4.5 stars

A sweeping historical fiction novel that spans the life of Violeta, a centenarian leaving the story of her life written to her grandson, Camilo. The story runs from Violeta's birth at the time of the Spanish flu until modern day, under the influence of Covid 19. It is a languid kind of read with great historical context and a bit of globetrotting as Violeta's life takes the reader to multiple countries, spanning South America, North America, and Europe.

Allende's writing is evocative and atmospheric, delivering the history of Chile and the surrounding areas in a marvelous fashion. The style of Allende's writing in this novel does lean more towards the literary, though the internal exploration of character is not overly intense. There is great attention to feminist topics and Violeta's character is a strong, independent woman who really shines throughout the story.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

This book was initially difficult to get into but as I kept reading it became easier. Unfortunately my personal opinion on this book is unfavorable but it may be due to personal circumstances while trying to read this story. I just did not connect with it at all.

This was my first book by Isabel Allende but not my last. This is a very engaging story about a woman - Violeta - and her century of life. It takes place in an unnamed South American country, where we learn about the government, revolutions, the Church, and the CIA’s involvement in the country. The book was totally engrossing.

Violeta by Isabel Allende is categorized as an epistolary novel. This one is not told as a series of letters, however, but more as one long letter to her grandson. The format is very similar to City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, if you’ve read that.

The story starts in 1918, during the Spanish Flu epidemic, and continues for the next 70 years as Violeta tells her life story to her grandson.

I really liked Violeta. I put off reading this book because in my mind, I thought it would be a hard read since it is written by Isabel Allende. It was very approachable and not a hard book to read at all. The content, however, was hard to read in parts. Violeta does not have an easy life. But she is an extraordinary woman who lives an extraordinary life.

Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhousepublishing for the advanced e-copy of #Violeta.

Violeta is a story about the life of a woman. The trials and tribulations, the joy and accomplishments keep the reader connected throughout the book. The book is written to Camilo, Violeta’s grandson, with the details of Violeta’s life. It shares Violeta’s relationships with men, spouses, children, and friends. I’m a fan of Isabel Allende’s writing and have read many of her books. The Hispanic setting continues in this book as well as the consistent statement on politics. The political points that the author frequently makes is consistent with her previous books. Within this book, the Great Depression, the Spanish Influenza, Coronavirus, Axis powers, and much more are included. Financial struggles, business ventures, suicide, homosexuality, sexual assault, drug abuse, rural living, sterility, mafia, and adultery, to name a few, are all topics touched upon in this book. In true Allende fashion, she often drops one-line “bombs” at the end of a section after giving background information such as the issues in her marriage and then “that’s how I agreed to be sterilized.” These “bombs” keeps the reader intrigued.

Allende does a good job showing “viewed from the outside, it all looked to be true, but nothing is as simple as it seems.” Violeta’s story is not as simple as it seems. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Allende’s books. If you’ve never read Isabel Allende, this is a great book to start!

Thank you to Netgalley and the book’s publisher, Random House, for an advanced reader’s copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A historical fiction novel set in Chile that spans the 100-year-life of Violeta. For being such an expansive novel, it was fairly short and read quickly. Violeta is definitely a person I would have loved to have known.

Violeta is an epic story about an epic woman born during the Spanish flu and dying during The scourge of Corona. Her life is long and complicated, with many loves and may mistakes. I loved her and was frustrated by her. My only complaint is there is a lot of unnecessary descriptions that make the book longer than it should be.

I am a huge fan of Allende, so I write this review with a heavy heart. This book fell very flat for me. It was far too ambitious, even for a master writer like Allende. It seemed like she was just trying to cover as many historical events as possible without thought to characters or plot. The writing felt so detached and distant, I did not care about Violeta or any of the other characters the way I normally do in an Allende novel. It says a lot that there are distinct tragedies - murder, suicide, addiction - and yet I still felt so detached. Violeta looking back and telling the story of her 100 year life should have been interesting but felt like a contrived plot device for the author to fit in the historical periods and events that she wanted. And many of those time periods were covered with such a light brush, it verged on offensive (i.e. the period of the dictatorship and the disappeared). I will go back to Allende's older material that I love so much, but I will not recommend this one to anyone.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. I'm sad to say I've never read a book by Isabel Allende until now (don't revoke my bookworm card). This was a wonderful place to start, and I'm eager to enjoy another book from her in the future.

Despite the fact that every description of this book references that Violeta was born during the 1920 flu epidemic, neither that nor the 2020 version factor into the book much at all. She tells the story of her life, spanning 100 years and many cities, lovers, etc.

I found the very beginning that dealt with Violeta's early childhood to be a bit slow, but it was all part of Allende's world building. By the time Violeta was a late teenager I was engrossed in her story and her adventures.

Allende is a wonderful storyteller and her mixture of real world events with her tale made me feel like I was reading a memoir or a biography rather than fiction.

I'm rating this 4.5 stars as the first part did take me a bit to get into, but I definitely recommend!

Thank you Random House Publishing for the early release access....

THEMES:
birth-death life story
Women empowerment
Lost loves

The story captured me so much I was almost convinced they were a real person. It was written very well. The dictatorship/communicism/feminist movement/mass murders and torture greatly written.

My only problem with this story!
The story was all about Violeta, more than half the story she barely talks about camilo and then she goes on and on about him about 80% of the story is gone. I wasn't interested in him barely at all since there wasn't barely any dialogue between them. Could have cut most of it out to be honest. Still be a great book. Still giving it 5 stars with this weird section of writing.

This was a very interesting story, I learned so much from reading this book. The strength of the characters was so realistic that I could see them in my mind. I enjoyed this trip right along with all the characters!

This is my favorite Allende book ever and that is saying quite a lot.

Violeta is 100 years old and is leaving her story to a loved one. It covers her life from 1920 to 2020 in Chile.

A magnificent tale. I didn't want this book to end~!

Violeta, a historical fiction novel, is told from the viewpoint of Violeta as told through a series of letters to her grown grandson. The story spans from her birth in Chile during the 1920 Spanish Flu epidemic through to her death in 2020 during the coronavirus epidemic. The story tells of relationships, family dynamics, natural disasters and political upheavals. I really enjoyed reading this story and Violeta felt like a real person to me and I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't a memoir and was instead historical fiction. My only wish is that the story was told with a little more emotion so that I could have connected more with the narrator.

Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC.

I have to start by saying I am a huge Isabel Allende fan for many years and this one did not disappoint. The story of Violeta who was born in Chile during the flu pandemic in 1920 and her life story through the corona virus pandemic in 2020. Through the story is family drama, tragedies, happiness, political information, history of the country, and to some extent world history and how one woman life was influenced by all this.

Violeta is not always likeable and you won't always agree with her actions, but it makes for a great story.

Violeta had a strong start with colorful characters and settings, but ended up really dragging for me. The book, which turns out to be a death bed letter from the main character to her grandson, recounts the main character's life in South America from the time of the Spanish flu through the time of COVID-19. It was sometimes hard for me to keep track of characters and political climates ad one scary or depressing thing after another occurred in her life, buffered by help and support of friends and family and strangers who turned into friends and family. Reading this book is a roller coaster of hopelessness and hopefulness. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

This book is something special! You are reading from the POV of a elder women who has lived through not one but two pandemics. Perfect for our era and this crazy time in our lives with covid-19. This book is even made more unique because it is told through "letters" to a grandchild. It is hard to say too much without giving it away (isn't that what always makes a good book!?)

Thank you to RandomHouse for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Violeta by Isabel Allende. This is a sweeping, epic novel following Violeta through her 100 years from 1920 to 2020. The story is told from Violeta to her grandson through a letter. The novel is vivid and many historical events are lived through by the characters. Isabel Allende is an incredible writer and this novel does not disappoint. I highly recommend reading this and her other works.

My one regret about this book is the fact that I took so long to read it.

I loved this. I loved Violeta and her story and just the sheer scope of everything in her 100-year life that this story covered (1920-2020). It reads like someone you love is telling you a story, and you cannot stop listening. Violeta went through a lot in her life, but all of the experiences ultimately shape her into who she is at the end of her life.

She made mistakes and acknowledged them. She did everything she could to improve the lives of those she loved, and learned how to admit that she was wrong. I really appreciated this in her character and in the story as a whole, because sometimes I feel like books just gloss over the consequences of its main character's actions.

The supporting cast of characters is vibrant, and I could remember every little detail about them throughout the story. This story is memorable, and should be given much more love. A favorite of the year, for sure.

CW: Domestic abuse, drug abuse, war, addiction, death of a parent, death of a child, murder, government-incited violence, infidelity, toxic relationships, suicide, genocide

Another beautifully written Isabel Allende novel! This one started a bit slow for me but ultimately sucked me in with beautiful characters and a wonderful story!

What a beautiful story, this author has a way of transporting you into a different world! Will recommend