At 82, Isabel Allende thinks about death all the time. But also love

Since The House of the Spirits, she's published 27 more books (both fiction and memoir), cultivated a reputation as a tireless feminist, seen two of her novels adapted for the screen (one starring Meryl Streep, the other Antonio Banderas) and received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to literature and human rights. Allende's latest work is another piece of historical fiction following a strong woman; she says she keeps returning to the genre because the more she learns about the past, the more she understands the present — and the less upset she feels. Set between the United States and Chile in the late 1800s, it's a coming-of-age novel, a love story, and a tale of the terror and tragedy of war — with parallels to the military coup that up-ended Allende's life.

Author: Yasmin Jeffery

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