This book was horribly sad, but in true Allende style, I could not put it down. I think I like her so much as an author because she writes in that fairytalesque fashion I always adored as a kid. Which when you become an adult is called Magical Realism

I am sending this book to MBMeadow. She sent me Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan that I just finished. I hope you enjoy the read!

Thanks to Abott. I'd actually kind of forgotten this was on its way. I always enjoy coming home at night and finding something at my door. Thanks also for the kind note. I'm just glad to be able to share.

I loved this book. The writing was very descriptive, so much so that I felt I could feel the color of the book. A beautiful golden hue, even though parts of it were disturbing and sad.
The story follows mainly Isabel, a journalist and Francisco, a photographer, and the intertwining of their families. It also intersects with another family, who loses their daughter, Evangelina, to a dictator's out-of-control regime.
The love of Isabel and Francisco grows, even as the horror in their life grows. Isabel loses her upper-class innocence as she commits herself to finding one of the disappeared, while Francisco himself needs the help that he's given to people trying to leave the country.
Luckily, I had read a book on the desapercidos (hope I got the spelling right, but I'm not looking it up right now) last year in college, so I knew the atrocities that some of the regimes in South America were capable of.
I tried to place the country, and thought I had it nailed down, but I could be wrong. It might be deliberately written ambiguously, or I didn't quite get the right cues.
Anyway, I loved this book, and after the first 20 pages (which were hard for me to get into because it introduces each of the families), I couldn't put it down.
Even at its darkest, most disturbing moments, I appreciated the beauty of the writing and the love that each character had for the world around them.
Thanks again for sharing. As an odd coincidence, there was another Isabel Allende book released in my town just a couple of days ago. Intrigued, I went to go look for it. Either it was already gone or the person leaving it hadn't actually left it yet, since I know some people journal beforehand. I was disappointed, because I'm hooked on Allende now. But at least someone else should hopefully get exposed to bookcrossing. And no, it hasn't been journaled yet. If it ever will be.

Released on Sunday, June 27, 2004 at Showplace 16, 450 W. Chippewa Ave. in South Bend, Indiana USA.

On a ledge in the front lobby.