My Invented Country

The life story of Isabel Allende – one of the world's favourite writers – is as exotic, passionate and inspiring as one of her novels

My Invented Country is a memoir in which truth is most definitely stranger than fiction. Exploring the events of her life and those of the country in which she lived until the assassination of her cousin, the president Salvador Allende, in Pinochet’s military coup, Allende takes us on a highly personal tour through her homeland, bringing it to life.

In this charming book, portraits of her family and friends jostle with vivid descriptions of local customs and beliefs but through it all strides the indomitable figure of the young Isabel. Rebellious and passionate, a feminist long before she knew what feminism was, her love for (sometimes exasperation with) Chile informs every line. And her experiences make for unforgettable, often hilarious reading that no admirer of Allende’s writing will want to miss.

“Allende's writing is so vivid we smell the countryside, hear the sounds, see the bright birds, the scorched earth, smell and even taste the soft fruit.' The TimesAllende has a gift for conversational writing and a sharp sense of humourI very much enjoyed this visit to the other Chile, that half-remembered country of her imagination.' New StatesmanAllende is incapable of telling a bad story. She writes of her own experience with a kind of wild candour. Her heroically sustained narrative, her lovingly prepared plots and surprise inventions explode in an exaltation.' IndependentLucid, original and expounded with an unquestionable sense of humorpart essay and part autobiographyWhen Allende poses sweeping general truths, she leaves room for argumentBut the book gets my undivided attention when it expounds on the relationship of the author to that country of hers, invented, imaginary, fictional, to the story of her family, which is itself invented memory, and to her vocation as a narratorIt will provoke curiosity. And that is where everything begins.' LA Times”

'Allende's writing is so vivid we smell the countryside, hear the sounds, see the bright birds, the scorched earth, smell and even taste the soft fruit.' The Times 'Allende has a gift for conversational writing and a sharp sense of humour!I very much enjoyed this visit to the other Chile, that half-remembered country of her imagination.' New Statesman 'Allende is incapable of telling a bad story. She writes of her own experience with a kind of wild candour. Her heroically sustained narrative, her lovingly prepared plots and surprise inventions explode in an exaltation.' Independent 'Lucid, original and expounded with an unquestionable sense of humor!part essay and part autobiography!When Allende poses sweeping general truths, she leaves room for argument!But the book gets my undivided attention when it expounds on the relationship of the author to that country of hers, invented, imaginary, fictional, to the story of her family, which is itself invented memory, and to her vocation as a narrator!It will provoke curiosity. And that is where everything begins.' LA Times

Isabel Allende is the author of twelve works of fiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Maya"s Notebook, Island Beneath the Sea, Inés of My Soul, Daughter of Fortune, and a novel that has become a world-renowned classic, The House of the Spirits. Born in Peru and raised in Chile, she lives in California.

The life story of Isabel Allende - one of the world's favourite writers - is as exotic, passionate and inspiring as one of her novels. Just three when her parents divorced, Isabel Allende was raised in her grandparents' home in Chile. She left school at 16; and married Miguel Fr

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