.

An epic novel about a woman's life. This was an interesting read and it was refreshing to read historical fiction that wasn't about World War II, I'm WWII'ed out at the moment! This story narrates the life of a 100-year-old woman living through private tragedies and triumphs, set the backdrop of real historical events in South America. I learned a lot, which is always nice for someone who enjoys seeing history up close in places I dont know well.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC I am reviewing this a tad late, sorry but the book took me forever to get through. It was a long tough read for me. However Violeta's story was beautiful and there was a lot of life story to cover in 100 years.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC to this EPIC story. I am reviewing this a tad late, sorry. Violeta's story was beautiful and there was a lot of life story to cover in 100 years.

2.5 disappointing stars ⭐️,

This is the hardest review I’ve ever had to write. Isabel Allende is a favorite author of mine, having read 4 of her books which I enjoyed very much. In addition this book has generated mostly 4 and 5 star reviews. I feel I must have read a different book since I can’t agree. Since i’m definitely in the minority here PLEASE take the time to check out other reviews before deciding to not read this book!
The storyline is simple. It is 2020 and Violeta is 100 years old and feels her death drawing near. She wishes to leave her life story with her grandson,Camilo so writes him a long letter detailing all she has seen and experienced along the way. I should probably not have requested this title since I’m the type that prefers to be shown what happened not told. The letter format was almost all tell and no show. Also for a good amount of he book Violeta recites the events with a flat, almost monotone voice. It felt like she was relating events that had nothing to do with her.
I did chose this book since Chilean history is not something.I was very familiar with. Violeta’s life is literally bookended by pandemics. She was born in 1920 the year the Spanish Influenza Reached Chile. She expects to die in 2020 the year the world was overtaken by Covid 19. In between those years the world experienced much turmoil and I looked forward to learning a great deal of history while reading. Unfortunately this did not happen. For example WWII and the immediate aftermath was literally handled with one small paragraph stating that it didn’t affect her directly so she paid no attention when “the men” were discussing it. What a wasted opportunity! It is well known that many German war criminals escaped Europe to South America surely a great adventurous story could have been crafted to boost a pretty boring storyline.
Despite a very promising beginning where Violetas’ character appears to be a strong, intelligent and courageous young woman who is willing to challenge the social traditions that stifle women once she meets Julian this all changes. Julian is a charming pilot that comes into her life early in her marriage and sweeps her off her feet and away from her husband. Julian is a flawed character. He is a hard drinking, womanizing man who is often away flying anyone who wants service even those from the criminal world. Their relationship soon becomes abusive. He is physically abusive to her and emotionally and verbally abusive to their children. Try as I might I could not understand her decisions for staying. She was not dependent financially, she was financially secure and didn’t need him for her livelihood. I think it was more that she seemed to be addicted to the passion they had for each other. She rarely if ever discussed her love for him, that I could understand, but she does talk a great deal about their sexual connection and lust for each other. After an altercation she’d be ready to end the relationship but he would seduce her into bed and she would stay. I do understand domestic violence well and know that each woman stays for reasons that are unique to her relationship. I just never could discern her reasons. I am very empathetic to any person caught in such a destructive and dangerous relationship I just couldn’t extend that empathy to her.
I could give other examples of why I did not like the book but to do so I would have to include spoilers. That is something I won’t do. I can only repeat that my opinion is definitely in the minority here and you should take that into account when making your decision.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Ballantine Books and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

I enjoyed this story but it was not my normal type of book. Other books by Allende held my interest more. But it's also a lot of history and events that follow the course of Violeta's 100 year life and as with anyone's story, there were ups and downs and times the tension was more fraught than others. I at times wish we had gotten more of her tutor's story. We do however get a lot of Chilean history which I love about historical fiction, and how much society has evolved over the last century and it is a unique tie-in to have been born around the time of the Spanish-Flu and died around the time of Covid. I think because it just reads more like a memoir, as she is writing her life story to her grandson, and not a novel plot it was a slower pace. Though with beautiful attention to detail and descriptive narration it is meant to be appreciated at one's leisure.

Violeta was a beautifully written book. I have read all of Isabel Allende’s books and this was one of my favorites. It is the sweeping story that you expect for Allende. The characters are rich and well developed. The story has the history and authentic cultural feel that make it a compelling book.