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Loading... Maya's Notebook (2011)by Isabel Allende
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. While the idea of exile is an interesting one, and Maya's self-imposed exile seems mostly genuine, the book only goes so far in its exploration of the Chilean military coup in the 70s and its consequences, which is what I was anticipating from the very beginning. It just scratches the surface, and wraps up too conveniently in the end. I expected a lot more. ( ) This book consisted of two interweaving narratives: an earlier one showing how 19-year-old Maya fell into serious trouble, from alcohol and drug addiction to escape from a rehab hospital only to be sexually violated and enlisted in criminality; and a later one in which she goes into exile to a remote island in Chile to escape both the law and two dangerous criminals she had double-crossed. I would have liked to have been able to identify more with Maya, but much about her attitude put me off. If only she could have been a little more vulnerable and a little less tough. But, of course, if she had fit my bill, she probably couldn't have fallen as far in the excrutiating way the novel seemed to require. All in all, though, a gripping, well-executed novel worth reading. Isabel Allende wrote another fun page turner with a sometimes farfetched plot. Nineteen year old Maya Nidal tells the reader how she after the death of her beloved grandfather (Popo) descended into alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, crime and eventually ended up being wanted by the criminal she worked with and the FBI. Her grandmother (Nini), who is originally from Chile hide her in the remotest corner she can think of on the tiny island of Chiloe with and old friend. The people she meets on the island, the communal life there heal her in way rehabs never could. Ev:eryone has a past to come to terms with. This is a warm and loving book. This book was difficult to read at times when Maya describes the depths to which her addition lead her. Although there were some rather rough passages, I was engaged through-out the novel and enjoyed the unfolding of the different relations ships which she came from and the new ones she established while on her path.
The prioritising of story over voice suggests that it's not the aim of Maya's Notebook to plunge the reader into the grim existence of a real-life Maya; this is a tale of revelations and resolutions, and the plot is more answerable to its own turns than to the brutal possibilities of reality. Despite the observations about the number of young people lost to street violence, crime and slavery, or because of them, the driving force of this novel is ultimately resilience – the power of love and acceptance to face down terrible things. Belongs to Publisher Seriessuhrkamp taschenbuch (4444) AwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Literature.
HTML: Maya's Notebook is a startling novel of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)863.64Literature Spanish and Portuguese Spanish fiction 20th Century 1945-2000LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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