New York Times and worldwide bestselling author Isabel Allende returns with a sweeping novel that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil that offers “a timely message about immigration and the meaning of home” (People). During the biggest Brooklyn snowstorm in living memory, Richard Bowmaster, a lonely university professor in his sixties, … university professor in his sixties, hits the car of Evelyn Ortega, a young undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, and what at first seems an inconvenience takes a more serious turn when Evelyn comes to his house, seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant, Lucia Maraz, a fellow academic from Chile, for her advice.
As these three lives intertwine, each will discover truths about how they have been shaped by the tragedies they witnessed, and Richard and Lucia will find unexpected, long overdue love. Allende returns here to themes that have propelled some of her finest work: political injustice, the art of survival, and the essential nature of–and our need for–love.
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This is a wonderful novel with an unusual plot. I was hooked until the end wondering every step of the way what the outcome would be. The characters are relatable and there is some ridiculously funny humor. Relationships come about in some very unusual ways, In the Midst of Winter is proof of that. Allende is a superb story teller. This book captures the loneliness of living in New York City, the eccentricity and the violence of worlds that are closer than we think.
This is not the first book that I have read from the spectacular Isabel Allende. House of Spirits was that first book of hers. She is one of those writers that once one reads one of her books, one is inspired to read ALL of her books.
This book brings together 3 people – from 3 different worlds – together one fateful snowy night. Slowly through the telling of each of their individual stories they forge a bond which one knows will be life-long.
What I found especially fascinating and intriguing were the differences, yet in some ways similarity, of the lives of the two characters who were not originally from the United States. One lady grew up in Chile while the second lady grew up in Guatemala. Each of their life experiences eventually led them to the US.
Like another book that I previously reviewed, this one will most definitely be read again.
One day in Brooklyn during a terrible snow storm, Richard has a car accident. He hit Evelyn’s car. He gives her his personal information. Later Evelyn shows up at his house for help. Richard gets his tenant Lucia to come to help him understand what Evelyn needs. Over the course of the next few days, these three bond in ways they never expected. They find out that Evelyn is in serious trouble and they try to figure out what to do next. Along the way, they share details from their past. The unbelievably tragic events they have endured are unraveled and weaved throughout the story.
Isabel Allende is an author who brings her Chilean-American experiences to her writing. Her latest novel In the Midst of Winter brings together an interconnecting story of three very different individuals.
Richard Bowmaster and Evelyn Ortega are involved in a minor car accident that ends up being the catalyst needed to propel a long-awaited love story into reality. Richard has entered his sixth decade of life and Evelyn is a young immigrant, undocumented. They should have no reason to communicate after their accident. But when Evelyn needs help she turns to Richard, who brings in his sixty-two-year-old neighbor Lucia to help the young woman when he is at a loss as what to do.
This is a memorizing and emotional novel that is not only told from past and present but also from various cities and different cultural backgrounds. The three main characters seem to have nothing in common but as they come together to help Evelyn in her situation they find that they have more in common than any of them realized.
I like that Evelyn and Lucia had much in common with their immigration to the states and their past circumstances. I also found the love story between Lucia and Richard intriguing. It is rare to read about any kind of romance between a couple of such an older age. While it was refreshing, I was kind of asking myself why they hadn’t gotten together sooner. I mean they live near each other and work together. They obviously know each other, but it takes a stranger to bring them together. I wasn’t really feeling that.
This was a great historical read, but I need to state that you need to take into consideration that this is a novel that is translated from its original language, and as such loses some of its meaning and emotion. Not too much but I feel that the reader should be aware. 4 stars.
In The Midst of Winter by author Isabel Allende crosses boundaries of time, cultures, history, and countries to bring the readers a compelling story of three main characters in need of human kindness. As the story progresses, we learn the background history in stages of our three people who have been brought together during this winter storm.
Lucia Maraz is a 62 year old feeling the cold of a sudden winter storm as she finds out classes at NYU have been cancelled. This means she has an unexpected day from her lectures and she comforts herself in her basement apartment by making a traditional Chilean soup. Later that evening she decides to call and ask Richard Bowmaster, her landlord and NYU colleague, if he would like to share her soup. Richard is 60 years old, lives alone, and declines her invitation. Lucia would like to be more than friends with Richard. Richard is a rather complicated person who enjoys his solitude. The next day Richard is involved in a small auto accident after taking one of his cats to the vet. Although the tiny young woman in the Lexus acted strange, Richard dropped his insurance information card into her car as she hurriedly drove away. Now begins a mystery when the young Latin woman appears at his door later that night, seemingly unable to speak, but is in distress. Richard calls for Lucia to come up and help him communicate with her. Lucia learns the small Guatemalan, Evelyn Ortega, is afraid of her employer. She had taken the car without permission and fears Frank Leroy because he can be very violent. But that is not all…there is something odd in the trunk of the car! Lucia and Richard embark upon a plan to help poor Evelyn so she will not be implicated in a crime and deported.
The sad personal histories of Lucia and her family in Chile, Richard and his family in Rio de Janeiro, and Evelyn with her family in Guatemala is heartbreaking. The stories of broken humanity which are told among the three stayed in my heart and mind long after I finished the book.
I have always enjoyed Isabel Allende’s stories, and this one, a bit different was a compelling read, full of drama and tension. It brings together three people, and takes place in Brooklyn during a huge snow storm. It begins with Richard Bowmaster , whose car runs into the back of a car, driven by a nanny, Evelyn Ortega from Guatemala, who has a secret to keep, and Lucia Maraz a lecturer from Chile.
Lucia rents a basement apt. from Richard and as the story progresses becomes involved with what is going on with the other two.
It is a story of friendships formed, as we go through this winter storm. We hear each of these characters stories from their own countries and what brought them to the United States. We find this out as we follow them on a journey to take care of Evelyn’s secret.
Well written and a good story.
What a whirlwind of emotions this story exuded. I laughed and cried and read it super fast.
Not her best, but I love everything Isabel Allende writes.
My first Allende but it won’t be my last! I loved how she brought these three very different characters (with their histories, their tragedies and their complexities) together, through an accident that changes their lives forever. Nuanced, sensitive and topical, the novel explores many issues but ends on a note of hope.
I have appreciated most of Allende’s work, from the magical realism through her historical writings linking Chilean with San Francisco history. So I was somewhat disappointed with this one, although the stories of the 2 women were most intriguing and true from my personal experience, especially the young Guatemalan immigrant’s tale. So while I will continue to look forward to a future Allende book,I did not find this one to be among her best.
Isabel Allende’s perfect prose always enthralls me and this novel is no exception. The three main characters are thrown together by a minor car accident in snowed-in Brooklyn. Gradually their individual, grim and often heartbreaking stories are told within the framework of an unexplained murder in which they are all implicated by circumstance.
Through their stories we learn about the appalling impact of Chilean politics in the 1970s and the horrors of life for so many in present day Guatemala. Each story is compelling and individual, and we are not spared the pain of the protagonists’ suffering. But their are lighter moments too, and the emerging love story between two ‘ageing’ characters is both joyful and uplifting. The passage from life to death is also explored through each of the stories and there is ultimately much hope to be found amongst the angst and sorrow.
I was intrigued to discover that the idea for the novel came from a small group of Allende’s family and friends tossing out ideas over a cup of coffee just a couple of weeks before the author’s traditional 8th January start date for a new novel. The ideas and issues are wisely woven together, but I have to admit I was disappointed to find little magical realism, once such a trademark of her writing, invoked in the telling of the tale. Perhaps history, hope and final redemption are Allende’s new trademarks. I will still anticipate reading the next of her books with relish.
Different from my usual genre and while an easy read, it was very interesting how the characters were portrayed