The Wind Knows My Name

After hearing Isabel Allende interviewed on TV about The Wind Knows My Name, I knew this was a novel that I wanted to read.

In this novel, Allende connects the plight of Jewish youth on the Kindertransport for England during WWII with the current family separation crisis at our southern border.

The story starts out pretty disjointed and as a result, I had a very hard time getting absorbed in the novel. We first meet Samuel in Vienna. After his father disappears on Kristalnacht, her mother is convinced that the best bet for Samuel is to put him on a Kindertransport with a small suitcase, some large clothes (for him to grow into), his violin, a photo of his parents, and a bravery medal from his neighbor.

Next we meet Leticia who comes to the United States in the 1980s with her father after the town they lived in in El Salvador was massacred and they had nothing else left.

Finally, we meet Anita who also flees from El Salvador after her mother feels like their lives are in danger. The trip to the north is a difficult one and they arrive in Nogales at the time when the family separation policy was being enforced. Anita and her mother are separated.

We get a glimpse of each of these characters' stories, but it wasn't until the stories got connected that I found the book absorbing to the point that I couldn't put it down. This is a novel that I will be thinking about long after reading the last page.

Violeta

 

I usually enjoy epic family novels and Violeta by Isabel Allende was no exception. I especially enjoy when they are set in the context of real world events that are taking place over the course of the story.

In this novel, Violeta is born into a wealthy family in 1920 just as the Spanish flu is starting to spread throughout South America. Her family survives that intact only to suffer great losses during the Great Depression. Violeta lives through World War II and major political upheaval in South America. She manages to live long enough to die during the early days of Covid, from old age and not from the virus.

Violeta is writing the story of her life to share with Camilo, someone that from the start we realize is very important to Violeta. She wants him to have an entire family history. It's 2020, Violeta is 100 years old and it's time to get the story down on paper.

This is a novel full of love, passion, friendships, commitment and the struggles that people face. 

Allende's The Japanese Lover was the first novel of this author that I read. I really loved that epic novel, possibly a tiny bit more than I loved this one.

The Japanese Lover

I'm not sure if I really enjoyed Isabel Allende's The Japanese Lover more than I might have because it's the first audio book I've listened to in years. In my previous life, I spent lots of hours in the car alone and I always had an audio book going. Usually the audio books I listened to were lighter than the books I was reading in print. But sometimes I'd listen to a book club book or a book I needed to read for my work as a fifth grade teacher.

The Japanese Lover is a BIG book. Not in terms of length, but it terms of all the themes covered in the book. Included in this novel is a story about Poland during World War II, a refuge child sent to California. A little girl growing up with her extended family. A young woman running away from her old life. Japanese internment. Sex slaves. Child pornography. Recreating life after a life altering injury. Taking on a new identity to run from an ugly past. Falling in love. Art. Gardening. AIDS. And aging. I don't think I've forgotten anything. If I have, apologies.

Alma is a young child when she leaves her parents and Poland to go live with her mother's sister and her family in San Francisco. She is in her 70s when she moves to Lark House, a home with stepped up care from independent living to assisted living to end-of-life care. Living in a community where there are mostly older adults, that was something I could relate to. She hires Irina, a careworker in the home, to be her personal assistant. Each woman has secrets, but as they grow closer, their secrets come out. This is in part due to Alma's grandson, Seth, who is writing a family history, digging into Alma's past.

The characters are well developed and each of the subplots feels complete. I never felt as though the author was rushing through one story to get to another. I'd highly recommend this one, and will probably suggest it to my book club as a possible title for discussion.

I was reminded by how much I enjoy listening to audio books. I need to find one that my husband and I can enjoy together. Or I need to find more alone time in the car!