Author Padma Venkatraman‘s most recent novel A Time to Dance was an Honour Winner in the 2015 South Asia Book Award and was chosen for inclusion in IBBY’s 2015 Selection of Outstanding Books for Young … Continue reading ...
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 12/31/2014
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, Authors, Videos, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Elizabeth Gilbert, Joanne Harris, Writer Resources, Mac Barnett, TED Talks, Add a tag
By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/11/2014
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Awards, Isabel Allende, Authors, Barack Obama, Tom Brokaw, Marlo Thomas, Add a tag
By: Jason Boog,
on 2/1/2013
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, Ann Patchett, David Baldacci, Writer Resources, Sue Grafton, Susan Orlean, Jennifer Egan, Sebastian Junger, Meredith Maran, Add a tag
By: L. M. Baldwin,
on 10/12/2010
Blog: Color Online (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: island beneath the sea, review, Isabel Allende, Add a tag
By: msedano,
on 1/25/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, guest writers, Add a tag
By: Jacqui Robbins,
on 1/8/2010
Blog: Jacqui's Room (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, writing, Add a tag
By: Manuel Ramos,
on 4/4/2008
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Neruda Poetry Festival, George Yepes, Swift Justice, Isabel Allende, Add a tag
Swift Justice tells the story of the families and community affected by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the Swift Meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado on Dec. 12, 2006. The film’s goal is to present the issue of immigration reform in a balanced and responsible way to educate and inform people about this complex issue so they can contribute toward solving it. Little Voice is an award-winning, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses video, technology and grassroots outreach to raise awareness of social issues and inspire positive social change. For reservations call Strings restaurant at 303-831-7310. Cocktails from 5:30-6:30; dinner from 5:00-10:00. Suggested $50-tax deductible donation. The night of the fundraiser, 10% of all dinner sales will be donated to Little Voice's Swift Justice Documentary. If you cannot come, please consider making a donation to Little Voice.
April 10, 2008 from 5:30pm - 8pm
Strings at 1700 Humboldt St., Denver, Co.
GEORGE YEPES - APRIL 17
Announcement from Ventura College:
The Ventura College Spring 2008 Arts and Lecture Series continues with a lecture with George Yepes, Cultural Artist on April 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Reading Room of the Library and Learning Resource Center on the Ventura College (Ventura, CA) campus.
The event is free, parking is $1 and refreshments will be served. For additional information, call the Public Relations Office, Ventura College, (805) 654-6462.
George Yepes was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. He moved to East Los Angeles at the age of four. He earned a degree from California State University, Los Angeles, in business administration, and joined the Public Art Center, leaving behind his hard street life and gang membership. He also took painting classes at East Los Angeles City College and worked both as an accountant and a muralist.
One of the more prolific painters in the Chicano Mural Movement of the late 70's, Yepes gained his early reputation as a ferocious painter when he painted with notables from Carlos Almaraz and Frank Romero to Gilbert "Magu" Lujan. He then became an instrumental partner in the mural group East Los Streetscapers from 1979 to 1985 until he decided that group painting wasn't suited to his temperament or pace. With grand scale and furious momentum Yepes has painted over 800,000 square feet of eloquent social, historical, and sacred images onto the facades of everything from churches, hospitals and freeway overpasses to album covers. His 28 murals are landmarks in Los Angeles, as are the 21 murals his Academia de Arte Yepes students have painted. Yepes established the Academia de Arte Yepes, the first free mural academy for young students in Los Angeles. Yepes has taught nearly 1500 low-income students over the last decade through the Academia. His mural painting concepts and designs continue to be studied by graduate students and scholars across the United States.
Later.
Posted on 1/17/2007
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, Chile, guest columnist, Add a tag
The Housekeeper’s Diary, which dealt with her experiences as a domestic for one of Chicago’s wealthiest families, premiered nationally in Washington, D.C. in 2001, as a co-production with Sol y Soul and Gala Hispanic Theater. She has performed through out the U.S. and in Ajijic, Jalisco in Mexico. Lisa and her work have been featured in the Reader, The Chicago Tribune, Latino USA/National Public Radio, and Public Radio International. Her writing also received critical acclaim from such authors as Luis J. Rodriguez, who wrote..."...she is a fine poet, able to addresses deep concerns in crisp, trenchant language...The Housekeeper’s Diary...casts its spell on you...You will never see domestic work with the same eyes....”
Lisa has also completed an ambitious trilogy of performance pieces, REM/Memory, Bury The Bones and Resurgam, whose themes are the culture of violence, popular culture and personal redemption.
Her first novel, Sister Chicas (written with Ann Hagman Cardinal and Jane Alberdeston) has been bought by Penguin/NAL, and was released in April 2006. Sister Chicas is a coming of age story concerning the lives of three young Latinas living in Chicago.
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By: Marjorie Coughlan,
on 1/14/2016
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Rob Weisbach, Paul Celan, South Asia Book Award, Carver: A Life In Poems, Climbing the Stairs, Richard Blanco, A Time to Dance, Island's End, MWD interview, Gregory Pardlo, Mathematwist, T.V.Padma, MWD Theme - All About Balance - disability & special needs, A Child’s Garden of Verses, Amitav Gosh, Children's and YA books about disability, Kazuo Ishugiro, Reba Paeff Mirsky, Smt. Savitri Rajan, The B. F. G., The Cleverest Thief, The Plague of Doves, Thirty-One Brothers and Sisters, Interviews, Isabel Allende, Katherine Paterson, Young Adult, Cynthia Rylant, Brian Selznick, Louise Erdrich, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jerry Spinelli, YA books, Padma Venkatraman, Roald Dahl, The Wind in the Willows, The Lord of the Rings, Stephen Roxburgh, Maniac Magee, Carolyn Coman, The Secret Garden, Keats, The House at Pooh Corner, Rainer Maria Rilke, Marilyn Nelson, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nancy Paulsen, Rabindranath Tagore, Add a tag
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Rob Weisbach, Paul Celan, South Asia Book Award, Carver: A Life In Poems, Climbing the Stairs, Richard Blanco, A Time to Dance, Island's End, MWD interview, Gregory Pardlo, Mathematwist, T.V.Padma, MWD Theme - All About Balance - disability & special needs, A Child’s Garden of Verses, Amitav Gosh, Children's and YA books about disability, Kazuo Ishugiro, Reba Paeff Mirsky, Smt. Savitri Rajan, The B. F. G., The Cleverest Thief, The Plague of Doves, Thirty-One Brothers and Sisters, Interviews, Isabel Allende, Katherine Paterson, Young Adult, Cynthia Rylant, Brian Selznick, Louise Erdrich, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jerry Spinelli, YA books, Padma Venkatraman, Roald Dahl, The Wind in the Willows, The Lord of the Rings, Stephen Roxburgh, Maniac Magee, Carolyn Coman, The Secret Garden, Keats, The House at Pooh Corner, Rainer Maria Rilke, Marilyn Nelson, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nancy Paulsen, Rabindranath Tagore, Add a tag
By: Maryann Yin,
on 12/31/2014
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, Authors, Videos, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Elizabeth Gilbert, Joanne Harris, Writer Resources, Mac Barnett, TED Talks, Add a tag
Do you need a boost of inspiration for 2015?
We’ve compiled a list of five videos featuring writers who have given TED talks throughout the past year. Our list includes Extra Yarn author Mac Barnett, Lunch Lady series creator by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert, The House of the Spirits author Isabel Allende, and Chocolat author Joanne Harris.
For more talks, the TED organization has created a playlist that feature master storytellers called “How to Tell a Story.” Who do you nominate to speak at future TED conferences?
(more…)
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/11/2014
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Awards, Isabel Allende, Authors, Barack Obama, Tom Brokaw, Marlo Thomas, Add a tag
President Barack Obama (pictured, via) will present 19 individuals with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
According to the White House blog, this award is considered to be “our Nation’s highest civilian honor.” The people within this group work in a broad range of fields such as activism, art, politics, science, and of course writing.
The authors who have been recognized with this award include Isabel Allende, Tom Brokaw, and Marlo Thomas. A ceremony will be held at the White House on November 24, 2014.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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By: Jason Boog,
on 2/1/2013
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, Ann Patchett, David Baldacci, Writer Resources, Sue Grafton, Susan Orlean, Jennifer Egan, Sebastian Junger, Meredith Maran, Add a tag
Why do you write? Author Meredith Maran asked 20 great writers that question, collecting their replies in her new collection, Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do.
On the Morning Media Menu today, Maran shared writing advice she learned while getting responses from Isabel Allende, David Baldacci, Jennifer Egan, Sebastian Junger and Ann Patchett.
Press play below to listen to the whole interview on SoundCloud. We’ve collected a few quotes from the interview as well…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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By: L. M. Baldwin,
on 10/12/2010
Blog: Color Online (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: island beneath the sea, review, Isabel Allende, Add a tag
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
Allende's newest historical fiction novel about Haiti was released in April, just a few months after the devastating hurricane hit Haiti. At a time when more people where interested in learning about Haiti, here comes Island Beneath the Sea. Sometimes, I marvel at the ability of author's to write fiction current to today's events.
Island Beneath the Sea is broken into two parts. Part one is Saint -Domingue (1770-1793) Novel begins with Toulouse Valmorain, a young French man who must travel to Saint- Dominque to check up on his ill father. Before that Toulouse was living the good life in France. French families including the Valmorain's don't talk about slavery, what they owe their fortune to. When Toulouse's father dies he takes over the sugar plantation.
The novel starts getting really good when Zarite is introduced, essentially this is her story. When we first meet Zarite, she's a skinny little girl. Zarite is purchased and groomed to Eugenia, Toulouse's lady maid (or less fancy personal slave)
The prologue is the voice of Zarite, looking back on her life. Beginning in the year 1770 and ending in 1810. Allende covers much ground. One of the books strengths is the history of Saint - Dominque, and the struggle of African slaves against French enslavement. The story moves at a great pace, the author doesn't introduce too many characters. Which sometimes happens with historical novel this size (457pgs) Allende does a wonderful job developing her characters.
Island Beneath the Sea is very well written, I couldn't stop reading. Allende's language is beautiful. In later years during the uprising in Saint Doninque Zarite protected, the kids, Rosette, her child with Toulouse and Maurice, Tououse's son with his first wife. Zarite was forced to protect Toulouse as well though he was never grateful. There were a few times when Zarite reminded me of Lizzie from Wench. Both women refused to leave their children behind and hope that being good and waiting will get their masters to give them their freedom papers. I felt Allende used death as a way great rid of not so good characters or to end story lines. To be fair to the author, I only start noticing the small things when the big ones are done very well. Allende did what she set out to do, told a good story and educated people about Haiti's history along the way.
I really liked this one but didn't love it. Even though I had a few issues with Islande Beneath the Sea, I still believe it's a very worthwhile read. Since there's much to be considedered, it would make a great book club selection.
5 Comments on Island Beneath the Sea - Isabel Allende, last added: 10/14/2010
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By: msedano,
on 1/25/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, guest writers, Add a tag
La isla bajo el mar
Book Review by Xánath Caraza
La isla bajo el mar
Novel by Isabel Allende
I was on page 335 of La isla bajo el mar when I found out about Haiti’s earthquake on January 12, 2010. Literally my heart collapsed along with the many buildings in Port-au-Prince and my thoughts and prayers are with the many Haitians suffering right now. I personally know a little of what it is to lose a house to a disaster. However, the human losses are definitely out of my spectrum even though I sympathize so much with Haiti. Inner strength comes in unimaginable and literally mysterious ways.
La isla bajo el marr by Isabel Allende was released in August 2009. I learnt about it in September and since then, I had been wanting to submerge myself in the novel. La isla bajo el mar was originally written in Spanish and will hopefully soon be released in its English language translation.
La isla bajo el mar is a novel that takes place in La Hispaniola at the end of the XVIII century. It focuses on the then French colony, now Haiti. I was excited to grow along with the main character, Zarité, and along the way learned about the history of La Hispaniola, especially of what is currently Haiti. For instance, Haiti was the only colony in the Americas where a revolution was carried out by slaves and was successful.
Not only did I learn of a more general historical context of what is today Haiti, but also I explored the personal experiences of the fictitious main character, Zarité Sedella, who no matter what happens in her life, considers herself under the protection of good fortune. Zarité was born a slave and at the age of nine was sold as a domestic slave to a new owner. Early in her life, she was advised by Honoré to dance in the traditional celebration with rhythmic drums of noches de calenda, since a slave who danced was free. “Baila, baila, Zarité, porque esclavo que baile es libre…mientras baila”. She had dreamt of becoming free from an early age, and dancing gave her strength to go on.
Of the historical aspect of Zarité’s experience, during the noches de calenda, the dances turned into Voodoo ceremonies. The Voodoo religion was brought to this continent by African slaves during French and Spanish colonial times and was misinterpreted by many at the time.
In light of Zarité’s more individual character development outside the historical aspect, the description of spiritually strong characters, such as Zatité as well as others could not be missed. I fell in love with Zarité’s spiritual strength. Zarité Sedella is not a flat character. She showed me psychological and geographical changes throughout the novel. Psychologically, I saw her move from fear, love, strength, and freedom. All these psychological changes happened in places such as a slave trade boat, where she was conceived and born, as well as in Haiti, Cuba, and finally New Orleans. Zarité went through different stages, from a slave, lover, mother and finally a free woman. Her strength came from her beliefs and the celebration of her African roots. She never lost the freedom of her own thoughts in spite of being a slave.
Lastly, I want to say that a good book allows me to feel what its characters are experiencing. Some of the feelings I experienced with Zarité Sedella were friendship, love, loss, redemption, bondage, and freedom. I enjoyed the love story of Zarité and Gambo while intermingled in the beginning of the Revolution in Haiti. I also danced with Zarité Sedella during the noches de calenda and celebrated her emancipation. Therefore, I believe you will enjoy La isla bajo el mar by Isabel Allende as much as I did. My explanation of what Honoré says is: Dance, reader, dance with the reading of a book and never lose the
8 Comments on Guest Columnist: Xánath Caraza. Isabel Allende. La isla bajo el mar, last added: 1/28/2010
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By: Jacqui Robbins,
on 1/8/2010
Blog: Jacqui's Room (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, writing, Add a tag
I have raved about Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac here before, so it's no surprise he's the source on this too. If you're here after the 8th and you use the link above, you'll need to click "prev" until you find the one on Allende.
It's January 8, which means Isabel Allende is starting a new book. 29 years ago, she started The House of the Spirits (which is a wonderful book, and which a bunch of people are reading together in January over at Moonrat's if you're interested) (or, if you're lazy, you can see the movie, which is also beautiful and haunting). That turned out pretty well, so she decided to try it every year.
According to my research,* Allende goes down to her office in the morning, locks herself in, lights candles, meditates, and then writes for 10 straight hours. No outline. No ideas. No index cards. Then she writes 10 hours a day, six days a week until she finishes the book. Nobody reads it until it's done, not even her. When it's finished, she reads and then revises accordingly.
There's so much I want to say about this. Like "Oh, yeah, that's my daily schedule too." Like that I am amazed at her discipline. Like that when I'm older and nobody cares if I disappear for ten hours, I want to try it like that.
Mostly, it's a good reminder for the new year that in the end, it's the old butt in chair that does it: wanna write a book? Go write it. It won't be The House of Spirits, but writing is not like, say, running a four minute mile, which I could never do no matter how hard I trained. And even Isabel Allende has to go back and revise.
* Keillor's article, Google and Wikipedia
9 Comments on Every single year, last added: 1/11/2010
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By: Manuel Ramos,
on 4/4/2008
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Neruda Poetry Festival, George Yepes, Swift Justice, Isabel Allende, Add a tag
Spring is busting out - and April is Poetry Month. The earth thrives and the blood revives. My tuner is set to a variety of wavelengths. I'm reading things like Bronx Noir, edited by S.J. Rozan (Akashic Books, 2007) and South by South Bronx, Abraham Rodriguez (Akashic Books, 2008) and Jack Kerouac: An Illustrated Biography, David Sandison (Chicago Review Press, 1999) and Literary Genius, edited by Joseph Epstein (Paul Dry Books, 2007) and Denver's Larimer Street: Main Street, Skid Row and Urban Renaissance, Thomas J. Noel (Historic Denver, Inc. 1981) and Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2002). I eagerly anticipate The Savage Detectives, Roberto Bolaño, (Picador, 2008) and Mario Acevedo's The Undead Kama Sutra (Eos, 2008). I'm writing short stories but I failed to get anything ready for the Liquid Poetry Contest, which put out a "call for lyrics celebrating beer, beer culture, and beer-blessed fellowship and inspiration." The party is April 11 at the Wynkoop Brewery in Denver. Maybe next year. William Burroughs wrote: "The only real thing about a writer is what he has written and not his so-called life." That is so true it hurts.
And now, the news.
ISABEL ALLENDE - APRIL 10
Award-winning novelist Isabel Allende will read from and sign her new book The Sum of Our Days (HarperCollins, 2008), the sequel to her bestselling memoir Paula. In this heartfelt memoir, Isabel Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of tragic loss - the death of her daughter, Paula. Narrated with warmth, humor, exceptional candor, and wisdom, The Sum of Our Days is a portrait of a contemporary family, bound together by the love, fierce loyalty, and stubborn determination of a beloved, indomitable matriarch. Free tickets for the book signing will be available at 6:30 pm; one per person in line. Seating for the presentation prior to the book signing is limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis to ticketed customers only.
April 10, 7:30 p.m. Tattered Cover, LoDo, 1628 16th Street, Denver, 303-436-1070
NERUDA POETRY FESTIVAL - APRIL 17 - 19
Nationally recognized spoken-word artists join local word slingers for this annual rhythm and rhyme feast. Here's the schedule:
April 17 - Tributes to raulrsalinas and Lalo Delgado, a reinterpretation of the words of these two writers by Su Teatro actors. 8:05 p.m.; $15 general, $12 seniors and students.
April 18 - Annual Barrio Slam; $500 Grand. 6:00 p.m. open mic, 7:00 p.m. slam; $10
April 19 - Literary Salon, in collaboration with El Lab at Belmar; 4:00 p.m.; $12 general, $9 seniors and students -- Taco Bar and poets!
April 19 - Palabras Vivas. Featuring Sandra Maria Esteves, Nuyorican Poets Cafe founder, visual artist, poet, author. 8:05 p.m.; $15 general, $12 seniors and students.
El Centro Su Teatro, 4725 High Street, Denver, 303-296-0219
SWIFT JUSTICE DOCUMENTARY FUND RAISER - APRIL 10
Swift Justice tells the story of the families and community affected by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the Swift Meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado on Dec. 12, 2006. The film’s goal is to present the issue of immigration reform in a balanced and responsible way to educate and inform people about this complex issue so they can contribute toward solving it. Little Voice is an award-winning, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses video, technology and grassroots outreach to raise awareness of social issues and inspire positive social change. For reservations call Strings restaurant at 303-831-7310. Cocktails from 5:30-6:30; dinner from 5:00-10:00. Suggested $50-tax deductible donation. The night of the fundraiser, 10% of all dinner sales will be donated to Little Voice's Swift Justice Documentary. If you cannot come, please consider making a donation to Little Voice.
April 10, 2008 from 5:30pm - 8pm
Strings at 1700 Humboldt St., Denver, Co.
GEORGE YEPES - APRIL 17
Announcement from Ventura College:
The Ventura College Spring 2008 Arts and Lecture Series continues with a lecture with George Yepes, Cultural Artist on April 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Reading Room of the Library and Learning Resource Center on the Ventura College (Ventura, CA) campus.
The event is free, parking is $1 and refreshments will be served. For additional information, call the Public Relations Office, Ventura College, (805) 654-6462.
George Yepes was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. He moved to East Los Angeles at the age of four. He earned a degree from California State University, Los Angeles, in business administration, and joined the Public Art Center, leaving behind his hard street life and gang membership. He also took painting classes at East Los Angeles City College and worked both as an accountant and a muralist.
One of the more prolific painters in the Chicano Mural Movement of the late 70's, Yepes gained his early reputation as a ferocious painter when he painted with notables from Carlos Almaraz and Frank Romero to Gilbert "Magu" Lujan. He then became an instrumental partner in the mural group East Los Streetscapers from 1979 to 1985 until he decided that group painting wasn't suited to his temperament or pace. With grand scale and furious momentum Yepes has painted over 800,000 square feet of eloquent social, historical, and sacred images onto the facades of everything from churches, hospitals and freeway overpasses to album covers. His 28 murals are landmarks in Los Angeles, as are the 21 murals his Academia de Arte Yepes students have painted. Yepes established the Academia de Arte Yepes, the first free mural academy for young students in Los Angeles. Yepes has taught nearly 1500 low-income students over the last decade through the Academia. His mural painting concepts and designs continue to be studied by graduate students and scholars across the United States.
Later.
0 Comments on Pedacitos de Abril as of 4/3/2008 11:34:00 PM
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Posted on 1/17/2007
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Isabel Allende, Chile, guest columnist, Add a tag
Inés of My Soul: A Novel
Author: Isabel Allende
Publisher: HarperCollins Rayo
ISBN 13: 978-0061161537
I’m a Chicana. I am a Danzante Azteca, an Aztec Dancer. To me, all conquistadors were monsters. I’ve hated them, Hernan Cortez in particular for as long as I can remember. I knew nothing about the conquistadores of Chile, nor did I care to. I knew all I wanted to about the conquistadores, their brutality, the violence and genocide done to my people 500 years ago. I knew all I wanted to and that was the end of it. Or so I thought.
I took my time about reading Inés of My Soul. I wanted to read it, it sat in my shelf for more than a month but something always stopped me. Then one day as I was getting ready for work, I picked it up and turned the page. That was it for me. Needless to say, I never did make it in to work that day. I stayed in my room and read Inés’ story until I finished the book. Then I read it again. Isabel Allende has that effect on me. Her books make me think, make me absorb them, take them in until the words almost become part of my DNA. I am always in awe of her writing, always amazed and always, always transfixed and held captive in her world of words. Inés of My Soul did that to me. Not only that, it did something bigger. Huge.
Inés of My Soul was an epiphany for me. It made me think of the conquistadores in a radically different way. It made me see their humanity. Los Conquistadores human? That they had beliefs, loves, losses, dreams and hopes. Wow. It had never before entered my mind that they would have feelings. To me, they were just the monsters that came, stole, raped and pillaged. I never once considered that they were human beings. I still think they were wrong and I still believe they were murderers and rapists. The only change was that I know see their humanity.
Inés of My Soul is the story of Doña Inés Suárez (1507– 1580), a poor seamstress in Spain who goes to Peru to track down her cheating husband only to find that he has died in battle and then goes on to become the first lady of Chile. In this grand historical fiction, she is writing her memoirs in the year of her death. She tells of her girlhood in Spain, of her love for the cheating husband Juan de Málaga “one of those handsome, happy men no woman can resist at first, but later wishes another woman would win away because he causes so much pain" and of her decision to stay in Peru. She travels, she fights, becomes a nurse to the wounded, even fights in battle against various indigenous tribes.
There are bloody and vicious battles, romance, cruelty, trials and tribulations. Inés then falls in love with Pedro de Valdivia and travels with him to Chile where they set about conquering the land and making a home there. She tells her stepdaughter from her second marriage, "I beg you to have a little patience, Isabel. You will soon see that this disorderly narrative will come to the moment when my path crosses that of Pedro de Valdivia and the epic I want to tell you about begins. Before that, I had been an insignificant seamstress in Plasencia, like the hundreds and hundreds of hardworking women who came here before and will come after me. With Pedro de Valdivia I lived a life of legend, and with him I conquered a kingdom. Although I adored Rodrigo de Quiroga, your father, and lived with him thirty years, the only real reason for telling my story is the conquest of Chile, which I shared with Pedro de Valdivia."
It’s an amazing story and a book I find myself picking up again and again. I found myself really liking Inés even when I was horrified at her brutality.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This week La Bloga welcomes our guest contributor Lisa Alvarado who will be our Thursday columnist while compadrito Rudy is out tilting at windmills and slaying dragons.
Author: Isabel Allende
Publisher: HarperCollins Rayo
ISBN 13: 978-0061161537
I’m a Chicana. I am a Danzante Azteca, an Aztec Dancer. To me, all conquistadors were monsters. I’ve hated them, Hernan Cortez in particular for as long as I can remember. I knew nothing about the conquistadores of Chile, nor did I care to. I knew all I wanted to about the conquistadores, their brutality, the violence and genocide done to my people 500 years ago. I knew all I wanted to and that was the end of it. Or so I thought.
I took my time about reading Inés of My Soul. I wanted to read it, it sat in my shelf for more than a month but something always stopped me. Then one day as I was getting ready for work, I picked it up and turned the page. That was it for me. Needless to say, I never did make it in to work that day. I stayed in my room and read Inés’ story until I finished the book. Then I read it again. Isabel Allende has that effect on me. Her books make me think, make me absorb them, take them in until the words almost become part of my DNA. I am always in awe of her writing, always amazed and always, always transfixed and held captive in her world of words. Inés of My Soul did that to me. Not only that, it did something bigger. Huge.
Inés of My Soul was an epiphany for me. It made me think of the conquistadores in a radically different way. It made me see their humanity. Los Conquistadores human? That they had beliefs, loves, losses, dreams and hopes. Wow. It had never before entered my mind that they would have feelings. To me, they were just the monsters that came, stole, raped and pillaged. I never once considered that they were human beings. I still think they were wrong and I still believe they were murderers and rapists. The only change was that I know see their humanity.
Inés of My Soul is the story of Doña Inés Suárez (1507– 1580), a poor seamstress in Spain who goes to Peru to track down her cheating husband only to find that he has died in battle and then goes on to become the first lady of Chile. In this grand historical fiction, she is writing her memoirs in the year of her death. She tells of her girlhood in Spain, of her love for the cheating husband Juan de Málaga “one of those handsome, happy men no woman can resist at first, but later wishes another woman would win away because he causes so much pain" and of her decision to stay in Peru. She travels, she fights, becomes a nurse to the wounded, even fights in battle against various indigenous tribes.
There are bloody and vicious battles, romance, cruelty, trials and tribulations. Inés then falls in love with Pedro de Valdivia and travels with him to Chile where they set about conquering the land and making a home there. She tells her stepdaughter from her second marriage, "I beg you to have a little patience, Isabel. You will soon see that this disorderly narrative will come to the moment when my path crosses that of Pedro de Valdivia and the epic I want to tell you about begins. Before that, I had been an insignificant seamstress in Plasencia, like the hundreds and hundreds of hardworking women who came here before and will come after me. With Pedro de Valdivia I lived a life of legend, and with him I conquered a kingdom. Although I adored Rodrigo de Quiroga, your father, and lived with him thirty years, the only real reason for telling my story is the conquest of Chile, which I shared with Pedro de Valdivia."
It’s an amazing story and a book I find myself picking up again and again. I found myself really liking Inés even when I was horrified at her brutality.
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This week La Bloga welcomes our guest contributor Lisa Alvarado who will be our Thursday columnist while compadrito Rudy is out tilting at windmills and slaying dragons.
Lisa Alvarado is a poet, performer, and installation artist, focusing on identity, spirit, and the body. She is the founder of La Onda Negra Press, and is author of Reclamo and The Housekeeper’s Diary, originally a book of poetry and now a one-woman performance, and is the recipient of grants from the Department of Cultural Affairs, The NEA, and the Ragdale Foundation.
The Housekeeper’s Diary, which dealt with her experiences as a domestic for one of Chicago’s wealthiest families, premiered nationally in Washington, D.C. in 2001, as a co-production with Sol y Soul and Gala Hispanic Theater. She has performed through out the U.S. and in Ajijic, Jalisco in Mexico. Lisa and her work have been featured in the Reader, The Chicago Tribune, Latino USA/National Public Radio, and Public Radio International. Her writing also received critical acclaim from such authors as Luis J. Rodriguez, who wrote..."...she is a fine poet, able to addresses deep concerns in crisp, trenchant language...The Housekeeper’s Diary...casts its spell on you...You will never see domestic work with the same eyes....”
Lisa has also completed an ambitious trilogy of performance pieces, REM/Memory, Bury The Bones and Resurgam, whose themes are the culture of violence, popular culture and personal redemption.
Her first novel, Sister Chicas (written with Ann Hagman Cardinal and Jane Alberdeston) has been bought by Penguin/NAL, and was released in April 2006. Sister Chicas is a coming of age story concerning the lives of three young Latinas living in Chicago.
Welcome!
Gina MarySol Ruiz
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I think I would have liked this book more (I just didn't LOVE it) if I hadn't read her earlier novels, The House of the Spirits, and Daughter of Fortune especially, because those I loved.
I'm not sure what it was I didn't like as well, the voice was good, the story was interesting and even heartbreaking at times, but it didn't have that same sense of place that I associate with her earlier novels, if that makes sense.
Great review!
I literally picked up this book this morning to start reading it and then I read your review. After reading Wench and The Book of Night Women (both excellent novels) I said I would not read anything else in this genre for a while. Allende's book was at the library so I picked it up. This is my first novel by her. So far so good.
Tere - That makes a lot of sense
Urban - I thought Wench was great and I've heard very good things about Book of the Night Women.
I haven't read anything by Allende but have this sitting on my tbr pile. I hope I enjoy it as much or more than you did :)
Toussaint L’Ouverture is an integral part of Haiti’s history, not to be forgotten. If you want to inform yourself, “The Last Days of Toussaint L’Ouverture” – a short film – chronicled his last moments in fighting against the French oppressors. Clip here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2468184/