Such a tender story about refugees from different locations and timeframes coming together in a story of healing. I love Isabel Allende's writing. It feels so smooth and natural, like it magically flows from her pen. And the characters are shown so much empathy. I will recommend this book far and wide.

I rate this historical fiction book 4 stars
I have previously read Violeta by this author and enjoyed it. This book has several narrators:
Samuel--a Jewish boy who leaves Austria in 1938 at the age of 5 via the Kindertransport program
Selena- a social worker who recruits lawyers to help refugees who have entered the US illegally and want asylum
Leticia--who entered the US as a child illegally, but is now an adult and a US citizen
Anita- a blind 5 year girl who was separated from her mother by the cruel "zero tolerance" policy in effect in 2019.
In the beginning these characters are separate, but they all come together as the book progresses.
Some of the events described in the book are truly depressing, such as the people who are murdered in the Holocaust and the treatment of the refugees at the US border.
However there is a satisfying and heartwarming ending. I recommend this book to fans of the author and historical fiction fans.
Thanks to Megan Whalen at Random House Publishing Group for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#TheWindKnowsMyName #NetGalley

"The Wind Knows My Name" by Isabel Allende is a beautifully written novel that transports readers to the rugged landscapes of the American West during the 19th century. The story follows the journey of Aurora del Valle, a young woman who embarks on a quest to uncover the truth about her family's past and her own identity.

Allende's prose is lyrical and poetic, with vivid descriptions that bring the landscape and characters to life. She captures the wild and untamed spirit of the American West, as well as the challenges and struggles faced by the people who lived there. From the harsh realities of life on the frontier to the spiritual beliefs of the Native American tribes, Allende paints a rich and nuanced portrait of the time and place.

The character of Aurora is a complex and fascinating protagonist. She is a strong and independent woman who defies societal norms and expectations, and her journey towards self-discovery is both inspiring and thought-provoking. The other characters in the book are also well-drawn and interesting, each with their own motivations and struggles.

One of the most impressive aspects of the book is how it seamlessly weaves together different themes and genres. There is romance, adventure, mystery, and spiritualism all interwoven into the story, creating a rich tapestry that is both engaging and thought-provoking.

In conclusion, "The Wind Knows My Name" is a beautifully written and engaging novel that will transport readers to another time and place. Allende's prose is lyrical and emotive, and her characters are well-drawn and complex. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or wants to be transported on an emotional journey through the American West.

Another phenomenal read by Allende! If you've read their previous body of work, I promise you this will not disappoint. Allende is a master of storytelling, capturing her readers from moment one with prescient topics of immigration, family bonds, and human strife. Her work reads like poetry and I highly, highly recommend The Wind Knows My Name.

The Wind Knows My Name is a cross between the WW2 books and American Dirt and I think it works! Samuel Adler escapes occupied Vienna in 1938 for life in London. In 2019, Anita Diaz, flees El Salvador with her mother to escape danger from a bad man. In 1938, Samuel loses track of his parents and ends up growing up an orphan. Anita gets separated from her mother in a family separation policy in the U.S.

The story continues with Anita getting placed with her Aunt Leticia who is employed by Samuel Adler. Everyone's heart goes out to Anita and she is well cared for while the search for her mother continues. Samuel sees a lot of parallels between the escape from El Salvador and escaping the Nazi-occupied Austria. Anita does bring new life to an aging gentleman that is in a position to help this young child.

I would highly recommend this book. I enjoy books that jump timelines and Isabel Allende is a gifted writer.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley, #TheWindKnowsMyName, #IsabelAllende

This was another really strong outing from Allende. An absolute must purchase for all libraries, a super solid circulating author!

The Wind Knows My Name offers two accounts of children forced to live through the worst of times, who share parallel lives. One character survives Kristalnacht as the only member of the family to survive thanks to the mother's ultimate love. The second character is a current immigrant who escaped the horrors of the massacres in El Salvador.

The book goes deep into the themes of love and sacrifice. The resiliency of children and the current political immigration policies are bound up in a story of intersectionality and the constant replication of a very similar situate.

I've read many books by Isabel Allende and was looking forward to this, her latest.

The setting: starting in Vienna, 1938--Kristallnacht where Samuel Adler, six-years old, loses his family. Samuel is put on the last Kindertransport train to London with his violin. Skip to Arizona, 2019, where Anita Diaz, a blind seven-year old girl and her mother, Marisol, cross the border into the United States after fleeing El Salvador. However, they are confronted with the new family separation policy and Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. Enter Selena Duran, a young social worker assigned to her case. Add in Frank Angileri, a star lawyer in San Francisco, who works with Selena on a pro bono basis. Next up: Leticia Cordero, an employee of the now eighty-six year old Samuel Adler-- who opens his San Francisco home to Anita--phew!

Politics: Nazis/Holocaust, family separation, death squads/genocide/femicide, im/migration.

Horrors: foster homes, sexual abuse, violence.

COVID.

There are many stories in this novel. Samuel's life in London, his music/career, his wife, Nadine [and her backstory]; their daughter Camille. Anita's story, her many losses, fantasy/escape into Azabahar, foster homes, and generally dire situation. Selena, her family, her fiance Milosz Dudek. Leticia and her marriages, and how she came to Samuel. Trips to El Salvador in search of answers.

I thought the writing style at the beginning way different than the flow for the majority of the book. Easy to read and somewhat engaging.

Uneven and jumped around quite a bit though ultimately all tied together [though thankfully, not too neat and tidy!]

3.5, not rounding up. In the minority.

I loved how this wove different stories and time periods together. It wasn't immediately clear how it would all connect, and there were times when the story felt a little bit slow, but even as standalones, each thread was engaging and I wanted to know more. I feel like it's difficult to write about the covid-19 pandemic without it feeling too fresh/topical, but Isabel Allende does it very well.

This book broke me in a good way. It was so well written and so moving but I cried so much I had to put it down multiple times and then I finally had to give up reading. It hit too close to home and I was unable to finish it. Yet it was still a delicious read and had I been stronger or in a less vulnerable place I might've finished it.

The Wind Knows My Name
By Isabel Allende
Pub Date, June 6, 2023
Ballentine
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
I struggle with the Descriptive style. Emotionally this book was hard. Brutal actions against the Jews, tragedy in El Salvador, immigrants trying to cross into the USA. The chapters seemed a bit long.
The story came together beautifully.
For me it’s a 3 star

This story begins with Samuel, a young jewish violin prodigy living in Vienna with his parents in 1938. Hostility against the jews is worsening, Samuel's father is forced to give ownership of his pharmacy over to a friend in order to keep it running, Samuel isn't allowed to go to school, and soldiers patrol the streets of his neighborhood. Then one night a mob descends, torturing and killing Jewish families. Samuel and his mother Rachel are saved by an older Austrian gentleman that Samuel had befriended through his music. They hide in the pantry through the terrifying night, only finding out that his father had been beaten almost to death, then grabbed from the hospital and sent to a death camp. His mother decided to send Samuel on the Kindertransport to Britain to save his life.
In 1981 Leticia is recovering from surgery in El Salvador when her whole village is massacred. She and her father are the only survivors and they seek refuge in America, Lety riding on her father's back for most of the way.
Anita, also from El Salvador, is blind, separated from her mother in a border crossing in 2019, and kept in inhumane conditions while her mother is deported with no way of contacting her and reuniting her with her daughter. Anita is lost in her own world, escaping to an imaginary land she and her sister created.
As the story continues, it alternates mainly between Samuel and Anita until the stories converge for a beautiful ending of second chances and found family.
The author was inspired to write this story after seeing news coverage of children separated from their parents at the Mexican border and the awful conditions they endure. She poured her heart and soul into this story, making her readers feel all the emotions over the injustice and cruelty, and finally a spark of hope with a beautiful conclusion.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a free ARC ebook of The Wind Knows My Name from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Allende's latest work is like a horrifying tour of the worst of mankind during the last 90 years. Humanity's collapse is portrayed by through the Holocaust and Kristall Nacht in the streets of Vienna, the Salvadoran Civil War highlighted by the El Mozote massacre, and human trafficking and the more recent separation of families along the United States' border per governmental order. Each portrayal has innocent victims and traumas that last a lifetime. All three timelines depict society and governments turning a blind eye and sometimes being the source of the evil. Each timeline also demonstrates moments of kindness and compassion as well as ineptitude and profit mongering.

Allende manages to take the three storylines and allows characters to meet and interact. This is done so smoothly that readers will carry the memory of a little boy in Vienna and easily relate his pain and loneliness to a little girl separated from her mother after a desperate border crossing.

Most of all, this book is a call to action, a call to our better angels to make a difference and to make our voices heard. KristallNacht and all the horrors of Nazism occurred before instant television coverage of the genocide existed. The lack of immediacy to the horror, along with inherent anti Semitism, allowed people around the world to focus on their own issues, their own economic problems. The Salvadoran Civil War competed with Vietnam and civil rights for news coverage and protest actions. Poor non-English speaking brown peasants were not camera-friendly. And today, the immigration and border crises are buried under political gamesmanship. But we all saw the pictures of desperate families swimming the Rio Grande and the terrified children in cages. The parallels of the three timelines depicting casual cruelty and planned inhumanity can no longer be viewed as someone else's problem. We must contact our Senators and Congressional Representatives, donate funds and goods to reputable organizations, and open our hearts to those who just seek a better life. All three plot lines had societies that were once respectful and loving yet all crashed to indifference and greed. History will judge us.

Wow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This book spanned many generations and introduced many different characters. These people had all different backgrounds and upbringings, and we were shown how they all were affected by severe tragedies. A lot of the stories centered around children, and it was heartbreaking to read. However, it was also very inspiring because many of these characters dealt with so much and yet they still persevered. I enjoyed how the stories of each person which at first seemed random, came together at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For a novel that isn't all that long, this one spans decades and continents. It's the story of three children who are all in some ways separated from their parents. Samuel Adler is a small child and a violin prodigy in Vienna when Kristallnacht occurs, and he is sent by his mother on the Kindertransport to England with the plan that she and his missing father would eventually join him. Something like 80 years later, Anita Díaz and her mother escape El Salvador after a vicious and nearly deadly attack, only to be detained at the US-Mexico border and separated in due to the horrifying border policies that allowed families to be separated. These two end up being connected by Leticia Cordero, another child separated from her family after the El Mozote massacre in El Salvador in 1982. Through the hard work of a social worker (Selena Duran) and a lawyer (Frank Alighieri), Anita makes her way to Samuel Adler's home in the Bay area, which Leticia moved into at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to be live-in household help but also just a companion and friend. I did wish this was a bit longer, because I wanted to understand Anita's imaginary magical world, Azabahar, a bit better. There was so much sadness here, but also a healthy dose of hope, and found family, and love.

Isabel Allende is a masterful story teller, so I was very happy to receive an advanced reader’s copy of her latest novel. This was another powerful story told by Allende, although it wasn’t one of my favorites of hers. Perhaps I just didn’t like the topics she covered in this one. There will be many who love this one though..

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I am familiar with Isabel Allende , having read “ The Japanese Lover “, “ A Long Petal Of The Sea”, and most recently “Violetta “. I enjoy how she writes , the words and story seem to flow effortlessly. I enjoyed this book, especially the dual time frame, and the stories involving Samuel, Anita, and Leticia . The horrors of lost, displaced children during World War II, and the current immigration crisis is heartbreaking, and should impact all. I felt that this book seemed a bit more rushed than the previous novels that I read, and that the character development at times felt lacking, while reading this book I was wondering how this story would come together and I must say the author did a good job in bringing this book to closure. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in historical fiction.

Nicely written in true Isabel Allende style. Sad, yet hopeful story, which we have unfortunately heard way too often. I was a little disappointed in the character portrayal, however. I would have liked a little more after the characters were finally united...
3.5 stars...

Isabelle Allende is a master of her craft. This book uses her formula as a novelist to explore personal narrative with a backdrop of historical events. I particularly loved how this book explores migration stories during World War 2 and near the present day... and as usual the author winds these seemingly unrelated stories together so that by the end of the book the reader is left with a satisfaction with the story and a better understanding of historical events.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing an advanced review copy of this book.

spanning many decades, “the wind knows my name” follows a diverse group of characters throughout genocide, displacement, and the desire to live free of persecution. every character is connected, and every story is deeply moving.

this novel is beautifully written, showing the brutality of violence against various minority groups. allende includes every detail, every example of terror against innocent people. from austria, to el salvador, to the united states, the stories of survivors are told. i deeply enjoyed this novel, it was an emotional rollercoaster and truly made me think about my place in the world as a child of an immigrant and as a jewish person. i do wish the ending tied up a few more loose ends, it felt like a very abrupt ending to a story i wanted more of.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!