But this book is not a travelogue. Nor is it a deep historical or sociological analysis of Chile. Rather, it is an intensely personal and auto biographical view of the country through the eyes of one of its best known novelists, and partly from the vantage point of San Francisco, her adopted hometown in an adopted land.

The theme of displacement and identity recurs throughout the book, and very powerfully in the symoblism of the two September 11 dates which deeply marked the writer's life - the one in 1973 when her uncle Salvador Allende was overthrown and died in a violent CIA-backed military coup, and the other memorable date in 2001. Allende writes: "By a blood-chilling coincidence - histroic karma - the commandeered airplanes truck their U.S. targets on a Tuesday, Spetember 11, exactly the same day of the week and month - and at almost the same time in the morning - of the 1973 military coup in Chile, a terrorist act orchestrated by the CIA against a democracy."

If you have read House of the Spirits, Eva Luna, or other novels by Isabel Allende, this book will bring out many of these fictitious characters and place names in the context of a very real history and social setting.

Throughout the book, Allende seeks to present her view of what is the essence of Chile, often by contrasting it to other countries and tradtions. "African blood was never incorporated into Chilean stock which would have given us rhythm and beauty; neither was there, as there was in Argentina, significant Italian immigration, which would have made us extroverted, vain, and happy; there weren't enough Asians, as there were in Peru, to compensate for our solemnity, and spice up our cuisine."

Even without being a work of fiction, this book depicts Chilean history and society with literary license, and personal anecdotes. This might be frustrating for a reader looking for clear-cut and consistent factual presentation. At times, she even appears self-contradictory in presenting different anecdotes on the same subject. Writing of Chilean food habits, she says: "Most of the executives I know suffer from diabetes because they hold their business meetings at breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Later, she writes: "I never heard the word cholesterol mentioned. My parents, who are over eighty, consume ninety eggs, a quart of cream, a pound of butter, and four pounds of cheese per week. They're healthy and lively as little kids."

She similarly deals with subjects such as divorce, the role of women, and religion with anecdotes, although she occasionally sprinkles the discussion with oddly precise statistics: "Sociologists say that forty per cent of Chileans suffer from depression" or "71 percent of the population has been demanding [divorce] for a long time."

It is not easy to know whether to take some of her statements at face value, as for example in her discussion of religion. On one hand, she considers Chile "the most Catholic country in the world - more Catholic than Ireland, and certainly much more so than the Vatican." But she explains that this religious belief "has a lot more to do with fetishism and superstition than with mystic restiveness or theological enlightenment." Her discussion of beliefs in Chile regarding paranormal phenomena may give us some insight into the elements of mysticism and magical realism we find in her novels.

Readers who seek her views on Chilean politics may be surprised to find only one paragraph devoted to General Pinochet, of whom she is obviously and, unsurprisngly, contemptuous: "Admired by some, despised by others, feared by all, he was possibly the man in our history who has held the greatest power in his hands for the longest period of time."

I found one of the most engaging parts of this book the description of the author's literary career and the forces which shaped it. It is only at the very end of the book that the unknowing reader will find out that this book helped the author deal with a tremendous personal tragedy - the loss of her daughter.

If you enjoy Allende's novels or even Latin American fiction, more generally, this book provides some interesting insights from a deeply engaged writer.

36 of 39 found the following review helpful:


Absolutely Delightful  Jul 15, 2003
This book is delightful, humorous, and beautiful like its author. A wonderful memoir full of insights about Chile and about life in the US. This book reflects Allende's warmth and passion. A brilliant book from a brilliant writer. Highly recommended.

25 of 26 found the following review helpful:


The Other Sept. 11  May 18, 2004 By Brian Maitland
Simply an amazing memoir that reveals more than I ever knew about Chile and Chileans. The funny thing is you start of thinking the book will be mainly about the events of Sept. 11, 1973, when Pinochet took power in a coup. It is not at all yet that event is really the one that has led Allende on this long journey as a observer of life par excellence.

In reality the book is more about a woman searching for her sense of place in a world turned upside down by living a life in exile. The honesty and power of her words is just so uplifting without descending into "look at me, me, me" sort of navel gazing.

If I could give it ten stars I would.

24 of 25 found the following review helpful:


Another Non-Fiction Work From Allende That Shines  Sep 02, 2003 By Michael Lima
My Invented County is billed as "a nostalgic journey through Chile." Personally, I thought it was more of a travelogue of emotions centered on Chile. Allende channels these emotions through her trademark energetic prose to present a vivid portrayal of the Chilean personality, the emotional impact the country's landscape has on its citizens, and the social mores which dominate Chilean interactions. What never lingers long in the background of this portrayal is Allende's examination of how these elements have shaped her as a writer. This reflective tone imparts to the reader that Allende is taking stock of her life before embarking on another direction.

I'm finding that I enjoy Allende's recent non-fiction books much more than her latest fictional works. The reason why is because her non-fiction contains much more passion than her fiction, which often comes off like a research project. Still, I don't think one needs to have read all of her other works to appreciate My Invented Country (although it doesn't hurt). Whether one is a long time Allende reader, a native of Chile, or neither, it'll be hard not to enjoy this touching journey though a country and a life.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:


Chile Views Through the Lens of Nostalgia  Jul 19, 2003 By Roy E. Perry "amateur philosopher"
The terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, a traumatic day for the United States. In the same month and on the same day (Sept. 11) in 1973, Isabel Allende's Chile experienced its own trauma.

On that day almost thirty years ago, a CIA-engineered military coup brought down the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, a cousin of Isabel Allende's father, and installed General Augusto Pinochet, a dictator whose reign of terror lasted for 17 years (1973-1990).

Isabel Allende has never forgiven Nixon, Kissinger & Co. for what she describes as an arrogant and brutal attack on human rights.

Nor was Chile an isolated case of America's bungled foreign policy. "The United States," she Allende, "has had a shameful record of overthrowing legally elected governments and of supporting tyrannies that would never be tolerated in its own territory: Papa Doc in Haiti, Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, Somoza in Nicaragua, and many others."

But the news is not all bad. In Allende's opinion "the United States is beginning to realize that its policy of supporting tyranny does not solve problems--it merely creates new ones."

Born in Peru in 1942, Isabel Allende was reared in Santiago, Chile. Her new work, My Invented Country, is a memoir of her life as an exile and immigrant, wanderer and outsider.

"I never fit in anywhere," says Allende, "not into my family, my social class, or the religion fate bestowed on me. . . . When I was fifteen, I left the church forever and acquired a horror of religions in general and monotheistic faiths in particular. . . . My religion, should anyone be interested, can be reduced to a simple question: What is the most generous thing one can do in this case?"

At age 35, Allende became a divorcee. She then married Willie Gordon, an American lawyer, and now lives in San Francisco. Although far from her homeland, she carries within her a haunting memory of her childhood home, and takes us on a nostalgic, and often painful, journey through Chile.

Her essay in memory reveals a love-hate relationship with her native land. On the one hand her comments-- censorious, condemnatory, and caustically critical--reveal a seething fury; on the other hand, she writes with genuine affection for the foibles idiosyncrasies, the virtues and vices, of her people.

Although Allende admits that her version of the truth is mythic ("memory twists in an out, like an endless Mobius strip"), her portrait of Chile--its people, customs, traditions, religion, economy, and politics--seems candidly honest.

According to Allende, typical Chilean characteristics are generosity, a tendency to compromise rather than confront, a legalistic mentality, respect for authority, enthusiasm for political argument, and resignation to a crushing bureaucracy.

"The problem [of bureaucracy] has reached such proportions," she writes, "that the government itself has created an office to combat bureaucracy. . . . Kafka was Chilean."

Like a jewel serendipitously discovered, My Invented Country sparkles with the revelation of painful truth, a freshness of wit and wisdom, and a hilarious sense of humor. It's a precious literary gem.

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