This was my first novel by Isabel Allende and I really enjoyed it. A story spanning a 100 years, written as a letter to her grandosn on her deathbed means the whole thing is first person and more or less entirely in the past tense. This gave the whole book a very relaxing feel, regardless of what was happening it never felt suspensful, which can be a positive or a negartive depending on what you're looking for in the book really. The writing is very nicely done, my edition is translated by Frances Riddle who seems to have done a great job.

I enjoyed the whole book and while there is no overarching theme there are common threads running through the book, feminism, failure, redemption and so on. The feminism side of things is interesting in this, as many of the secondary characters are active feminists involved in the movement while the protagonist doesn't seem too bothered about the search for womens rights, however she herself lives as though she already has all the rights and is clearly a feminist in the way she lives.

I'll try to read more of her work in the future as it looks like her other novels receive similar praise as this one has.