Conversations with Isabel Allende

Offers a collection of interviews, some never before published in English, in which the Chilean author discusses her life and her work, political and social issues, and other concerns.

Allende seems to get more and more popular all over the world. That's a good reason for libraries with active fiction collections--specifically, whose copies of Allende's books rarely sit idle on the shelves--to invest in this collection of 34 interviews Allende has given in the 1980s and 1990s, some not previously published, others published in languages other than English. Allende isn't a reticent interviewee; she has lots to say, and frequent topics in these interviews include Latin American politics, feminism, her family history, the difference between writing novels and short stories, and her deceased daughter, Paula (subject of one of her most recent and certainly most poignant books, Paula, 1995). Her responses to similar questions by different interviewers do not always add up to a consistent picture of events in her life, but that's just fine; what fiction writer doesn't embroider and manipulate the truth, even about himself or herself, for the narrative needs of the moment? Her fans will love the Isabel who comes across so well spoken here. Brad Hooper

YA-"I belong to the first generation of writers brought up reading other Latin American writers," says Allende, alluding to the popularity of such writers as Gabriel Garc!a M rquez, Carlos Fuentes, Jorge Borges, and Pablo Neruda. In this compelling collection of 34 chronologically arranged interviews, the Chilean writer comes alive, and the book becomes, in the words of its editor, a "biography on the pulse." Allende discusses her personal, spiritual, political, and literary life. Her reflections on her years of political exile in Venezuela and on the illness and death of her daughter include not only her personal struggle and pain, but also their impact on her writing. Allende talks at length about each of her works, and while most of the interviews have been previously published in scholarly journals, her candor and wit and the relaxed, conversational tone of her responses couch these sophisticated literary discussions in a most palatable form for young adults. The chronological order of the interviews necessitates some repetition, but also gives readers a clear picture of Allende's evolution as a writer from her youth as a journalist to her middle years as a novelist. Most teens will use this work as a reference or study guide, but many will find themselves enthralled with the fascinating story of a politically committed and dedicated writer, mother, and wife.
Cathy Horowitz, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.