Conversations with Isabel Allende

From reviews of the first edition:

". . . Allende has led a life full of drama, passion, and history--one that is a novela in its own right. Now a book, Conversations with Isabel Allende, gives fans the inside story as told by Allende herself. . . . This is worthwhile reading for anyone who wants to know what makes a good writer tick."
--Latina

"Notoriously cavalier about the lines between fact, memory, and the storyteller's urge to keep the listener going, Allende embellishes or withholds wherever she pleases. Serious subjects are discussed and dealt with seriously, but there is plenty of laughter and evidence of the woman's appealing optimism and sense of play, whimsy, and charm."
--Bloomsbury Review

"[This] is a rich, entertaining, and informative look at the life-in-progress and work of an extraordinary woman."
--Virginia Quarterly Review

"[Readers] will find themselves enthralled with the fascinating story of a politically committed and dedicated writer, mother, and wife."
--School Library Journal

"Her fans will love the Isabel who comes across so well spoken here."
--Booklist

This revised edition has been updated to cover Allende's three newest books--City of the Beasts, Portrait in Sepia: A Novel, and Daughter of Fortune. It includes four new interviews in which Allende discusses completing her trilogy of novels that began with House of the Spirits, as well as her ongoing spiritual adventure and political interests.

Library Journal

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 Cahners Business Information.

John Rodden, of Austin, Texas, is the author and editor of eight books, including Performing the Literary Interview, Lionel Trilling and the Critics, and The Worlds of Irving Howe.