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‘Violeta’ is the fictional protagonist and narrator of this book, which is told in the slightly unusual form of a letter to her grandson. But it was easy to forget this; every so often she mentions his name, but it’s told as a complete book, rather than being broken down into a series of letters. I wasn’t entirely sure what the benefit of the epistolary format was since it’s basically Violeta telling her life story, but it works well.
She was born in 1920 in Chile, the first daughter in a family who were reasonably well off, and already had several sons. Her mother was weak - she felt as if she spent all her married life pregnant, as she had lost a lot of pregnancies to miscarriage. Obviously Violeta was not aware of her own birth; she recounts the circumstances as she was told them later, probably by one of her aunts who attended the birth.
At the time of Violeta’s birth, the Spanish flu pandemic was just hitting South America, a couple of years after it was rampant in Europe. Violeta’s father is well-informed, and orders a form of lockdown: nobody other than he and his oldest son may leave or enter the house, and there’s lots of disinfecting. His methods are successful as nobody in the household succumbs.
It’s essentially a historical novel, set firmly in events in Chile, although it ends in 2020. It refers to nearby countries about which I knew very little, so the book was quite educational for me. I looked up several places and events to find out more; the author assumes a basic knowledge, rather than explaining in detail, so I didn’t feel as if I was being force-fed information, as can all too easily happen. It was easy enough to check on my phone when I didn’t quite understand something.
The book is divided into sections, each covering a couple of decades. In the first section we see Violeta growing up, moving, meeting new people and learning about the world. She never goes to school but learns from many different people, eventually having a governess from Europe who lives with the family, and becomes important in all their lives.
The second section charts her growing attractiveness to men, and her first few relationships. Given the era and her Catholic upbringing, Violeta is a remarkably independent, passionate woman who seems to care little for convention. She’s clear-thinking and intelligent but makes some serious mistakes in her love life. Thankfully there’s no gratuitous detail although there are brief descriptions and many implications.
The writing is good, the pace excellent, the amount of detail just right for my tastes. And yet…although I was interested in the overall storyline, I never really empathised with Violeta, or any of the other characters. There’s no emotion coming through, despite mention of several traumatic and heartbreaking events in Violeta’s life. Possibly this is because it’s written as a factual account for her grandson; I doubt if it’s a failing of the translation. Whatever the reason, it means I didn’t much care about any of the disasters that happen, even though, intellectually, I knew they were terrible (both the real and fictional events).
‘Violeta’ is definitely worth reading for anyone who likes historical fiction, particularly if you’re interested in South American history. Isabel Allende grew up in Chile, so the book feels almost biographical rather than researched. Apparently the character of Violeta was loosely based on the author's own mother.
There’s nothing really explicit, and descriptions of violence or even bad language, as far as I recall. The horrors are dealt with as sensitively as possible, and it’s a good story, with interesting side themes relating to feminism and other contemporary issues.
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