Relive Chile's History and Culture: A Nostalgic Journey Through My Invented Country

Germaine De Peralta: I learned so much about Chile plus it's so beautifully written. It's a great thing to learn about a country in good literature (as opposed to dry history books).

Canada on Sep 28, 2023

A. Martin: It's a book! Use: Reading!

United States on Jul 29, 2023

Christine M. Ashby: Like Ms. Allende I was born in another country.
Not sure why I left, eager to find a life.
While I cannot comment much on the political history of Chile,
the internal efforts to find herself are so familiar to me.
I appreciate her tolerant view of the world and found comfort in her acceptance of events as they unfold.

Never quite at home here, living in the romantic past we created of our youth, how hard we try. To have roots wherever you are is a blessing some of us lost and struggle on without.

United States on May 05, 2021

Paula Sale: A very moving account of life in Chile through the eyes of Isabel Allende . Beautifully written story with the traumatic history of the country woven in.

United Kingdom on Mar 22, 2021

Chris: I chose that rating simply because reading an autobiography is always a delught. Its an opportunity to meet and discover an author without physical contact. I loved the vivid description of the social codes in Chile, the hardship the people experience that is similar to that of the African people and also, as an immigrant in the USA, I couldn't agree more when I saw my reflection in the last chapters in which Isabel gives an account of her problem of integration is this beautiful country.
Is there anything I disliked in this book ? No, she was honest that Nostalgia did not prevent her from embracing that new adopted country. I would recommend that book to any fan of autobiography, or desired to learn english

United States on Oct 30, 2018

L. Di Nemuro: Exciting book, received in good order

United Kingdom on Apr 19, 2018

tony giffone: Allende weaves personal history and political history together into a seamless whole. A good introduction to both Allende and Chile.

United States on Jul 18, 2016

Gerard White: I picked up this memoir after reading Allende's foreword in a copy of Eduardo Galeano's Open Veins of Latin America. Knowing Allende was the niece of Salvador Allende, I was interested in how that turbulent time shaped her life. I had no idea Isabel Allende was such an accomplished writer or had published so many books, I simply knew her for her connections to the man ousted by Pinochet. This book has made me an Isabel Allende fan!

I've never read a memoir which is so poetic and full of insight not only into the character of the writer, but into life itself. Several chapters in I no longer cared about her connections to Salvador Allende or the coming coup of 1973, but was memorized by her ability to weave a story, to reflect on the lives of others, and to offer numerous insights into the meaning of a well lived life.

Sure enough, later in the book there are chapters on Salvador Allende and Pinochet, and they are remarkably reflective and powerful (especially her discussion of the difference between an exile and an immigrant), yet those won't be the moments I remember.

What I will remember is the beauty of Chile, the importance of being outspoken, and the need...

United States on Jun 21, 2016

Gracey: Probably my fault for not having read the abstract better, but this book is not a novel. It is a memoir, a recollection of Allende's life and experiences. Her beautiful, sincere writing is there, but basically it read like a huge interview that got me tired at times...

United Kingdom on Jul 08, 2013

Ms. L. M. Smith: The past is a fascinating land in which we all dwell at one time or another, and in My Invented Country, Isabel Allende discusses her relationship with the country of her birth, Chile. She crafts a wandering, wondering work of mystical proportions; discussing the influence of her colourful family (in particular, her grandfather) and the times in which she lived as a child. There is no narrative imperative in this work but this discussion of the spirit of the Chilean people and how they've come through a veritable patchwork of governments in the last few centuries is utterly enthralling.
What falls into place around you as you read, is a rich and vibrant land which the author admits may never have even existed and may simply exist in her mind, due to her lengthy exile from Chile during the Pinochet years. But in bringing her vision of Chile to the reader, she also brings something of herself. Her writing, her imagination, her influences, her spirit. Undoubtedly an intriguing woman and an intriguing land. Read it today.

United Kingdom on Aug 14, 2004