Works better as historical fiction than as a great love story

books:


	• Ines of My Soul: A Novel Isabel Allende Harper Perennial, 2007 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 45 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Hot Chile!

Another good story by Allende, but with lots of interesting historical background. It suggests that the Spanish were courageous and visionary, but also cruel and determined to stir lasting enmity among the Indians. Ines, the heroine, was more enlightened that her male contemporaries and was a courageous, heartwarming character.

The conquest of Chile

Ines Suarez went from being a seamstress and cook in Spain to the first lady of Chile. This is her story and also the story of the hardships of the conquistadors in the New World. The book takes an unflinching look at the conflict between the Spaniards and indigenous inhabitants. The conquistadors were bigots, liars and murderers, but they were also men and women of incredible courage, endurance and fortitude. Their greed was matched by their belief in themselves and what they were doing. Obviously this is a recipe for success: how else to explain the conquest of so much by so few? The book is important because it deals with a less familiar chapter in the conquest of South America. Pizarro and Cortes are household names and the conquests of Peru and Mexico have been the subject of much popular literature. In contrast, the story of the foundation of Chile and the name of Pedro de Valdivia are much less known. I enjoyed the historical aspects of Isabel Allende's novel and am more educated for reading it. Unfortunately, the literary aspects of the book do not compare with the history. The clichéd and stereotypical elements include Ines as an old woman telling the story of her youth in flashback, her medicine-woman sidekick skilled in healing with herbs and potions unknown to Western medicine and the Mapuche Indians portrayed as noble savages. Surely all this could have been presented in a more original way. The repeated tendency to jump ahead in the story and make allusions to events yet to come is distracting and unnecessary, even if the story must be told in flashback. On the whole, though, a rewarding read.

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Works better as historical fiction than as a great love story

I read the Spanish language version, and I am an avid reader of Spanish language literature.

I am a great fan of historical fiction, and from that point of view, this was a great read. However, the purpose of the memoirs Ines is writing to her daughter was not only to document her life and history but to help her daughter understand the great love she had for Valdivia. On this front, I don't think the book works very well. I was extremely disappointed by the ending. I won't spoil it for readers except to say I didn't believe it at all (because I don't think the content of the story made it believable).

I feel that this book lacks much of what draws me to great Spanish Language literature in general - emotional content. Factually it was quite interesting, and I enjoy Allende's Spanish. However, the only parts of the book that had any emotional strength were the times Ines digressed from her history to address her daughter directly regarding her own impending death. It's too bad Allende didn't put that kind of emotional content in Ines' relationship with Valdivia. There was simply too much distance in the relationship for this to be considered a story of a great love.

However, I would highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction. It is interesting as Allende matter of factly expresses through Ines ideas of the day, and I am glad she does it without any preaching. For example, the fact that Valdivia wants to create an almost Utopian community in Chile, but he doesn't seem to care how many people he has to kill to do it. Or the comments reflecting the then-current opinions of the Spaniards on the New World and its indigenous inhabitants - the perceived barbarism of the latter with the actual barbarism of the former. She does a good job of letting the facts speak for themselves.

I truly wish that there had been more to the love story itself. Then this would truly have been a great book.

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amazing

An amazing story of a woman with great courage, fortitude and stamina who helped to settle Chile and gave so much of herself to helping others. Isabele Allende is a wonderful writer.

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

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