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A review by candacesiegle_greedyreader
In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende
3.0
Parts of "in the Midst of Winter" engaged me, but overall, the novel is a disappointment. There's absurdity here and some of that is engaging. I finished it. What works well is when Allende flashes back to the three characters' pasts to explore how they got into this somewhat implausible situation.
And what is that situation? Professor Richard Bowman is taking his cat to the vet in a terrible snowstorm and rear-ends a car driven by a young Guatemalan nanny, which happens to have a body in the trunk. The nanny, Evelyn, is in a terrible state, and Richard takes her back to his apartment to get them both out of the blizzard, and calls his neighbor, a professor from Chile named Lucia. The three of them collude to hide the body and protect Evelyn from her employers, who own the car.
"In the Midst of Winter" emphasizes Allende's tendency to tell the story as opposed to letting the reader experience it. Her fans will enjoy it, but it is far from her best.
And what is that situation? Professor Richard Bowman is taking his cat to the vet in a terrible snowstorm and rear-ends a car driven by a young Guatemalan nanny, which happens to have a body in the trunk. The nanny, Evelyn, is in a terrible state, and Richard takes her back to his apartment to get them both out of the blizzard, and calls his neighbor, a professor from Chile named Lucia. The three of them collude to hide the body and protect Evelyn from her employers, who own the car.
"In the Midst of Winter" emphasizes Allende's tendency to tell the story as opposed to letting the reader experience it. Her fans will enjoy it, but it is far from her best.