The structure of the novel is formed by different timelines and stories that are intertwined somewhere in the novel.
Isabel Allende touches on the migration theme that has been addressed in other of her novels and through these stories, it is portrayed the motives that led people to move to other places leaving their homeland looking for a place to feel safe and free.

One of the things that I like about her novels is that she brings up events that are rarely mentioned in history, in this one, I heard for the first time about the El Mozote massacre, a brutal event that happened in El Salvador.

Some parts were very emotive and heartbreaking and I enjoyed the way these characters’ lives were intertwined.

Thank you Netgalley Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Books for this e-ARC.
Pub date: June 6th, 2023

3.5/5

Isabel Allende is known for her sweeping literary fiction that crosses generations and geography. The Wind Knows My Name follows in this tradition, beginning with the story of Samuel Adler whose mother places him on the Kindertransport to escape the Nazis and winds through Anita Díaz, separated from her mother at the US border under the horrific family separation policy.

I love how seemingly unconnected stories wind together so subtly and brilliantly in Allende’s books. It forces me to pay attention and keep searching for those Easter eggs throughout her books. Once I started this book, I could not put it down. From the very beginning, I was so engaged by the writing and the story. The themes of family, separation, and trauma are woven throughout the book but somehow it still ends on a hopeful note.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende is a very special book full of very special characters who will stay with me for a long time. Samuel is a Jewish child in Austria who is caught up in Hitler’s desire to exterminate the Jewish race. He is part of a group of children who leave Austria and their families to spend the war and beyond in England. Anita is a child from El Salvador who makes it to the United States with her mother only to be separated from her during the time that this was a common occurrence.

The book follows these children as well as Samuel as an adult. The story of how they endure horrible hardships, but survive and end up in each other’s lives is hard to read, but also so good. The writing, the other characters, even the Pandemic make these a spectacular book.

A rare, unexpected story of the heartbreaking cost of surviving persecution, war and street violence, yet also a beautiful story of survival, hope, and love.

“The Wind Knows My Name” immerses the reader in a profound parallel of what it must have felt like to be a child of the Holocaust navigating the loss of all that is loved, and a child caught in a current day immigration camp who has been separated from her family and all she loves. Both alone and afraid, Samuel and Anita are extraordinary, I cheered for each as they struggled to make sense of the world around them.

Isabel Allende’s storytelling kept me reading every word with anticipation of the next. Samuel, Anita, Selena, Frank, were all my companions as I read, and loved each one. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read, I learned so much I would not have known of both the Holocaust & Immigration, all while enjoying a heartfelt story.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende looks at the immigration system, then in 1938, and now in 2019, in this historical fiction novel due out in June. The effects of war on children, be it the Nazi takeover of Europe or the Civil War in El Salvador, are heart breaking as experienced by Samuel Adler, a 6-year-old Jewish boy during Kristallnacht and 7-year-old Anita Diaz, who is blind and has been parted from her mother at the border as the family separation order goes into effect.

Samuel was born in Vienna, where he lived with his mother and father, until his father disappeared and his mother found a spot for him on the Kindertransport train going from Austria to the United Kingdom. A violin prodigy, Samuel can take only his instrument and a change of clothes as he embarks on a journey eventually landing in the United States.

Eighty years later, Anita and her mother had sought rescue from the danger in El Salvador as they made their way to Nogales, Arizona. Soon her mother is singled out and removed from Anita, who “talks” with her late sister in a magical world in her mind.

Selena Duran, Anita’s case worker, partners with a lawyer from San Francisco, to find a solution for the child. Together they learn there is an unknowing family member in the States who could offer Anita a home, Leticia Cordero, an employee in the home of an aging Samuel Adler, tying the two immigrants together.

Allende’s latest work exemplifies the sacrifices of parents and the resilience of children in a harsh world where only the wind knows their names. The picture she paints with words about the conditions of immigration in America today is hard to imagine with people put into “coolers” and babies and children taken from their parents to dissuade immigrants’ ideas about the conditions in America.

Isabel Allende, bestselling author of The House of the Spirits and A Long Petal of the Sea, has been called "the world's most widely read Spanish-language author.” An exile from Chile herself, Allende infuses her books with realism.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 1, 2023.

I would like to thank Ballantine Books, Random House Publishing Group. and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I've previously read Allende's The House of Spirits and The Island Beneath the Sea, and while I do tend to be very drawn to this style of female-centered historical saga, I found the writing style difficult to get into. There's a lot happening, but I'm always left with the feeling that I didn't get to know the characters as well as I would have liked to.

In the last few years, I’ve been working on catching myself up on Isabel Allende’s existing catalogue in between releases of the English translations of her newer titles. Her new novel, The Wind Knows My Name will be released soon and as with so many of her novels, it explores the long-lasting effects of trauma and how it shapes the people we become – in this case, drawing parallels between the humanitarian crisis of Jewish refugees in the early days of the Holocaust and the migrant crisis at the US/Mexico border in recent years (compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic). Of her other novels that I’ve read so far, I’d have to say it put me most in mind of In the Midst of Winter and the more I reflect on the two books, the more parallels I see but in that way that I used to love teasing out in my college lit courses – examining how a writer returns to the same/similar themes and explores them in different ways over time.

As a five-year-old, Samuel Adler’s mother sent him to the UK as part of the Kindertransport to get him safely away from Austria after Kristallnacht. About 80 years later, Anita’s mother brought her to the US/Mexico border to help them escape from a man who tried to kill her only for US immigration agents to separate them as they sought asylum leaving the young girl at the mercy of an over-worked, underfunded and too often unsympathetic system. Ultimately, a series of women who have persevered in the face of trauma and adversity bring the two together, refusing to let broken and corrupt systems prevent them from helping those most in need of care and understanding.

What I enjoyed best about The Wind Knows My Name is probably the structure. Switching focus among several characters and jumping back and forth in time alongside those narrative threads, it is theme that first ties the characters’ stories together – having little choice but to leave home and family behind to cast yourself at the mercy of a foreign nation because of the atrocities being committed and permitted by those in power. Many people these days refuse to see (or pretend not to see) the similarities between Jewish refugees of the early Holocaust and many of the refugee crises that are happening around the world, particularly the crisis at the US/Mexico border. But Allende deftly draws a direct line between the two as far as the personal experience of being one of those refugees, particularly the children. The exact causes may be different but the difficulty of making that decision, the danger and the trauma of the experience itself remain the same.

As with the other novels I’ve read by Isabel Allende, I adore the way that she creates characters with such different backgrounds and personalities and develops their relationships in ways that so clearly show how they work – and that she doesn’t reduce everything to romantic relationships. The families presented in the novel, as well, show how complicated and strained relationships can become – that found families can be supportive and closer than the ties of blood. And that it isn’t always tragedy or ultimatums that cause families to break or drift apart.

The Wind Knows My Name will be available on June 6, 2023.

Let me start by saying this is a beautiful story. However, my issues were the overly slow pace, and the overly descriptive writing style. During the first half of the book I found myself confused by all the seemingly unrelated characters. The chapters were so descriptive and long, that I struggled with holding my attention. The chapters in the beginning cover decades of the characters life, while later in the book they are much more succinct. I did really enjoy when the characters stories intertwined and we were left with a beautiful story of never ending love. It was a beautiful read, just make sure you are prepared for this one. This was my first book by this author but it won’t be my last. I’ll just make sure I am ready for it.

I would recommend this one if you are in the mood for an atmospheric and emotional read.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A unique plot which covers both WW2 Holocaust and modern day immigration issues. The characters were so interesting. I wish there had been more depth to some of the characters.

The opening pages of Isabel Allende’s newest novel are challenging, not because it is World War II in Vienna, but because the violence of Kristallnacht is so easily remembered in the violence and hysteria of the January 6, 2021 riots at the halls of Capitol. But Allende knows how to grab your emotions. I was immediately captured by Samuel, the five year old son of a Jewish couple in Vienna and by Colonel Volker, a widower who lives in their building and helps Samuel understand why he must go to England on the children’s train.

Samuel is a violin prodigy who plays for the whole station when they try to tell him he can’t take his violin. The woman who organized the Kindertransports hears and intervenes. He takes the violin. That is the point at which the story becomes Samuel’s story.

When Samuel arrives in England, he goes from one bad situation to another, including a horrible orphanage, until he is rescued by a Quaker couple who informally adopt him. That act of kindness saves him, but does not take away the profound loneliness of being a war orphan. Though no longer a prodigy, as Samuel grows up he continues his music, finally landing a spot in the London Philharmonic Orchestra. But, still lonely, he finds himself drawn to American, to explore jazz in the heart of New Orleans.

The story changes focus at that point, and we meet another war orphan, an accidental survivor of the massacre at El Mozarte in El Salvador. Leticia was gravely ill and in a hospital in the city when her village was pillaged and more than eight hundred murdered. Allende minces no words over the role the US played in allowing this and other massacres to happen, and never to be investigated. It’s horrible, and it’s a part of history, and we need to know about it, just as we need to know hat was done to the Jews in Europe.

After more about Leticia, both as a child and as an adult who marries three times (before she figures out that she deserves someone to care about her), the scene turns to Selena. Selena represents an organization called Magnolia, that tries to reunite children with the parents they were torn from when they crossed the border into the US. Read three or four of the stories Selena tells Frank, the lawyer she is trying to recruit for pro bono work. They will break your heart just like the Holocaust story of Samuel and the massacre story of Leticia. But these stories are happening today, and happening in the US.

The child Selena wants Frank to help is named Anita and she is nearly totally blind. She’s living in a group home. One chapter in the first person lets you into her world and gives you her perspective.

And the story goes back to Samuel. In New Orleans to study jazz, Samuel meets the daughter of an important family who defies them, to be a free spirit, and eventually to marry Samuel.

You know there have to be threads connecting the three stories, but I’m not going to tell you what they are. Besides, this review is way too long. But you will come away from this book richer in knowledge and insight (maybe even wisdom) and it will be worth your while.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende again reaches success in bringing attention to current global issues while including points of historical fiction. The Wind Knows My Name features both in a seamless and invigorating style that makes Allende's work such a joy to read.

The story begins with the Kindertransport of child Samuel Adler from Vienna to London. A musical prodigy and shy child, Samuel struggles with relationships even as he travels to New Orleans and meets the love of his life, Nadine. Though unconventional, their marriage works through decades of turmoil and change.

Through a series of events, Samuel's life will connect with Anita, an eight-year-old immigrant from El Salvador separated from her mother. She attempts to make sense of her present state by having conversations with her dead sister. She states that she will never be alone because "The Wind Knows My Name". Through the efforts of pro bono lawyers Selena and Frank, Anita will reach a new kind of normal in the care of Samuel and his housekeeper Leticia.

Allende makes clear the inhumane separation of parents and children at border crossings and does not back down from exploring the long-term effects of such separations. Through Allende's characters there develops a
keen awareness of just how decisions made at the high levels of government affect impact those most in need of a chance.

Something about Allende's writing makes reading about the horrors of humanity worth it. I don't know if it's knowing that she always comes back to the good surviving in people or that it's just so pleasant to read her writing, but I can't believe how much I actually enjoyed the reading of this book full of the horrors of World War II, violence in South America, and the desperate immigrating to the United States.
It follows the stories of several characters, jumping between people, times, and locations a little bit jarringly, which is the only negative thing I have to say about this book. Allende is a great writer and gives each character a very distinctive voice, so going from a little boy surviving a traumatizing escape from Austria during WWII to a hotshot lawyer in San Francisco in 2019 feels like you're suddenly reading pages that were put in the wrong book. It eventually makes sense and hindsight made me realize that it's probably so you don't give up on the book out of pure misery, but it's still jarring.
I am not exaggerating when I say this book is full of pain. It's one tragedy after another followed by awful people being evil just because they have power over others. Have tissues ready and prepare for the emotional damage. However, know that there will also be little beacons of light and humanity that make things feel not so bad and leave you sad but full of hope.
Overall, it's a story about the hope that leads to striving for a better life, how can I not recommend that?

Very grateful to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the emotional read!

I'll read anything Isabel Allende writes; she's one of my all-time favorite authors. But some of her more recent books have been a bit disappointing to me. Until this one. This book. This book is why I love her writing.

Thanks, kind NetGalley folk, for allowing me to enjoy an early read.

"This powerful and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta weaves together past and present, tracing the ripple effects of war and immigration on one child in Europe in 1938 and another in the United States in 2019.

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht - the night his family loses everything. As her child's safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel's mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.

Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita's mother.

Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers - and never stop dreaming."

Survive!

Very different from Violeta, but beautiful portraits of immigrants woven together for an insightful and compelling read. For lovers of American Dirt.

It took me a while to figure out how the three story strands would come together, but I trusted Allende and I was not disappointed! I expect this novel will be criticized for being heavy-handed, but I couldn’t wait to discover what would happen next, and found the tidy ending immensely satisfying.

In 1938, Samuel, the son of a Jewish doctor in Vienna is sent by his mother to Britain via the Kinderstransport program to escape the Nazis after his father is killed. His mother later perishes in a concentration camp.

Letitia is descended from a family that faced extinction in El Salvador.

In 2019, seven year old blind Anita is forcibly separated from her mother after they escape persecution in El Salvador, crossing the Rio Grande to seek refuge in America.

Social worker Selma Duran is assigned Anita’s case through an immigrant assistance organization and enlists the services of Frank, a high profile up and coming attorney.

These five lives eventually intersect during the Covid era in a tale that has pathos, humor, inhumanity, compassion, strength. Isabel Allende is a skilled storyteller and is at her best when weaving history into the personal narratives of her characters.

This engrossing and heartrending story emphasizes the horrors of the effects of the acts of adults on the lives of children whether it be through heinous, barbarous atrocities or political policy. As an aside, I found some of her reflections on aging and marriage to be painfully accurate.

The story does skip around a bit. Have patience, though, all will be revealed and come together in a meaningful resolution.

The Wind Knows My Name is a worthy addition to Allende’s body of work.

Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse #ballantinebooks for the ARC.

The wind knows my name by Isabel Allende
5 ⭐️

I would without a doubt say that this is Isabel Allende’s best work. The Wind knows my name it’s a heartbreaking story about genocide, displacement, desire to live free of persecution, bureaucracy, and racism.

We get three separate immigrant stories that at first sight seem to be separate stories, but as the book goes on start to interconnect and creates this masterpiece. All the characters are so well developed; you care for Anita profoundly and get to feel her pain and fears.

The Wind Knows My Name is a testament to the sacrifices parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers and never stop dreaming.

This book broke my heart, gave me hope, made me upset, and made me cry, one of those books that stay with you forever.

Thank you Netgalley for this advance copy

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in which Isabel Allende eloquently portrays the suffering, strength, and resilience of human beings enduring inhuman behavior. Spanning time and distance the story repeats itself; families, parents and children torn apart by man's inhumanity. This book is a testament that should inspire our generation to wake up and make a move towards compassion and action to right our wrongs

Heartbreaking and heartwarming

Loved the pov narration and the characters. Brilliant job marrying the holocaust with today's immigrant issues along with mistreatments both physical and mental. A loud powerful read. Allende, as always, has a way with words creating an affecting read leaving the reader with much to examine.