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My Invented Country
by
Isabel Allende (Goodreads Author)
Isabel Allende evokes the magnificent landscapes of her country; a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and an indomitable spirit, and the politics, religion, myth, and magic of her homeland that she carries with her even today.
The book circles around two life-changing moments. The assassination of her uncle Salvador Allende Gossens on September 11...more
The book circles around two life-changing moments. The assassination of her uncle Salvador Allende Gossens on September 11...more
Published
(first published January 1st 1388)
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This is Isabel Allende's funny and sorrowful tribute to her native country. She starts off with amusing stories: a cat-killing refrigerator; her grandfather's insistence that he saw the devil on a bus; her father who disguised himself as a Peruvian Indian woman with bright petticoats and a wig with long braids. Later in the book she moves on to the horror and repression suffered by the Chilean people following the CIA-assisted military coup in 1973.
The book is not so much a memoir as it is an e...more
The book is not so much a memoir as it is an e...more
Isabel Allende's writing flows like a story that your grandmother would tell you about a time long before you were born, but that still has an intricate connection to your world and flickers into existence only to be half seen or intuitively perceived as a lingering presence. These are the stories about a past that does not belong to you, but that seems so familiar because of the wonderful voice of the author who, inadvertently perhaps, but nevertheless compellingly, makes you a part of her hist...more
5 likes · like · see review
we chose this book for my book club, because it was the memoir of isabel allende, who was exiled from her home country and eventually settled in the united states -- we thought that her experiences as an expat would give us insights into our own experiences living abroad (since most of us in the book club are from outside of the netherlands).
however, this book mostly whined about the idiosyncrasies of the chilean people, making fun of their habits and culture, and really didn't say much POSITIVE...more
however, this book mostly whined about the idiosyncrasies of the chilean people, making fun of their habits and culture, and really didn't say much POSITIVE...more
This is a book of feelings and observations. It is not a guide book. While it has many sociological observations and a recount of Chile's 20th century history it makes no pretense to precision or accuracy. There are no footnotes. There are wide generalities such as: Chileans drink more tea than Asians. This is a book written from the heart.
Isabel Allende's father and then step father worked in embassies which gave her travel experience at an early age. While born in Peru, most of her childhood w...more
Isabel Allende's father and then step father worked in embassies which gave her travel experience at an early age. While born in Peru, most of her childhood w...more
Isabel Allende shares a place with Louise Erdrich in the top echelon of writers of the last few decades. She has in common with Erdrich the ability to simultaneously enter the worlds of body, emotion, and spirit as well as those of the past, present, and future. The two women also share a penchant for the historical as well as for exploring the intricacies of families through the generations. I mentioned The Crown of Columbus in as an Erdrich example in my last blog, and many of her works use a...more
Because I trust the insights of this author, I picked up this book, prior to a trip to Argentina & Chile, in hopes of becoming a bit better prepared for my short visit. Allende gave me what I was looking for.
Having read quite a few of her fiction novels, this was my first foray into her non-fiction & I enjoyed her 'nostalgic journey' through the country she called home, before relocating to the USA. She gave me a sense of the place, both its charms and its challenges, & furthered my...more
Having read quite a few of her fiction novels, this was my first foray into her non-fiction & I enjoyed her 'nostalgic journey' through the country she called home, before relocating to the USA. She gave me a sense of the place, both its charms and its challenges, & furthered my...more
1 like · like · see review
Oct 30, 2011
Cindy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
memoir,
other-cultures
Charming, disarming vignettes by a most gifted and favorite author of mine.
Here's some wisdom for me:
On relocation to Venezuela - "I was 35 years old and I thought I had no future before me except to grow old and die of boredom. Now when I remember that time, I realize that opportunities existed but I didn't see them; I was confused and fearful, and incapable of dancing to their tune. Instead of making an effort to learn about the land that had so generously taken me in, and learn to love it, I...more
Here's some wisdom for me:
On relocation to Venezuela - "I was 35 years old and I thought I had no future before me except to grow old and die of boredom. Now when I remember that time, I realize that opportunities existed but I didn't see them; I was confused and fearful, and incapable of dancing to their tune. Instead of making an effort to learn about the land that had so generously taken me in, and learn to love it, I...more
Less a memoir, more a series of recollections of her life, and the geography, people and politics of Chile. Allende has led a peripatetic life: born in Peru, raised in Chile, lived as a child in Bolivia and Lebanon, exiled to Venezuela and finally an immgrant to California with she lives with her second husband, an American. However her Chilean roots and family have obviously made the largest impression on her and she constantly returns to them with an aching nostalgia throughout this book. Alth...more
Ik had al een poos niets meer van Allende gelezen, was op de trilogie over dat Amerikaanse jochie en zijn oma vreselijk afgeknapt. Maar van dit boek heb ik weer met volle teugen genoten.
In 17 hoofdstukken licht Allende op haar eigen bekende manier (anekdotisch, tikkeltje ironisch, maar heerlijk weglezend) de volksaard van de Chileen en de Chileense maatschappij toe. Althans, zoals zij zich die denkt te herinneren. Ze is immers bannelinge en heeft daardoor vooral in haar hoofd een beeld gemaakt v...more
In 17 hoofdstukken licht Allende op haar eigen bekende manier (anekdotisch, tikkeltje ironisch, maar heerlijk weglezend) de volksaard van de Chileen en de Chileense maatschappij toe. Althans, zoals zij zich die denkt te herinneren. Ze is immers bannelinge en heeft daardoor vooral in haar hoofd een beeld gemaakt v...more
Surprisingly International
You don’t have to be Chilean to enjoy this beautiful memoir, but you will gain an appreciation for Chile and its people after reading “My Invented Country”.
This is the story about how Isabel Allende, one of the most charismatic Latin American authors of our time, came to become the person she is today. Her very personal narrative will take you to a different country and a different era that will (almost) make you feel Chilean.
We follow her steps from the very beginning...more
You don’t have to be Chilean to enjoy this beautiful memoir, but you will gain an appreciation for Chile and its people after reading “My Invented Country”.
This is the story about how Isabel Allende, one of the most charismatic Latin American authors of our time, came to become the person she is today. Her very personal narrative will take you to a different country and a different era that will (almost) make you feel Chilean.
We follow her steps from the very beginning...more
Although I am somewhat obsessed with Latin America, Chile had never particularly interested me until I started reading Isabel Allende and of course, Pablo Neruda. This is her account, of her people, a very contradictory and a bit neurotic population amid a land so painstakingly beautiful...Anyone want to go Chile with me??
My favorite passages (and I have a few) that describe this book well):
"If I had stayed in Chile, as I always wanted, married to one of my second cousins (in the improbable case...more
My favorite passages (and I have a few) that describe this book well):
"If I had stayed in Chile, as I always wanted, married to one of my second cousins (in the improbable case...more
"With many events and anecdotes from my life," writes Allende, "it seems I have lived them, but when I write them down in the clear light of logic, they seem unlikely. This really doesn't disturb me, however. What does it matter if these events happened or if I imagined them? Life is, after all, a dream."
So exists the central paradox at the heart of this book, a paradox that Allende is happy to face head on and consider from all angles - of what stuff is the fabric of her nostalgia for Chile mad...more
So exists the central paradox at the heart of this book, a paradox that Allende is happy to face head on and consider from all angles - of what stuff is the fabric of her nostalgia for Chile mad...more
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I don't know how interested I would be in this book had I not lived in Chile for several months. However, since I have, I found it endearing and hilarious, especially when I read a few gems that I though my sister might appreciate.
"...on my last trip I found to my amazement that coffee had finally made its entrance into culture and now anyone willing to pay can find espressos and cappuccinos worthy of Italy."
Isabel, really? This book was published about 8 years ago but still in 2009, when I orde...more
"...on my last trip I found to my amazement that coffee had finally made its entrance into culture and now anyone willing to pay can find espressos and cappuccinos worthy of Italy."
Isabel, really? This book was published about 8 years ago but still in 2009, when I orde...more
~> قراءة أولى ل إيزابيل و ممتعة جداً !
هذه الصور الجميلة ، و الحياة التي تنبعث من السطور ، لا يسعك أمامها إلا أن تؤيد الكاتبة
و تعايشها التعلق بالوطن ؛**
( ربما توقفت طويلاً في المنتصف ،
حين الحكي عن السياسة ،
كن الفصول الاخيرة أمتعتني من جديد )...
هذه الصور الجميلة ، و الحياة التي تنبعث من السطور ، لا يسعك أمامها إلا أن تؤيد الكاتبة
و تعايشها التعلق بالوطن ؛**
( ربما توقفت طويلاً في المنتصف ،
حين الحكي عن السياسة ،
كن الفصول الاخيرة أمتعتني من جديد )...
O poveste despre Chile, asa cum il creioneaza Isabel Allende cu duiosie, melancolie, romantism si verva, dupa 25 de ani de cand s-a despartit de tara, dupa instaurarea dictaturii lui Pinochet.
Un potret al sufletului chilian si o radiografie a tarii sale din negura amintirilor, profund subiectiv, dar extrem de agreabil pentru cititor.
Allende povesteste Chile prim prisma trecutului ei sau invers, greu de spus, cartea e o naratiune extrem de vie, care te tine legat de ea pana la final, iremediabil...more
Un potret al sufletului chilian si o radiografie a tarii sale din negura amintirilor, profund subiectiv, dar extrem de agreabil pentru cititor.
Allende povesteste Chile prim prisma trecutului ei sau invers, greu de spus, cartea e o naratiune extrem de vie, care te tine legat de ea pana la final, iremediabil...more
بلدي المخترع
تعجبني هذه الكاتبة، دخلت بالنسبة لي منذ قرأت روايتها (ابنة الحظ) نادي كبار الروائيين والذي كانت تفزعني ذكوريته حينها – نعم لازلت أسميه نادي كبار الروائيين رغم وجود أنثى داخله، فقط لأنني أحب وقع الاسم ولا أريد تغييره -، ايزابيل الليندي تكتب بأسلوب خاص جداً، مميز، يمكنك أن تتعرف عليه حتى ولو قرأت كتبها بلا غلاف، إنها تتمدد في النص، تخلطه بذاتها بحيث أنها لا تحتاج إلى رص اسمها إلى جانب العنوان.
وكعادة ايزابيل عندما تكتب، فهي تكتب عن ذاتها أولاً، قبل أن تكتب عن الموضوع، والموضوع هنا هو...more
تعجبني هذه الكاتبة، دخلت بالنسبة لي منذ قرأت روايتها (ابنة الحظ) نادي كبار الروائيين والذي كانت تفزعني ذكوريته حينها – نعم لازلت أسميه نادي كبار الروائيين رغم وجود أنثى داخله، فقط لأنني أحب وقع الاسم ولا أريد تغييره -، ايزابيل الليندي تكتب بأسلوب خاص جداً، مميز، يمكنك أن تتعرف عليه حتى ولو قرأت كتبها بلا غلاف، إنها تتمدد في النص، تخلطه بذاتها بحيث أنها لا تحتاج إلى رص اسمها إلى جانب العنوان.
وكعادة ايزابيل عندما تكتب، فهي تكتب عن ذاتها أولاً، قبل أن تكتب عن الموضوع، والموضوع هنا هو...more
When a work is beautiful even in translation, it can do nothing but inspire awe... and so with this. At only 200 pages, it's a briskly-paced outline of the Chile of Isabel Allende's imagination, full of exaggeration and lyricism, and deeply absorbing. There's reminiscing about eccentric relatives, the excitement of the short-lived Unidad Popular government, the regime of fear that was Pinochet's... another element that I found interesting was the reflections on the patriarchal nature of Chilean...more
القراءة لإيزابيل الليندي اصبحت بالنسبة لي كزيارة لبيت صديقة قريبة، اغيب لشهور وأعود واقرأ ، تكتب بذات الحسّ بذات الحبّ والشغف ومهما كان الموضوع الذي ستطرقه فإنها ستكون مقنعة جداً وساحرة لدرجة أننا نمسك الغلاف في اليد اليمنى ونجد أننا وصلنا للطرف الآخر بسرعة وخارج الزمن !
كتبت ايزابيل هذا الكتاب بعد حادثتين متقاربتين ، الأولى ملاحظة عرضية من حفيدها اليخاندرو الذي باغتها وهي تتحرى خريطة تجاعيدها امام المرآة، وقال لها مشفقاً : لا تهمتي يا عجوزي ، ستعيشين ثلاث سنوات على الأقل.
حينها قررت ان الساعة قد...more
كتبت ايزابيل هذا الكتاب بعد حادثتين متقاربتين ، الأولى ملاحظة عرضية من حفيدها اليخاندرو الذي باغتها وهي تتحرى خريطة تجاعيدها امام المرآة، وقال لها مشفقاً : لا تهمتي يا عجوزي ، ستعيشين ثلاث سنوات على الأقل.
حينها قررت ان الساعة قد...more
1 like · like · see review
O Amor pelo Chile e uma grande nostalgia são a origem deste livro.
A presença contínua do passado, o sentimento de ver-se ausente da pátria, a melancolia por essa perda, a consciência de ter sido peregrina e forasteira: em O Meu País Inventado, Isabel Allende recolhe toda a emoção que isto implica, e transmite-a com inteligência e humor.
Analisado pelo olhar e pelas recordações da autora, o Chile torna-se um país real e simultaneamente fantástico, uma terra estóica e hospitaleira, de homens mach...more
A presença contínua do passado, o sentimento de ver-se ausente da pátria, a melancolia por essa perda, a consciência de ter sido peregrina e forasteira: em O Meu País Inventado, Isabel Allende recolhe toda a emoção que isto implica, e transmite-a com inteligência e humor.
Analisado pelo olhar e pelas recordações da autora, o Chile torna-se um país real e simultaneamente fantástico, uma terra estóica e hospitaleira, de homens mach...more
Apr 03, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arts-and-historical
Isabel Allende's first memory of Chile is of a house she never knew. The "large old house" on the Calle Cueto, where her mother was born and which her grandfather evoked so frequently that Isabel felt as if she had lived there, became the protagonist of her first novel, "The House of the Spirits. It appears again at the beginning of Allende's playful, seductively compelling memoir "My Invented Country, and leads us into this gifted writer's world. Here are the almost mythic figures of a Chilean...more
Having read at least ten books by Isabel Allende, and giving four of them 4* – Daughter of Fortune, Inés of My Soul, The Infinite Plan, and Eva Luna – I am a fan.
This memoir subtitled, a nostalgic journey through Chile, adds background and depth to what I know about Allende and her characters. Highly recommended for fans of Allende.
This memoir subtitled, a nostalgic journey through Chile, adds background and depth to what I know about Allende and her characters. Highly recommended for fans of Allende.
Jul 03, 2011
Patrícia
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
não-ficção,
romance
Gosto muito da escrita da Isabel Allende. Gosto desde que li o “A casa dos espíritos”.
Este “O meu país inventado” é completamente diferente dos outros livros da escrito se bem que os completa, ou melhor conta a história por detrás da estória. O livro, muito autobiográfico, fala principalmente do Chile, dos Chilenos e de Isabel Allende enquanto Chilena. Claro que, como Isabel Allende vai avisando ao longo do livro, este Chile que nos é apresentado é um misto de realidade e imaginação como qualque...more
Este “O meu país inventado” é completamente diferente dos outros livros da escrito se bem que os completa, ou melhor conta a história por detrás da estória. O livro, muito autobiográfico, fala principalmente do Chile, dos Chilenos e de Isabel Allende enquanto Chilena. Claro que, como Isabel Allende vai avisando ao longo do livro, este Chile que nos é apresentado é um misto de realidade e imaginação como qualque...more
Since I've been living in Chile nearly 9 years and I'm a fan of Isabel Allende, I was interested to read this book - what a disillusioning experience. To say that she as a skewed vision of many things is an understatement (although she more-or-less admits that she's writing her version of things, not history.) I find Chileans to be generally good people but I doubt that it was the dictatorship which made them even more egoistic than before. The food is rather bland and reflects the national char...more
Isabel Allende is an amusing woman who has had a life in many countries and through many challenges. I liked that she realized that for her, her Chile, was indeed an invented country because of all the time she has spent away from it. I also loved the way she shaped the memoir - losing her country of Chile when her Uncle and elected President of Chile Salvador Allende was assassinated by the CIA on September 11, 1973 and then gaining the USA as her country when she stood shoulder to shoulder wit...more
Memoirs are often an intimate look into the lives of others and this book is no exception. If you are already an Isabel Allende fan, like me, then you will almost certainly like this book. If you have socialist beliefs or tendencies then you will almost certainly like this book.
Allende rambles through the history of Chile in the 20th century and weaves that history with tales of her family and up-bringing. It's almost like having a Chilean aunt tell you how she grew up. Although she rambles quit...more
Allende rambles through the history of Chile in the 20th century and weaves that history with tales of her family and up-bringing. It's almost like having a Chilean aunt tell you how she grew up. Although she rambles quit...more
كانت رحلة جميلة في التعرف على الحياة الإجتماعية التشيلية التي تشابه حياتنا وعاداتنا ..
استمتعت كثيراً بتأثير ويلي الغريغروني < كما يصف التشليين العرق الآري - والذي أثر كثيراً في حياتها .
أحببت تجربة المتع الي استحدثتها في سان فرانسيسكو وعلاقتها الوطيدة مع جدها وأحفادها .. امممم لا املك المخزون وطولة البال حالياً لكتابة مراجعتي لهذه المذكرات .. كما أنني اصاب بالبكم حيال الكتب الرائعة و المؤلفين المفضلين لدي :/
استمتعت كثيراً بتأثير ويلي الغريغروني < كما يصف التشليين العرق الآري - والذي أثر كثيراً في حياتها .
أحببت تجربة المتع الي استحدثتها في سان فرانسيسكو وعلاقتها الوطيدة مع جدها وأحفادها .. امممم لا املك المخزون وطولة البال حالياً لكتابة مراجعتي لهذه المذكرات .. كما أنني اصاب بالبكم حيال الكتب الرائعة و المؤلفين المفضلين لدي :/
La nostalgie et ses conséquences. Isabelle Allende, une de mes auteurs favorites réfléchit sur son passé et son pays, qu'elle a dû quitter suite aux bouleversements politiques. Un essaie personnel sur son passé et sa relation avec son pays. Peut-être parce que je suis aussi expatrié j'ai trouvé ce livre très intéressant.
Nostalgia and its consequences. One of my favourite authors, Isabelle Allende reflects on her past and the country she had to leave at such an early age as a result of political...more
Nostalgia and its consequences. One of my favourite authors, Isabelle Allende reflects on her past and the country she had to leave at such an early age as a result of political...more
I loved this book despite disagreeing with the author's far left politics. This is a very well written book and gives a great view into Chilean customs and culture. Most who read this should be able to see past the romantic view Allende has of when her uncle ruled Chili. His policies led to economic collapse. Obviously Pinochet was brutal, but that has nothing to do with left or right. Monsters come in all political persuasions.
Who cares about the politics though, I love how Allende describes t...more
Who cares about the politics though, I love how Allende describes t...more
This book was on the recommended reading list for our upcoming trip to Chile. About 2/3 in the author notes, "Well, I've gone way off on a tangent, and I need to pick up the main thread of this account, if there is any thread in all this meandering." This sentence describes the book completely and I found it tiresome. The last sentence of the paragraph..."I've tried to arrange my thoughts according to themes or periods of my life, but it's seemed artificial to me because memory twists in and out...more
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Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean-American novelist. Allende, who writes in the "magic realism" tradition, is considered one of the first successful women novelists in Latin America. She has written novels based in part on her own experiences, often focusing on the experiences of women, weaving myth and realism together. She has lectured and done extensive book tours and has taught literature at s...more
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“My worst flaw is that I tell secrets, my own and everybody else's. ”
—
23 people liked it
“Literary characters, like my grandmother's apparitions, are fragile beings, easily frightened; they must be treated with care so they will feel comfortable in my pages”
—
12 people liked it
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Nov 16, 2010 01:09am
Nov 16, 2010 09:01am