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Copy/paste the text below into your blog. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1991383.The_Sum_of_Our_Days_A_Memoir?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sv7IkgfZL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1991383.The_Sum_of_Our_Days_A_Memoir?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2238.Isabel_Allende">Isabel Allende</a><br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20944159?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a> rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>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 closet after 3 children and move in with your stepson's fiance, or go on a four-day drug-induced hallucination. But the desire to create a family circle, the daily irritations of marriage, the grief that sneaks up on you, the sorrow of not being able to remove others' pain, these common emotions are what draw you in to this very personal work. Allende is open with her grief and fear, and self-deprecating with her humor. <br/> <br/>Having heard her read from the book when it came out made a big difference in how I read. I would have enjoyed it anyway, but more of the dry sense of humor came through when I imagined it in her voice, much the same way as I experience reading David Sedaris. (I can't believe I'm comparing Isabel Allende to David Sedaris, but there it is.) At any rate, it is a pleasant and absorbing read, whether or not you have read any of her novels (though you may have a better sense of her if you've read some of her other work). <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/786079?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>