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bendercath's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I love Isabel Allende and have learned so much from her books. However, this one felt rather mechanical most of the way. It all comes together at the end in a way that was surprising yet believable but I wondered what it would have felt like if we had known some of those details earlier in the book.
Certainly many of the images and situations the characters experience will not soon leave my mind … and I feel this is Ms. Allende’s intention: to deepen our understanding of people who face unimaginable challenges due to forces beyond their control: governments, economic structures, and pure evil in others. It’s dark and Ms. Allende makes it real.
Certainly many of the images and situations the characters experience will not soon leave my mind … and I feel this is Ms. Allende’s intention: to deepen our understanding of people who face unimaginable challenges due to forces beyond their control: governments, economic structures, and pure evil in others. It’s dark and Ms. Allende makes it real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Violence, and Trafficking
myworldtoread's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
a_alves00's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Gore, Grief, Abandonment, Death, Deportation, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Child death, Rape, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Trafficking
loryyyy's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
lottpoet's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, Suicide, War, Rape, and Child death
gabster21's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Rape, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence
lenny9987's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Over the past year, Isabel Allende has become a favorite writer and I’m in the happy position of still having barely scratched the surface of her existing body of work. Completely unintentionally, I have started with the three most recent novels she’s published. I grabbed In the Midst of Winter off my TBR bookcase to start on the lengthy car ride for vacation a few weeks back. I’m not gonna lie – I mostly grabbed it because the present timeline of the novel takes place during a blizzard and I just wanted to read about the cold to help get me through the heat of summer (think cooling thoughts and all that). I wasn’t sure what to expect from the innocuous description on the back but it certainly wasn’t what had me sitting up straighter in the back of the car about a third of the way through the book. In just a few pages, the story as I understood it was flipped on its head and I was enthralled as the narratives of the characters’ backstories continued to weave together and shape their reactions and decisions in the face of the unexpected.
Richard’s day is off to a bad start when one of his cats needs medical attention in the midst of a massive snow storm. It gets worse when he accidentally rear-ends a young woman who doesn’t speak English. He gives her his card so she can get his insurance information later and he thinks that’s the end of it. Except the young woman shows up on his doorstep later that night, beside herself and he doesn’t know what to do. Calling on his colleague and tenant, Lucia, the two learn that the young woman, Evelyn is undocumented and she’s terrified the accident will lead to her being returned to Guatemala. Refugee status happens to be something Lucia knows about personally, having escaped Chile in the 1970s. The three begin sharing their tragedies with one another, bonding and building an understanding as they work through the predicament unexpectedly threatening Evelyn’s safety.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1dj
Richard’s day is off to a bad start when one of his cats needs medical attention in the midst of a massive snow storm. It gets worse when he accidentally rear-ends a young woman who doesn’t speak English. He gives her his card so she can get his insurance information later and he thinks that’s the end of it. Except the young woman shows up on his doorstep later that night, beside herself and he doesn’t know what to do. Calling on his colleague and tenant, Lucia, the two learn that the young woman, Evelyn is undocumented and she’s terrified the accident will lead to her being returned to Guatemala. Refugee status happens to be something Lucia knows about personally, having escaped Chile in the 1970s. The three begin sharing their tragedies with one another, bonding and building an understanding as they work through the predicament unexpectedly threatening Evelyn’s safety.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1dj
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence
puffin_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Mental illness, Murder, Trafficking, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Grief
spinesinaline's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well this certainly was not a traditional love story but a very enjoyable read.
I have to say, I went into this book expecting a much lighter story. This is not that and while I did enjoy the book, it took some time to adjust my expectations.
I’ve heard a lot about Allende and I would really like to read more of her work, even if this one wasn’t stellar for me. That said, I learned a lot about Chile and Guatemala’s history and I appreciated this first-person perspective on the experience of refugees and immigrants coming to America. There’s a lot of trauma in these pages, mostly reflective as this cast of characters share their histories with each other, but it can get quite graphic.
I really liked each of the three characters we get to spend time with and though it’s a traumatic recollection in part, the mystery and intrigue was a humorous addition to the story. By the latter half, it becomes clear that the book is aiming to be a love story but that felt like an odd addition, sticking out from the tone we’d had thus far, so the ending was a bit awkward for me.
I listened to this one on audio and while I enjoyed each narrator, one for the three characters, it was a bit difficult to follow dialogue. Each chapter is from the perspective of one of these characters and so for example the ‘Lucia’ narrator would read the Lucia chapter. However, the Richard and Evelyn’s dialogue within that chapter would also be read by the ‘Lucia’ narrator. I would’ve preferred if the character’s narrator for each could’ve stepped in for their respective dialogue to make it clear who was speaking.
I have to say, I went into this book expecting a much lighter story. This is not that and while I did enjoy the book, it took some time to adjust my expectations.
I’ve heard a lot about Allende and I would really like to read more of her work, even if this one wasn’t stellar for me. That said, I learned a lot about Chile and Guatemala’s history and I appreciated this first-person perspective on the experience of refugees and immigrants coming to America. There’s a lot of trauma in these pages, mostly reflective as this cast of characters share their histories with each other, but it can get quite graphic.
I really liked each of the three characters we get to spend time with and though it’s a traumatic recollection in part, the mystery and intrigue was a humorous addition to the story. By the latter half, it becomes clear that the book is aiming to be a love story but that felt like an odd addition, sticking out from the tone we’d had thus far, so the ending was a bit awkward for me.
I listened to this one on audio and while I enjoyed each narrator, one for the three characters, it was a bit difficult to follow dialogue. Each chapter is from the perspective of one of these characters and so for example the ‘Lucia’ narrator would read the Lucia chapter. However, the Richard and Evelyn’s dialogue within that chapter would also be read by the ‘Lucia’ narrator. I would’ve preferred if the character’s narrator for each could’ve stepped in for their respective dialogue to make it clear who was speaking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, War, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Death, Suicide, Trafficking, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Racism, Miscarriage, and Rape
mmonteverde's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was such a heartbreaking tale.
Discovering each of their pasts was so beautiful. I always wanted to know more.
Discovering each of their pasts was so beautiful. I always wanted to know more.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Child death, Rape, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, and Trafficking