La suma de los dias/ The amount of days
by Isabel Allende
La suma de los dias/ The ...
Isabel Allende |
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 186)
Read in May, 2008
This is a sweet and absorbing compendium of the goings-on in Allende's family in the years since her daughter's death. Though it recounts heartaches and sadnesses, the overall tone is wry and upbeat. It's really just a tale of life in a kooky but loving extended family, with emotions and ups-and-downs that a lot of us can relate to--not the specific events, of course, but the general feelings. Not that many of us take regular trips to the Amazon or India, have a daughter-in-law come out of the c...more
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Read in May, 2008
Wow, what a rollicking read. I kept having to remind myself that this was a memoir and not one of Allende's novels. Lesser women would have crawled into a hole having lived through the tragedy and day to day uproar of her life, but Isabel Allende just keeps drawing the hurt and struggling into her family circle and that extended family supports each other and moves forward together. She is truly a matriarch who, as she admits, sometimes needs to be reined in a bit.
Sometimes she needs to reac...more
Sometimes she needs to reac...more
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Read in January, 2008
The Sum of Our Days is the gorgeous and quirky third memoir by renowned Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende, translated from her native Spanish into English. Her memoir, Paula, was a stunningly intimate reflection on the loss of her young, 28-year-old daughter. My Invented Country was her tribute to her home country, spanning the assassination of her uncle Salvador in the September 11, 1973 coup and the 9/11 attacks on her adopted country. Now, she weaves the tale of building a quirky extende...more
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Read in August, 2008
Another memoir from Isabel Allende. Her first memoir Paula details her daughter's tragic death from medical mistakes made treating her porphyria. This book is basically written to her daughter telling her of all the things that have happened in the life of her family since her untimely demise. I will admit that I have been somewhat disappointed in many of Allende's recent works. Her first book "The House of the Spirits" is one my all-time favorites. Aside from her non-fiction books...more
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Read in July, 2008
Detailing a decade or more of Allende's tribe, The Sum of Our Days is an interesting look at the author's innermost life. The characters and events surrounding Allende are always colorful, leading me to wonder just how much drama, tragedy, and exceptional circumstances one family can really attract. Allende's writing in this memoir pales in comparison to her fiction. Her notes on the family are often repetitive, revisiting the same image or event numerous times. The extent of her own ...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Natalie by:
NPRrecommends it for: everyone
"Buddhists say that life is a river, that we are carried on a raft to our final destination. The river has its currents, rapids, sandbars, whirlpools, and other obstacles that we can't control, but we are given a pair of oars to guide our craft. The quality of the voyage depends upon our skill, but we cannot alter the course because the river always empties into death. Sometimes we have no choice but to give ourselves to the current, but that wasn't the case here. I took a deep breath, stre...more
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I read anything by Isabelle Allende. She is one of my favorite authors. I loved "Paula", so I was eager to read "The Sum of Our Days". I read it quickly, as with all of her books, always reluctant to put it down for the night. It is very different from Paula, not only in tone, but also in prose. In Paula, there were long passages that described the land (Chile). In some instances, I will skim passages that are overly long and about only the setting, but her prose is so ...more
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While Allende's fiction books (such as The House of the Spirits) have never grabbed me, this memoir is one of the best books I've read in a long time.
Allende wrestles with understanding her family- and love-life after the death of her daughter. Her writing, at turns poignant, elegant and humorous, conveys the peculiarities of her relationships with a range of eclectic people. Yet the themes she wrestles with are universal; how to balance change and continuity in relationships, the double-edged...more
Allende wrestles with understanding her family- and love-life after the death of her daughter. Her writing, at turns poignant, elegant and humorous, conveys the peculiarities of her relationships with a range of eclectic people. Yet the themes she wrestles with are universal; how to balance change and continuity in relationships, the double-edged...more
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hmmm I read the English version, but it doesn't show up here. I could leave you with the impression that I can read Spanish but...
I am a huge fan of Isabel Allende's in fact I would count her as one of my favorite authors. This being said I wish she would stick with fiction. Unlike fiction real life doesn't have an over-riding theme and thus this memoir became a series of random memories with no particular beginning or ending. And what a cast of characters! Are they truly real people ...more
I am a huge fan of Isabel Allende's in fact I would count her as one of my favorite authors. This being said I wish she would stick with fiction. Unlike fiction real life doesn't have an over-riding theme and thus this memoir became a series of random memories with no particular beginning or ending. And what a cast of characters! Are they truly real people ...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Meagan, Donna, Jenn
I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't imagine that a memoir would capture my attention and make me want to keep reading but this book was so good and her writing style so engrossing that I didn't want to put it down. I love her family and their dynamics!!! After hearing Isabel Allende interviewed on NPR about this book I knew I had to read it- just listening to her talk about it inspired me so I bought it the next day. I recommend it to all but especially to those who read her fiction as many o...more
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Read in August, 2008
Allende's gossipy tale of her family/"tribe" seems like the sort of thing that would eventually be written by someone who aims for a book a year, always started on the exact same day. That doesn't make it any less interesting. Having a smart, funny woman telling about her life and the people important to her kept me engaged as I puttered around the house, and I enjoyed the little tidbits about how and when she had written various other books. So, good read to pass the time, just not...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2008
This is a very entertaining follow-up to Isabel Allende's painful memoir, PAULA, which describes the long illness leading to the death of her beloved daughter at the age of 28. SUM consists of deeply personal vignettes from the author's personal life since that tragedy. It is written in the form of letters to Paula. But, in true Allende style, the author faces horrific events with an attitude to be envied. Her sense of fatalism and humor never cease to amaze and entertain. This author is definit...more
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Read in July, 2008
It was moving and enlightening. The description of feelings and the evolving of relationships was well written. The underlying sadness was always there, but somehow there was still always a glimmer of hope. She feels like a friend, and to her friends she is as loyal as she is to her family. Her ability to make the reader understand where she is coming from and explaining her stance based on her latin upbringing is fantastic. This is the first of any of her books I have read, and I will defi...more
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Read in April, 2008
I picked this book up meaning to read just a couple of chapters before finishing my taxes. Four hours later, my tax papers were still sitting in a file. Ms. Allende writes to her late daughter Paula of the family's life since Paula's death. Ms. Allende pulls you effortlessly into her warm world of work, family and friends. Sometimes when I read a translated book I wonder what I am missing by not being able to read it in the original language. That did not occur to me with this book - the pro...more
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Read in April, 2008
I LOVE Isabel Allende! Though not as good as Paula, this book is still engrossing. What I love about her, is that not only does she admit fault in certain areas of her life, she writes about them, so the entire world knows she's a little over-protective of her adult son, but she does it with such humor that you don't really think of it as a fault. I love her fiction books, but I really love her non-fiction, because then I can hear her voice, because it is filled with such humor and grace.
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I read this book in between breastfeeding, changing diapers, eating my meals, sleep deprivation..
and I made sure that I had time to read it! It's that good!
Allende is straighforward, passionate, hilarious, and intimate in writing her memoir.
As a non-famous person it amazes me to think that someone with her famous author life, that she actually has a normal life - a life like all the rest of us do - where you have to deal with the hardships of family problems.
and I made sure that I had time to read it! It's that good!
Allende is straighforward, passionate, hilarious, and intimate in writing her memoir.
As a non-famous person it amazes me to think that someone with her famous author life, that she actually has a normal life - a life like all the rest of us do - where you have to deal with the hardships of family problems.
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A Another excellent, fascinating memoir by Allende. She looks at how she had deal with her life since Paula's death, picking up where PAULA left off, telling the tales of divorce, love, heartbreak, fun, growing older, and life, in her "tribe," her family...I love Allende, and love this book. I want to hug her after reading it. A must for any Allende fan (but read PAULA and MY INVENTED COUNTRY first).
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Read in July, 2008
I always love reading Allende whatever the subject, and with this memoir I particularly appreciated her self-awareness, perhaps it's only in hindsight but she's able to recognise her own flaws as a wife/parent/grandparent.
My one complaint - I wish she'd included photos! I always love seeing photos of the people I'm reading about in a memoir or biography so I can put faces to all the names.
My one complaint - I wish she'd included photos! I always love seeing photos of the people I'm reading about in a memoir or biography so I can put faces to all the names.
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Read in April, 2008
This book was great -- I was really excited because I had gone to a book reading by Isabel Allende that was by far the best and most entertaining book reading I had been to, and this book definitely met the high expectations I had after that book reading. This was an entertaining, fast-paced, humorous memoir that was a lot of fun to read. I'm glad I read it!
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Read in July, 2008
Picking up where Paula leaves off, this newest book by one of my favorite writers chronicles the lives of Allende and her family since the death of her daughter. Amazing as always, Allende firmly believes (and thus makes me believe) that love will hold sway over the world, even during the most difficult times when you fear it has gone forever.
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