Isabel Allende has skillfully woven together a number of seemingly separated stories into this magical novel. Her compassion and love shine through the sad, yet fulfilling, stories of loss and love. I didn’t want this fabulous tale to ever end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and. Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read this outstanding ARC.

I love Isabel Allende’s beautiful writing, and her latest book to be released June 2023 does not disappoint. She tells a powerful, heartfelt story about childhood trauma that connects a young boy who suffered significant grief and loss during the Holocaust to a young girl who is a victim of the severely damaging immigration policies during Trump’s presidency, Moving and poignant, this one will stick with me.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This novel is about conflicts in which children have no part but suffer the most. It is about stolen innocence and children being set adrift to find their way in life. They are forced to rely on strangers to feed and shelter them, hoping that those whose paths they cross will be governed by their natures’ better angels. No matter how hopeless life may be, Allende shows us that we are never lost because the wind knows us. Like the Mesoamerican god who can blow other gods back in into their orbits, the characters in this story will be blown to those who can give them connectedness and a second chance at having a family.

The story opens during Kristallnacht in1938 when mobs unleash terror against the Viennese Jews. Samuel’s father is lost, and he is sent to Britain through the Kindertransport. He will mature there and eventually emigrate to America where the foreign culture will feel like a slap in the face. Allende will leave Samuel’s story to introduce us to Leticia, who is in the hospital when every family member but her father is murdered in the 1981 El Mozote massacres. They will flee the Salvadoran Civil War for safety in America. We will remain in North America to meet Anita, a blind child who is separated from her mother during a 2019 border crossing. Allende said she wrote this book in response to seeing children being separated from their parents at the border the US shares with Mexico, so it is around Anita that this story will revolve.

Allende masterfully handles the shift from one character to another with anchoring chapter titles, but mostly because she is patient in crafting her story. She gives us enough time with each character to become intimate with them and invested as if they are friends. When she switches from one character to another, it’s like leaving one friend’s home to check in on another. We know we’ll be back and forth and that their stories are simply streams from different headwaters that will soon converge. As she moves among these characters, we will search the currents for clues as to what the confluence will look like. Our patience will be rewarded.

This book is deeply moving, rooted in tragic histories but hopeful as we see many people do, indeed, listen to their better angels.

I express my gratitude to Random House Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende.

This book is a masterpiece! I was mesmerized from the start and couldn’t wait to read each chapter. I was really moved by each character and how their stories and lives intersected, despite growing up in different eras and countries.

What a book to finish out 2022 - my favorite of the year! I highly recommend this book and author!

What a wonderful book from a powerhouse of a novelist, THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME will punch you right in the gut.

Good historical fiction. I would recommend it to fans of Isabel Allende. I did not enjoy the dual timelines. I find myself enjoying one POV more than the other. I enjoyed Violetta more than this one as it focused on one titular character.