Violeta cover art

Violeta

'Storytelling at its best' – Woman & Home

Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Violeta

By: Isabel Allende
Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £13.83

Buy Now for £13.83

Bloomsbury presents Violeta by Isabel Allende, read by Yareli Arizmendi.

_______________

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM LITERARY LEGEND ISABEL ALLENDE
_______________

'Epic, beautifully crafted . . . Gripping from start to finish' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'A moving exploration of both the pain and the freedom of being an outsider’ NEW STATESMAN
'A new novel by Isabel Allende is always a treat' DAILY MAIL
_______________

One extraordinary woman.
One hundred years of history.
One unforgettable story.

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first daughter in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events. The ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth.

Told in the form of a letter to someone Violeta loves above all others, this is the story of a hundred-year life – of devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Bearing witness to a century of history, it is a life shaped by the fight for women's rights, the rise and fall of tyrants and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics.

Through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination and sense of humour will carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.
_______________
20th Century Historical Historical Fiction Romance Heartfelt War
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

Gripping, moving and convincing, by a master storyteller, about a long life, well lived
For the past 40 years the Chilean-American novelist Isabel Allende has drawn readers into her richly imagined narratives, often inspired by her own history or that of South America . . . With her customary vibrant and compelling prose, Allende’s Violeta is a moving exploration of both the pain and the freedom of being an outsider
Violeta is full of life, a great sweeping story like a river in spate. It makes for enjoyable and undemanding reading . . . I can’t imagine readers turning it aside because they are bored
There’s extreme drama at nearly every turn, with the continent itself lurching murderously between communism and fascism in the background … This breakneck novel is loosely about the extent to which a life is at the mercy of history
[Allende] is terrific on old age, and shows how adventure doesn’t have to stop once you start stooping
[Allende's] breakneck recital of events . . . has pace and verve, captured in Frances Riddle’s enjoyably fast-flowing translation
This epic, beautifully crafted novel spans the entire twentieth century and tells the story of Violeta . . . Gripping from start to finish, it will also make you yearn to visit Chile
A new Isabel Allende for a new year is most welcome and here Violeta, who is 100 years old, tells her extraordinary story
Covering two pandemics, passionate affairs, and poverty, Violeta is a must for historical fiction lovers
A cast of magical characters is thrown together by circumstance and desire, their fates shaped by political upheavals . . . Storytelling at its best
All stars
Most relevant
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in love, history, family or just loves a fictional book that sounds like an autobiography. Fell in love with every character and shed a tear for all of them throughout.

Beautiful, just beautiful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I loved this book from start to finish. I loved the narrators voice, the historical references and the strong female protagonist. A must read/listen!

Amazing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Allende’s writing is superb, always with humour and wit. The narrator was good, if a bit sing song

An interesting and compelling story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I struggled to finish or because it was a little long but overall it was an enjoyable time.

it was ok

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I have loved House of Spirits, Eva Luna and early Allende but found this lacks the vibrancy and strong characters of previous works-

Not the usual Allende

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews