Violeta

“Violeta,” is my first book I read by Isabelle Allende. It is about a woman with the name Violeta who is on her death bed writing a letter to her grandson Camillo, a Catholic priest about her life starting from when she was born in 1920, surviving The Spanish Flu pandemic, documenting the World War’s her highs and lows of life and then finally reaching the modern day where it is the current covid era. It was okay but not great.

Pros & Cons

I like that it was told in the first person. I can picture the beautiful scenery and I knew it was somewhere in South America. I later read somewhere else that she never specifically named where they were it was apparently based off of Chile. The cover is exquisite which will entice readers immediately. Something about the writing turned me off. Something about it lacked emotion for me with everything Violeta lived and experienced. It also seemed she made the dumbest decisions ever. I did a lot of skimming here and there just to get through it.

Overall

Overall it wasn’t the worst book I read but I wouldn’t have spent money on it if I could do it over again. I read from other reviews that people preferred her magical realism books like “House of The Spirits.” I might have to try that one and see if I like it better. Though I will definitely get it from the library.