Reviews

Violeta by Isabel Allende

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threegoodrats's review against another edition

3.0

I didn’t love that this was written from the point of view of an old woman looking back and telling her life story to her grandson, because that type of narration doesn’t add anything and in some ways distracts. She would get ahead of herself or tell a story and then say “but of course I didn’t know anything about this until much later.” I also had a hard time telling how much time was passing. I want to say that I liked it just for the insight into what it was like living in Chile during these periods, but I guess it’s actually not necessarily supposed to be Chile even though that’s where I assumed it was taking place. So I don’t know. It was fine, but I won’t rush to read another of her books.

readconestef's review against another edition

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5.0

A beautifully written story about a woman who makes her journey into womanhood and goes to live on for 100 years. She shares the adversity she faced recounting her life story to her grandson who she loves dearly. Violeta is such as admirable character who I grew to love quickly.

Personally, I think the book had a slow start but it eventually picked up.

oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition

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Strangely cold for a Allende novel. It was full of the colourful, vivacious characters you'd expect and the memoir/epistle framework was effective, but for all the emotion, it lacked...emotion. The feeling never rose off the page. Violeta tells Camilo of her heartbreak and her anger, her hopes and disappointments, but they come across as... hollow. I couldn't help but see Violeta as an unreliable narrator; her lovers and influence are so outlandishly described, I have decided the novel is a kind high drama telenovela in book form. It's more enjoyable for me to view it that way at least, and it gives Violeta a little more personality than just as an old lady who has led The Most Totally Awesome Life Ever.