Written in Spanish; wonderful and heart-breaking.
Not the usual Allende fiction. This is a true story: of loosing her daughter Paula to a rare disease. Get lots of tissues.... it is a heart breaker....
I'm an Isabel Allende fan, so of course I enjoyed the writing, but I found this very personal book not only moving - as one would expect in a book that's a tribute to a deceased daughter - but also just a purely fascinating family story.
It made me realize how much recent history I know nothing about because I was too young to understand when it was happening and it was too recent to be taught about at school. (Pinochet assumed power the year I was born.) I'm glad I read it because the language was beautiful and the stages and stories of her life feel like an adventure. I worry that she would be offended if I called it a "magical biography" but I don't know what other term to use. It seems perfectly reasonable that she communicates with the dead while I'm reading her story but I'm left a little bemused by it when I return to my rational US life. The epilogue moved me to tears.
Her daughter has a rare disease that changes the lives of the entire family. The author devotes time, energy and whatever resources she has to help Paula conquer this malady. As the months pass, the author writes her thoughts about life, Paula and other members of her family to share with her daughter. In addition, she jots down much about herself, what she did and why. The book reveals much about herself and what is important to her. This book is as much about the author as about her gravely ill daughter. I often felt that I was by Paula's bed watching her struggle between life and death. This was not an easy read for me. I found that I needed time to process and understand it so I would turn to fiction to allow me to think internally about the messages within this novel. I found its depth helped me understand some of the illnesses in my own family as I watch members cope with their own health problems and issues. It's a most revealing read.
As a mother who is very close with her daughter, I found this difficult to read. Wasn't able to finish this book.
This is a trade-sized paperback. (ISBN# lists it as a hardcover), published in 1995, 330 pages.
