In the Midst of Winter: A Novel

I always learn so much about things I am only peripherally aware when I read her books. Too, her characters are nuanced and always human, helping the reader also learn about self. Given what is happening today in America, this should be required reading for everyone.

Entertaining while being educational and thought provoking! Characters were well developed and believable and formed a bond the reader roots for.

There are three Key People in this book: Richard Bowmaster is an NYU professor in his mid-sixties who lives in Brooklyn. He’s lonely, avoids physical contact, and does not drink because he’s an alcoholic. Richard is a widower and has a widower father named Joseph who was a Jew in Germany but managed to get out of the country in time. Lucia Maraz is an NYU teacher who is Richard’s tenant. She lives below him, is in her early sixties, and has occasional sex fantasies about Richard. She once touched him accidentally but he didn’t like it. She is originally from Chile and there is a chapter that deals with the September 11, 1973 overthrow of Salvador Allende’s government. (The author is well qualified to write about this because she lived in Santiago during this time and her father was a first cousin to Salvador Allende.) Evelyn Ortega is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala. She’s a young woman who could probably be the daughter of Richard and Lucia if they had produced a child. Richard rear ends her car in an accident and gets Lucia to help translate their conversation. After I read about Evelyn I thought the plot might move toward Richard & Lucia getting together and pseudo-adopting Evelyn as their proxy daughter. Wrong. We learn all of this about the three characters in the first seventy pages. Then the plot begins with a stunning event. Now we’re getting somewhere, I thought. Whoops, wrong again. We eventually get to page 245 and three more chapters on the characters’ background follow. At this point I almost tossed the book. But I was getting close to the end so I decided to stick with it and find out what happens. Unfortunately, it ended with a whimper instead of a bang. Overall I thought this novel was seriously unbalanced with much more character background than plot substance. I’ve read a number of Allende’s earlier books and was disappointed with this one.

Once again, Isabel Allende doesn't disappoint. Her poignant portrayal of the political injustice in Chile and Brazil, the art of survival, and the obstacles that the poor immigrants face coming into the US, when running away from extreme violence in their own country, sounds very well researched. And I also enjoyed Lucia’s quirky personality, which I think helped her face so many of her life’s challenges.

Isabel Allende is an excellent writer. This one is a little different than some of her other works. It took me a little while to warm up to it but ultimately found it a good story.

I love this author. I would suggest anyone read the stories she writes. Isabel Allende mixes history in to her fiction providing you lessons you would never new you needed.

I loved this book. There's a big event that happens and the way the protagonists react is kind if weird and improbable until the back stories start to unfold. In a moment, it all starts to make sense. There is a plot and it's good but the real treat of the book is meeting these three people and learning about their backgrounds. They've all been damaged and in each other they all change. It's just great. I hope you read it and have the same reaction that I did. I think the cover is not good and doesn't represent the inside of the book at all.

I'm 80 years old. Rarely does the story line of a new read excite me long enough to finish the book. Rarely do novels, especially American novels enrich my sense of well being, and justify the time spent reading. Thank heavens for Isabel Allende!

Delicia de livro, Isabel Allende divertida e emocional. Uma história inusitada sobre imigrantes nos USA e a vida afetiva na maturidade

Interesting read .

The worst fates imaginable, yet every one carries an indestructible, fertile seed of optimism. Isabel Allende glorifies the power of love, of faith in the higher purpose of our existence in this terrible world full of perils and tragedies. She teaches us about the female power of resilience without being a typical so called "feminist" preacher. A storyteller that can make even the weather the most exciting subject that will keep you turning the pages. A warm soul full of indestructible optimism and love for humanity with all its imperfections and mistakes. I highly recommend every single book she wrote. Isabel Allende never ceases to surprise and fascinate, time and time again.

Todo correcto y a l'hora. Esdado libro muy bien

My fourth book by Isabel Allende. She never disappoints. Here, she brings together 3 very ordinary people for a few days, and weaves together the stories of their tragic pasts, into a situation that drives us towards a surprising ending. Allende has the gift of being able to introduce the reader to South American politics, without being pushy. We are given it in the settings and the personal lives of ordinary people whose day to day lives have been inevitably changed by the political context. Her writing rings true, perhaps because she herself was a political exile and knows so well the immigrant experience.