Violeta, the Chilean narrator, is a hundred years old. She is relating her life to Camilo, her grandson, at the end of her life. Violeta’s life spans two pandemics. She has lovers, husbands, two children and a loyal extended family. Her history parallels the history of the world-wars, politics and natural disasters. Violeta is the tale of an independent, strong-willed woman who refuses to let traumas and crisis stop her from living a very full life.

Isabel Allende’s books are always entertaining, but Violeta is not one of her best. I found the main character unbelievable and the structure of the novel (Violeta telling her life story) sometimes awkward and stilted.