Overview:
“A gritty, violent, cautionary tale set firmly in the present…But the writing is still all Allende: driven by emotion…framed by her brand of lyrical description.” (Miami Herald )
“Maya’s story is soul-restoring in its fierce conviction that there is no damage done to a society, familyor individual that cannot be eclipsed by hope and love. Allende makes you believe that, even if youdon’t, at least for a while.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune )
“Longtime fans of Isabel Allende’s work will find much of the author’s beguiling mix of clear-eyed toughness and lightness of spirit in her new protagonist, and will welcome another chapter in Allende’s continuing exploration of Latin America. Those introduced to Allende by MAYA’S NOTEBOOK surely will want more.” (Seattle Times )
“Allende can spin a yarn with the grace of a poet.” (Entertainment Weekly )
“Gripping…Allende retains the storytelling magic that is her signature, while deftly juxtaposing the alternating universes of the past-including Chile’s dark history of political terror-and present…A tale of a girl’s journey toward self-discovery, of the fierce power of truth, and of the healing force of love.” (Jane Ciabattari, O magazine )
“Isabel Allende enchants in MAYA’S NOTEBOOK.” (Vanity Fair )
“Allende paints a vivid picture contrasting Maya’s drug-clouded past and her recovery in Chiloé. Yet another accomplished work by a master storyteller that will enthrall and captivate. This is a must-read.” (Library Journal (starred review) )
“Allende is a master at plucking heartstrings, and Maya’s family drama is hard to resist.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“An explosive novel…Every character is enthralling…This is a boldly plotted, sharply funny, and purposefully bone-shaking novel of sexual violence, political terror, “collective shame,” and dark family secrets, all transcended by courage and love.” (Booklist (starred review) )
At 19, Maya Vidal, the California-born heroine of Isabel Allende's florid, frenzied and intermittently entertaining novel Maya's Notebook, has already busted out of a wilderness academy for troubled teens in Oregon, been raped and beaten by a trucker, worked as a girl Friday for a drug dealer/counterfeiter and done some $10 hooking in Las Vegas.
As dire as that sounds, there's not all that much to worry about in this Dear Diary-style narrative. Allende introduces Maya after she's cleaned up and is hiding out off the grid. Her grandmother Nini has decreed that the girl, on the run from the FBI, Interpol and the gang back in Vegas, is not safe in her hometown of Berkeley, Calif. She sends Maya to stay with her old friend, an anthropologist in his 70s named Manuel Arias, on the Chilean island of Chiloe. This move makes for a bit of counterpoint, since Nini herself fled Chile and ended up in Berkeley — after the military overthrow of socialist President Salvador Allende (the author's first cousin once removed; it's always a little meta with Isabel).
Allende knows something of what it means to have substance abusers in one's life; publicizing her memoir Paula, in 2007, she told The Guardian that she was shocked when she discovered that her second husband's three children were all drug addicts. Their struggles must have been brutal to observe. But she approaches the horror of Maya's tailspin with a curious lack of urgency. Like any soap opera, Maya's Notebook feels cloaked in the reassurance that these are all just stories — even for Maya: "While I was underground, like a seed or a tuber, another Maya Vidal struggled to emerge; slender filaments seeking moisture arose, then roots like fingers seeking nourishment, and finally a tenacious stem and leaves seeking light." This heroine blooms, but despite all the dirt Allende piles around her, Maya feels like an artificial flower.
ENJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Sincerelyours
And Blessed Are The Ones Who Care For Their Fellow Men!
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