Isabel Allende - In the Midst of Winter

In the Midst of Winter begins with a minor traffic accident—which becomes the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story between two people who thought they were deep into the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmaster—a 60-year-old human rights scholar—hits the car of Evelyn Ortega—a young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala—in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn. What at first seems just a small inconvenience takes an unforeseen and far more serious turn when Evelyn turns up at the professor’s house seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant Lucia Maraz—a 62-year-old lecturer from Chile—for her advice. These three very different people are brought together in a mesmerizing story that moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil, sparking the beginning of a long overdue love story between Richard and Lucia.
Exploring the timely issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees, the book recalls Allende’s landmark novel The House of the Spirits in the way it embraces the cause of “humanity, and it does so with passion, humor, and wisdom that transcend politics” (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post). In the Midst of Winter will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Comment: I was given this book as a Christmas' gift, one of the four books I got this year for that holiday. This is not my first book by the author, I've read several although the majority before I started this blog. While I can't say this is a favorite author, her books have been consistent enough for me to want to keep reading.

This is the most recent book by the author. I liked a note the included at the end of the book to give some information and she says she starts her new books on the 8th of January, every time. It was a cute note to know.

Anyway, this is a very contemporary story about three main characters, Lucia, a woman from Chile, Richard, an American man born in Brazil, and Evelyn, a young woman from Guatemala.

They meet in a cold winter day because Richard's and Evelyn's cars hit one another because of the snow and since Richard doesn't speak fluent Spanish, he gets his friend Lucia, who lives below stairs in his building, to help with the communication. As Evelyn's fears about the crash of the car reveal more serious problems, they embark on a journey to get rid of evidence while sharing their life stories.

This story isn't contemporary only because it's set in modern times and presents a background scenario (struggling with the cold and the snow) in Brooklyn. This book is quite heavy on the reasons why Latin people try to go to America and why they feel the need to so often leave everything they know to start again in a foreign country, with different rules and language. Most people tend to assume it's all about the money, the need to earn more to support families and obviously that is a huge part of the process and can probably be the driving factor, but it's not all.

People aren't stupid, thinking they will be luckier than others in trying to go through a dangerous and illegal process to get to a country that might not welcome them. We have no idea of what goes through people's heads, so... should we judge this much. What if it was the other way around?

While this book isn't about defending illegal immigration at all, it's a tale about the reasons why it can happen and often the situations people leave make it all worth it, even if when arriving, they do not find a place that they can be happy in. I was touched by the details of Evelyn's story the most and I can't help but being sad over the fact so many people make awful decisions, so many feel forced to comply with a situation for the wrong reasons and so on. While Evelyn's story focused on the challenges of illegally entering a country (especially in the light of recent events related to the US president's speeches and decisions), her attitude was always a hopeful one, even when things didn't go so well. I liked reading about her life experiences.

Richard's character was the one I felt the sadder about. He doesn't have a good past and what happened to him, his losses, and including his future choices as an older man, was very, very complicated to imagine. I think his tale is more about the impact of having different life experiences, living though different cultures and not being able to cope with things that get out of our control. He felt the character I could relate the most to, at a emotional level, at least.

Lucia is a teacher, she has had a rich life when it comes to experiences and struggles and losses but despite her path being one with many lessons to be learned wasn't as captivating as a character. She, too, has dealt with immigration but in a different way than Evelyn's.

All in all, their life experiences bring this book to life because although these are fictional characters, they can also embody thousands of real people pout there, whose minds and harts we don't know but always tend to forget about.

From an emotional POV, this is  strong read that I have appreciated. However, the story behind these people being together is a very weird one, along the lines of a crime story and because of this the plot just felt sort of silly and quite irresponsible from a ethical and social point of view. Plus, it's hard to imagine clever people like these characters would act so recklessly and without caring for real life issues such as fingerprints for instance.

I'm sure they would have been other ways to present the same characters being together and sharing fears and stories without the background situations.

This is contemporary fiction, the winter references do seem realistic, especially considering the weather outside, but things could have been even better, I think. Still, a very, very engaging read.

Grade: 7/10

Isabel Allende - The Japanese Lover

In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away

to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family, like thousands of other Japanese Americans are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.
Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.

Comment: Another interesting book I borrowed from my Portuguese friend. This is a contemporary book but includes many historical references, especially related to II World War and the racism and ignorance that existed between people from different countries after that.

This is the story of Alma Belasco. She is an old lady now but her life story is rich and filled with changes. She is a Jewish woman, born in Poland and she went to live with family in America before the war begun. In America, she got to live in a good house, and her cousin Nathanial became her best friend, along with Ichimei, the gardeners' youngest son. While these three became friends, Alma has always felt intrigued by Ichi and that relationship went on until they became old even despite the separation that kept them physically apart because of the war.

Now, her grandson Seth and Irina, one young woman working at the care facility where Alma decided to move into, have decided to investigate some letters Alma receives from someone they assume is Ichi...

This is not the first book I've read by the author. It's been years since I've read her and I wasn't always dazzled by the stories but I remember liking her style.

Several readers, whose reviews I peeked here and there after reading the book, have said the plot isn't fluid and feels like blocks of situations put together without a conducting line. In a way I have to agree, we have chapters of sorts, pieces of the narrative that focus on a situation that matters but this is not a linear plot where things happen in a following sequence.

I understand why this can bother the reader, I wasn't fond of it all the time but I also think it wasn't too bad, because we can still glimpse the emotions and personality of the characters, which ends up being the best thing.

This book focuses on several aspects that concern the character's lives and their approach to life. Each theme, if we can call it that, addresses a situation that relates to each character as well.

To give a couple of examples: Alma is the main character and she has suffered distance from her parents and family, she has fallen in love with someone from a different race and that matters because Japanese people were not seen well by all Americans after Pearl Harbour.

Seth, Alma's grandson is falling in love with Irina, a young woman from Moldova who has had a terrible past.

This is just one little part of the complex emotions the author has used to develop her story. I confess that, as it usually happens with dual time plots, I wanted to see more of the present, when Alma is an old woman and Irina is telling her story. Somehow, Irina's past feels like the most awful and I wanted her to feel happy and embrace Seth and his love. 

I think the author has done a good job with this book. I can see why some readers wouldn't enjoy it, both by plot and by style, but to me it worked out pretty well. It's not a long book, it doesn't exploit every issue to exhaustion but leaves food for thought enough to keep me interested.

The focal point of the story, Ichimei and Alma's relationship, which is seen as forbidden and even complicated one, didn't always have to be so. I guess I wouldn't feel this if Alma didn't keep saying they could have been together if not for a difficult choice that could have a bad outcome. If you regret it so much, why saying it like it wasn't meant to be if it was actually a choice they made? I can see why it would be a hard choice but...why complaining then?

All in all, this was a good book for me. I liked the end, it was super emotional and Irina and Seth's relationship was let in a point where I have hopes for their HEA. At least I spent some thinking about it... Still, a recommended book for those who like general fiction.

Grade: 8/10

Isabel Allende - The House of Spirits

A best seller and critical success in Europe and Latin America, The House of the Spirits is the magnificent epic of the Trueba family - their loves, their ambitions, their spiritual quests, their relations with one another, and their participation in the history of their times, a history that becomes destiny and overtakes them all.

Comment: I've been quite lucky lately because all the books considered more "classic" or serious, have been a great bet and this one isn't an exception.

The story follows the life of Esteban Trueba and everything that happens in Chile during his life. We see his thoughts once in a while but the majority of the book is described in the 3rd person.

The language is crude and doesn't give euphemisms to soften the impact. At first it was strange but then it became clear it couldn't be in another way.

The politics are deeply ingrained in this story but it's part of what makes it more realistic.

The characters are all well done, with things that make them too distinct from one another, but they make the story richer just for being like that.

I couldn't put it down, in two days I've been immersed in their lifes and I loved it even tough it's a tragic ending. At least, sad it is.