Sunday, December 6, 2009

A beautiful memoir on a piece of Isabel's life

We had an incredible discussion on Isabel Allende's first memoir that gave us a glimpse in a period where her daughter was in a coma on her life story that highlighted the time her grandparents' story, her parents' story, the coup that ousted Salvador Allende in Chile, her exile, her marriage, and so forth.

Her writing really brought us to the moments when she's with Paula and is talking to her about where she comes from. We see Isabel as a gutsy woman who is trying to seize as many opportunities as she's presented with and explore her relationships with different family members. We are all interested in how Paula might have foreseen her death and how she communicated with her mom what to do through a sealed envelope. We were also curious to find out what made her fall in love with the men mentioned in the book, particularly with Willie in the end.

We don't get to know so much about Paula, even though she's the book title. But we thought it was intentional as the book was originally meant to be a letter to Paula so she can catch up with her life at the end of her coma.

It's a beautiful read and one that inspires you to read her other books!

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