ISABEL ALLENDE

'Isabel Allende Llona', (born 2 August 1942), is a Chilean novelist. Allende, who writes in the "magic realism" tradition, is considered one of the first successful women novelists in Latin America.^[1] She is largely famous for her contributions to Spanish literature, novels such as "The House of the Spirits" and "City of the Beasts", which have been hugely successful. She has written novels based in part on her own experiences, often focusing on the experiences of women, weaving myth and realism together. She has lectured and done extensive book tours and has taught literature at several US colleges. She currently resides in California along with her husband, having adopted American citizenship in 2003.

Contents

Biography

Literary Career

Works

References

Sources

External links

Biography

Allende was born in Lima, Peru to diplomat Tomás Allende, the Chilean ambassador to Peru and Francisca Llona Barros. Tomás Allende was the first cousin (with Isabel thus being first cousin, once removed)^{[2] [3] [4]} of Salvador Allende, the President of Chile from 1970 to 1973. It is important to note that many sources also cite Isabel as Salvador Allende's niece, although most, if not all of these sources, do not state the relationship between Salvador and Tomás.^[5] In 1945, after Tomás's "disappearance", Isabel's mother relocated with their three children to Chile, where they lived until 1953, moving briefly to Bolivia, then Lebanon. The family returned to Chile in 1958 so that Allende could complete her secondary education.
Allende attended a number of private schools in Lebanon and Chile and was also briefly home-schooled. The young Isabel also read widely, particularly the works of William Shakespeare. In Chile she met her first husband Miguel Frías, whom she married in 1962. Reportedly, "Allende married early, into an Anglophile family and a kind of double life: at home she was the obedient wife and mother of two; in public she became, after a spell translating Barbara Cartland, a moderately well-known TV personality, a dramatist and a journalist on a feminist magazine."
From 1959 to 1965, Allende worked with the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization in Santiago, then later in Brussels, Belgium, and elsewhere in Europe. For a brief while in Chile, she also had a job translating Romance novels from English to Spanish. However, she was fired for making unauthorized changes to the dialogue of the heroines to make them sound more intelligent as well as altering the Cinderella endings to let the heroines find more independence and do good in the world. Her daughter Paula was born in 1963. In 1966, Allende returned to Chile, and her son Nicolás was born there that year.
Reportedly, "the CIA-backed military coup in [September of] 1973 (that brought Augusto Pinochet to power) changed everything" for Allende because "her name meant she was caught up in finding safe passage for those on the wanted lists" (helping until her mother and stepfather, a diplomat in Argentina, narrowly escaped assassination). When she herself was added to the list and began receiving death threats, she fled to Venezuela, where she stayed for 13 years.
During a visit to California in 1988, Allende met her second husband, attorney Willie Gordon. In 1994 she was awarded the Gabriela Mistral Order of Merit- the first woman to receive this honor. In 2003, Allende obtained United States citizenship and currently lives in San Francisco. Most of her family lives near her with her son living "with his second wife and her grandchildren just down the hill; her son-in-law and his family live in the house she and her second husband, San Francisco lawyer and novelist William Gordon, vacated."
In 2006, she was one of the eight flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turino, Italy.

Literary Career

Beginning in 1967, Allende was on the editorial staff for ''Paula'' magazine, and from 1969 to 1974 for the children's magazine ''Mampato'', where she later was the Editor.^[6] She published two children's stories, ''La Abuela Panchita'' (''Grandmother Panchita'') and ''Lauchas y Lauchones'', as well as a collection of articles, ''Civilice a Su Troglodita''. She also worked in Chilean television production for channels 7 (humorous programes) and 13 from 1970 to 1974. As a journalist, she once sought an interview with Pablo Neruda, a notable Chilean poet. Neruda declined, telling her she had too much imagination to be a journalist, and should be a novelist instead. He also advised her to compile her satirical columns in book form. She did so, and this became her first published book. In 1973, Allende's play ''El Embajador'' played in Santiago, a few months before she was forced to flee the country due to the coup.
In Allende's time in Venezuela, she was a freelance journalist for ''El Nacional'' in Caracas from 1976-83 and an administrator of the Marrocco School in Caracas from 1979-83.
In 1981, when Allende learned that her grandfather, aged 99, was on his deathbed, she started writing him a letter that later evolved into a book manuscript, ''The House of the Spirits'' (1982); the intent of this work was to exorcise the ghosts of the Pinochet dictatorship. The book was a great success; Allende was compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez as an author of the style known as magical realism.
Allende's books have since became known for their vivid storytelling. Allende's trademark is the use of emotive words and phrases and, of course, the style of Magical realism. Isabel also holds to a very methodical, some would say menacing, literary routine.^[7] She writes using a computer, working Monday through Saturday, 9:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. "I always start on January 8," Allende stated; "a tradition she began in 1981 with a letter she wrote to her dying grandfather that would become the groundwork for her first novel, ''The House of the Spirits.''"^[8] Allende is also quoted as saying:
Allende's book ''Paula'' (1995) is a memoir of her childhood in Santiago, and her years in exile. It was written in the form of a letter to her daughter Paula, who lay in a coma in the hospital (she died of porphyria in 1992).
Reportedly, "Allende's impact on not only Latin American literature but also on world literature cannot be underestimated." The Los Angeles Times has called Isabel Allende "a genius," and she has received many international awards, including the prestigious Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, granted to writers "who have contributed to the beauty of the world." She is also the founder of the Isabel Allende Foundation, which is "dedicated to supporting programs that promote and preserve the fundamental rights of women and children to be empowered and protected." She has been recently called a "literary legend" by Latino Leaders magazine, which named Allende as third most influential Latino leader in the world in their 2007 article. Allende's novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 51 million copies.^[9]
She currently has three movies of her books currently in production--Aphrodite, Eva Luna and Gift for a Sweetheart. Her next book is a memoir, ''The Sum of Our Days.'' It comes out in the U.S. next year and looks at her recent life with her immediate family, which includes her grown son, Nicolas; second husband, William Gordon; and several grandchildren.

Works

★ ''The House of the Spirits'' (1982)

★ ''La gorda de porcelana'' (1984)

★ ''Of Love and Shadows'' (1985)

★ ''Eva Luna'' (1987)

★ ''The Stories of Eva Luna'' (1989)

★ ''The Infinite Plan'' (1991)

★ ''Paula'' (1995)

★ ''Aphrodite'' (1998)

★ ''Daughter of Fortune'' (1999).

★ ''Portrait in Sepia'' (2000)

★ ''City of the Beasts'' (2002)

★ ''My Invented Country'' (2003)

★ ''Kingdom of the Golden Dragon'' (2004)

★ ''Forest of the Pygmies'' (2005)

★ ''Zorro'' (2005)

★ ''Ines of My Soul'' (2006)

References

1. ''The list 101 top leaders of the Latino community in the U.S; Cover story.'' Allen, Kerri; Miller, Corina; Socorro, Dalia; Stewart, Graeme. 'Latino Leaders' Pg. 24(27) Vol. 8 No. 4 ISSN: 1529-3998. June 1, 2007.
2. ''Review: The undefeated: A life in writing: Often compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende is more interested in telling stories about her own life, her difficult upbringing, marriage and her daughters death.'' Aida Edemariam. 'The Guardian' (London) - Final Edition. GUARDIAN REVIEW PAGES; Pg. 11. April 28, 2007.
3. ''Santiago Journal; Allende's Widow Meditates Anew on a Day in '73.'' SHIRLEY CHRISTIAN. 'The New York Times'. Section A; Page 4, Column 3; Foreign Desk. June 5, 1990.
4. ''Sewing didn't cut it for Inés.'' VERONICA ROSS. 'Guelph Mercury' (Ontario, Canada). BOOKS; Pg. C5. March 3, 2007.
5. ''International: Chilean government rejects state funeral for Pinochet as thousands queue to pay respects: Body to be cremated amid fears of attacks on tomb: Capital quiet after victory parade turns into a riot.'' Jonathan Franklin, Santiago. 'The Guardian' (London). GUARDIAN INTERNATIONAL PAGES; Pg. 14. December 12, 2006.
6. ''Life at a glance.'' 'The Guardian' (London). Guardian Saturday Pages; Pg. 6. February 5, 2000.
7. ''LATIN AMERICA'S SCHEHERAZADE; Drawing on dreams, myths, and memories, Chilean novelist Isabel Allende weaves fantastical tales in which reality and the absurd intersect.'' Fernando Gonzalez. 'The Boston Globe' MAGAZINE; Pg. 14. April 25, 1993.
8. ''Allende, heroine 'Ines' are kindred spirits.'' Javier Erik Olvera. 'Inside Bay Area' (California). BAY AREA LIVING; Home and Garden. November 25, 2006.
9. ''This old "House" opened a lot of doors for author Allende; Theater preview.'' Misha Berson. 'The Seattle Times' ROP ZONE; Ticket; Pg. H44. June 1, 2007.

Sources

★ ''Isabel Allende, Award-Winning Latin American Author'' by Mary Main (2005) - ISBN 0-7660-2488-1

★ Bautista Gutierrez, Gloria and Corrales-Martin, Norma; Pinceledas Literarias Latinoamericanas, John Wiley and Sons, 2004

External links

★ Isabel Allende's Official Website

★ Isabel Allende's IMDb Site

★ Isabel Allende Foundation

★ Critique of Zorro: A Novel

★ Guardian Books "Author Page", with profile and links to further articles.

★ Lavin Agency "Speaker Page", with speaker profile

★

★ ''Memories, Fight and Fantasy at the Hand of the Great Superhero of the Spanish Narrative'' - Isabel Allende in a 2006 interview

★ Interview on The Ledge, an independent platform for world literature. Includes excerpt and audio.