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informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This was a really disappointing read for me! I’ve really enjoyed Isabel Allende’s books in the past, and I was excited to see this come out. I thought the history was quite interesting but most everything else fell flat for me. I didn’t really care for Emelia— I liked the idea of who she was and the concept of her journey, but when we got to the end and she was in jail and beaten and almost killed I wasn’t moved at all??? I said oh? Hm! Eric and their love story felt so out of place and unnecessary. I did enjoy some of the side characters, including Angelita and Rufina, but I didn’t really care about most of them!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thanks to the publishers at Ballentine for a chance to read Isabel Allende’s newest novel, My Name Is Emilia Del Valle.
Emilia, a young woman from San Francisco, wants to make her way in the world and finds writing to be an outlet for her thoughts. She wrangles herself a position as a columnist for the local newspaper, and becomes a wartime correspondent for the Civil War taking place in Chile 1891.
What follows is a typical story of an ingenue who learns that newsflash - war is hell. While I appreciate the numerous times the novel makes reference to Emilia’s whiteness (as the child of an Irish-American and one of the elites of Chilean high society), it’s a little painful to muddle through it with her.
Emilia is constantly running towards danger, both as a way to get the deeper scoop but also as a kind of rebellion on the limiting gender roles placed on a woman of her time. But once you add Emilia’s whiteness - even if she is part Chilean - the novel reads more like Eat Pray Love but instead of food or spirituality, war is the impetus for our protagonist’s growth.
This isn’t to discount Emilia’s fair share of pain and trauma that she experiences throughout the novel, but it highlights a key inconsistency in the book. The book goes to lengths to describe how tragic it is that these people (soldiers, canteen girls, poor folks, and more) are the story. They are history in action, and yet so many of their names are lost to time. And yet, this random white woman from the US gets the privilege of being able to survive and tell her story, and the book doesn’t really critique her or ever really ask her to contend with the fact that even limiting the perspective to just her and her fiance (you guessed it: also white as the snow) is still a kind of erasure of the oppressed.
We only get Emilia’s story because her whiteness and tenuous connection to wealth manage to shield her from the worst of violence consuming Chile. Also Emilia’s decision at the end of the book lands flat for me given that she is a whole colonizer who even acknowledges that land is not hers, ditches her worried family to… commune with rocks? She narrowly escapes death, and processes her trauma… on land her ancestors stole. And the local tribe is just happy to take care of her in her convalescence??
This is not just saying that I want Isabel Allende to write a story that is not hers or take a perspective that’s not hers. I’m just tired of white protagonists stepping over every other character of color in the name of feminism without a more intentional critique, as well as white latines and our complicity with these colonial patterns. Allende’s last novel El viento conoce mi nombre did a much better job of examining race alongside gender politics in a Latin American context, while also pushing white protagonists to do something beyond guilt or pity.
Isabel Allende is a better writer than this, and this novel could have been so much more. Hoping that her next one (because there will be a next one) hits the mark better.
Emilia, a young woman from San Francisco, wants to make her way in the world and finds writing to be an outlet for her thoughts. She wrangles herself a position as a columnist for the local newspaper, and becomes a wartime correspondent for the Civil War taking place in Chile 1891.
What follows is a typical story of an ingenue who learns that newsflash - war is hell. While I appreciate the numerous times the novel makes reference to Emilia’s whiteness (as the child of an Irish-American and one of the elites of Chilean high society), it’s a little painful to muddle through it with her.
Emilia is constantly running towards danger, both as a way to get the deeper scoop but also as a kind of rebellion on the limiting gender roles placed on a woman of her time. But once you add Emilia’s whiteness - even if she is part Chilean - the novel reads more like Eat Pray Love but instead of food or spirituality, war is the impetus for our protagonist’s growth.
This isn’t to discount Emilia’s fair share of pain and trauma that she experiences throughout the novel, but it highlights a key inconsistency in the book. The book goes to lengths to describe how tragic it is that these people (soldiers, canteen girls, poor folks, and more) are the story. They are history in action, and yet so many of their names are lost to time. And yet, this random white woman from the US gets the privilege of being able to survive and tell her story, and the book doesn’t really critique her or ever really ask her to contend with the fact that even limiting the perspective to just her and her fiance (you guessed it: also white as the snow) is still a kind of erasure of the oppressed.
We only get Emilia’s story because her whiteness and tenuous connection to wealth manage to shield her from the worst of violence consuming Chile. Also Emilia’s decision at the end of the book lands flat for me given that she is a whole colonizer who even acknowledges that land is not hers, ditches her worried family to… commune with rocks? She narrowly escapes death, and processes her trauma… on land her ancestors stole. And the local tribe is just happy to take care of her in her convalescence??
This is not just saying that I want Isabel Allende to write a story that is not hers or take a perspective that’s not hers. I’m just tired of white protagonists stepping over every other character of color in the name of feminism without a more intentional critique, as well as white latines and our complicity with these colonial patterns. Allende’s last novel El viento conoce mi nombre did a much better job of examining race alongside gender politics in a Latin American context, while also pushing white protagonists to do something beyond guilt or pity.
Isabel Allende is a better writer than this, and this novel could have been so much more. Hoping that her next one (because there will be a next one) hits the mark better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, Death of parent, War, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Medical content
adventurous
dark
tense
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
adventurous
informative
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War
Minor: Suicide, Torture, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
informative
inspiring
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
Isabel Allende delivers another stellar historical fiction novel. This story transported me in time and place to the Chilean Civil War of 1891. I became utterly immersed in Emilia's journey and experiences - I did not want the book to end. And that is the hallmark of great historical fiction. If this genre calls to you, I recommend you pick this book up. If you are on an around-the-world reading journey, this book is PERFECT for Chile.
Thanks to NetGalley for gifting me an ebook version of the novel in exchange for a review.
Thanks to NetGalley for gifting me an ebook version of the novel in exchange for a review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
adventurous
reflective
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
Grateful to #NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the ARC!
Emilia del Valle is a writer and journalist born in San Francisco in the late 1800s to an Irish mother and an absentee Chilean father. She grow up to become a journalist who travels to Chile as a foreign correspondent to cover the Chilean Civil War of 1891. While there, she promises her mother to reconnect with her father and in doing so, Emilia builds connections to her ancestral homeland despite the political upheaval.
I know very little about the history of Chile and this period in particular and this novel made me interested in learning more about that history. Emilia is a remarkable character and I greatly enjoyed her story. This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and are interested in exploring unique historical settings.
Emilia del Valle is a writer and journalist born in San Francisco in the late 1800s to an Irish mother and an absentee Chilean father. She grow up to become a journalist who travels to Chile as a foreign correspondent to cover the Chilean Civil War of 1891. While there, she promises her mother to reconnect with her father and in doing so, Emilia builds connections to her ancestral homeland despite the political upheaval.
I know very little about the history of Chile and this period in particular and this novel made me interested in learning more about that history. Emilia is a remarkable character and I greatly enjoyed her story. This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and are interested in exploring unique historical settings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Torture, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Recommend
3.5 stars
This novel had the usual beautiful writing by Isalbe Allende, but the character development and storyline didn't work for me. This novel is more about the Chilean Civil War of 1891 than about Emilia. The description of the book was not what I expected at all. It was all about the war, which was devastating, horrific, and ugly.
If you REALLY like Isabel Allende or her writing, this book may work for you. The graphic war descriptions are gruesome and were too much for me. I prefer more character-driven novels, and this novel missed the mark on that aspect.
For a more detailed review, check out my blog - booksbydorothea:
https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/2025/03/review-my-name-is-emilia-del-valle.html
3.5 stars
This novel had the usual beautiful writing by Isalbe Allende, but the character development and storyline didn't work for me. This novel is more about the Chilean Civil War of 1891 than about Emilia. The description of the book was not what I expected at all. It was all about the war, which was devastating, horrific, and ugly.
If you REALLY like Isabel Allende or her writing, this book may work for you. The graphic war descriptions are gruesome and were too much for me. I prefer more character-driven novels, and this novel missed the mark on that aspect.
For a more detailed review, check out my blog - booksbydorothea:
https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/2025/03/review-my-name-is-emilia-del-valle.html
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual violence
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, War
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
Isabel Allende has written another powerful historical novel involving real events, deeply layered characters, and a richly adventurous plot. Emilia del Valle is a 19th century journalist with an uphill battle to gain the respect and assignments she deserves. When civil war breaks out in Chile, the homeland of the father she never met, she fights for the chance to travel to South America and report on it. Emilia is an intricately drawn protagonist with a satisfying growth arc over the course of the book. I'm giving this four stars only because I hold Isabel Allende in such high esteem, and I felt like some of this story was lacking in historical detail that would have made it easier to understand Emilia's perspective and her fight against gender expectations in her time. But I absolutely loved the Chilean history and landscape, especially in the end of the book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War
Moderate: Sexual content