Reviews - O meu nome é Emilia del Valle

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436 reviews for:

O meu nome é Emilia del Valle

Isabel Allende

3.74 AVERAGE

zabbelinha's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

O fim foi um bocado forçado e apressado. Teria sido melhor a história ter-se focado com mais pormenor na guerra e no rescaldo da mesma.

Continuo a gostar da Allende mas parece que falta sempre algo... A magia da Casa dos Espíritos há muito que não mostra a cara.

biancamoodreads1's review against another edition

4.0

My Name Is Emilia Del Valle by Isabel Allende follows Emilia, a bold and curious young writer who pushes the boundaries of what’s expected of women in her time (19th century). As one of the first female journalists, an assignment takes her from San Francisco to Chile, her late father’s homeland. Emilia is drawn into a country on the brink of civil war—and into the heart of her own identity.

I didn’t know I wanted to read about the Chilean civil war until Isabel Allende had me hooked. Her writing is descriptive and clear without being overly flowery, and I loved Emilia’s character; she’s not only a fierce woman ahead of her time, but someone I could see myself being friends with, which brought a sense of comfort to an otherwise heavy story. Allende does a remarkable job showing how war ravages not just countries, but the hearts and minds of everyone it touches. There is an element of romance that does not overshadow the story, but seamlessly adds another beautiful layer to it. I equally loved watching Emilia reclaim her Chilean roots. It’s clear this book was written not just to illuminate history, but also as a love letter to Chile from Allende through Emilia’s journey.

Thank you Ballantine books & the author for the complimentary ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

stormy_ocean_waters's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous mysterious

An enjoyable read, but weaker than many of Allende’s other works, and shares too many similarities with them to offer anything fresh. I also really did not like Eric.

emilyhubbardwrites's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

nikkitynack's review against another edition

3.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

My first note was that I looooove the narrator’s voice; will seek out more from Coral Peña!
I found parts of My Name is Emilia de Valle to be a bit boring, and then it would grab my attention again, then be a bit boring again, etc. I liked the ending a lot; throughout, I was totally convinced that either

Emilia would die (sad)

or that

Emilia would come back to Eric and be a wife and mother in California (also sad, not the principle of the matter but because it's so antithetical to Emilia's characterization!)

; the actual ending was neither, which pleasantly surprised me.
I also enjoyed learning about Chile's history!