Thursday, September 5, 2013

37. Maya's Notebook - Isabel Allende

translated from Spanish by Anne McLean
read by Maria Cabezas
12 unabridged cds (14.5 hrs.)
2013, Harper Audio
387 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 9/5/2013
Goodreads Rating: 3.83
My Rating: Loved it (4) 
TPPL Audio Book
Setting: Contemporary Chile and, for the most part, Berkley, CA, 
1st sentence/s: "A week ago my grandmother gave me a dry-eyed hug at the San Francisco Airport and told me again that if I valued my life at all I should not get in touch with anyone I knew until we could be sure my enemies were no longer looking for me."

Introductory words/a poem by Mary Oliver from The Summer Day:  
"Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

My Goodreads Review: While I found the story quite unbelievable, I found the writing (or the translation of the original Spanish), the voice of the audio reader, and the voice of the protagonist completely mesmerizing.  The first person account switches back and forth between the present on a remote Chilean island and the past couple of years in San Francisco, an Oregon rehab facility and the darkest of dark bowels of Las Vegas.  Some of that part was quite upsetting to listen to.  But darkness and ubelievability did not deter me from enjoying the beautiful words and storytelling of Isabel Allende. This is the first of her books I've ever read, and I'm not sure why that is!

Goodreads Summary: Isabel Allende’s latest novel, set in the present day (a new departure for the author), tells the story of a 19-year-old American girl who finds refuge on a remote island off the coast of Chile after falling into a life of drugs, crime, and prostitution. There, in the company of a torture survivor, a lame dog, and other unforgettable characters, Maya Vidal writes her story, which includes pursuit by a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. In the process, she unveils a terrible family secret, comes to understand the meaning of love and loyalty, and initiates the greatest adventure of her life: the journey into her own soul.

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