15/2 - I know almost nothing about South American history - I have heard of the Aztecs and the Incas and some of the myths surrounding them (mostly from movies), but I don't know any of the historical figures of any past era (or really even, the current era). I have wanted to read an Isabel Allende book for years and until I started reading this a few minutes ago I had no idea that it was about real people from the past. I am intrigued and excited to continue my first historical fiction from South America. To be continued...16/2 - Well, now I feel even more ignorant! I didn't realise that the hometown Ines was talking about, where she grew up tatting lace and baking pies for the merest pittance, is in SPAIN, not South America. She kept talking about Chile in the future tense, so I just assumed that Extremadura was another area/village somewhere in South America. I have never heard of Extremadura and know even less about the history of Spain than I do South America's, but it is a bit embarrassing to open with a discussion of South American history when Ines hadn't even decided to follow her husband (and therefore I couldn't know it was going to happen either), Juan de Melaga, there at the time that I was reading those pages. *Shakes head and heads to Wikipedia to learn more about Extremadura* To be continued...20/2 - I know that conquering nations... well conquered the native people and that it's historical fact, but I wish I didn't have to read about it all the time (when I say 'all the time', I mean in the historical fiction genre). It just depresses me, thinking about the nature of the human race and the fact that no matter what country the conquering nation is from they treated the conquered people atrociously - beating the men and making them work to their deaths or executing them because they were no longer useful; raping the women, purposefully getting them pregnant in order to repopulate the country with the conquering nation's offspring, eventually killing most of them too; orphaning the children, making them work nearly as hard as their deceased parents or just killing them as well (there's a lot of killing of the Incas and other native peoples of 'the new world'). England conquering the American Indians, England conquering the Australian Aborigines, England conquering the Indians (it seems England did a lot of conquering and subsequent massacring :( ) and now Spain conquering Chile and Peru (although with less success due to the jungles and deserts and poison darts conquering them right back, in some instances). I hate to think what would happen if we were ever to be discovered by a more powerful alien race - karma would have a field day with us. To be continued...22/2 - Does anyone else have a problem with a Spanish, now living in Chile, conquistador from the mid 1500s using the phrase "ass end of the world"? Because I kind of do. That sounds way too modern, too 20th or even 21st century, to have been a frequently used phrase of the time, as it is in Ines of My Soul. I also hate "I had lighted a lamp" which is a phrase Ines herself uses over and over, whenever a lamp needs lighting. What's wrong with "I lit a lamp"? That sounds so much more intelligent than 'had lighted'.Other than those two overly well-used pieces of weirdness I'm loving the story of Ines and Pedro de Valdivia and how they conquered Chile (well, not so much the part where they conquered Chile, as you can see from my last update). Historical fiction is the best way to learn or become interested in any historical figure - you get an interesting story about the person which garners your interest in the figure, and then you find some non-fiction books (or Wikipedia) to learn the full story of the person. If I hadn't read Ines of My Soul, I would probably never have learned the story of the Spanish conquistadors who went to Peru and Chile, now I want to continue to read more about them and all their adventures while conquering places and people. To be continued...15/3 - Very interesting book about a woman who lived a very interesting life. I like the way Allende starts out the author's note with the statement that this book is a "work of intuition, but any similarity to events and persons relating to the conquest of Chile is not coincidental", rather than the usual disclaimer that "this book is a work of fiction and any similarity to any person living or dead is purely coincidental" that most works of fiction include on their publishing details page (or whatever it's usually called as the name has slipped my mind at the moment and I can't be bothered googling it right now). I love history and Ines of My Soul has given me a whole new country's worth of historical events and people to discover. I thought myself mostly interested in the history of England's royalty and am eagerly awaiting the day when I can read all of Philippa Gregory's books (which will be when they rise to the top of my 'to read' pile). Now I find myself eager to get to my library and see if any of the books Allende recommended as useful during her research are available translated into English (all the books she recommends appear to be written in Spanish, I made this deduction from the titles) as I want to read some non-fiction on the subject of Chile's history. Looking back at my review I've just realised that I made a comment (or more than one) about wanting to find out more about the time when Ines Suarez lived three or four different times - obviously I'm seriously intrigued, otherwise it wouldn't continue to be on my mind every time I update this review - I will definitely have to get down to the library for some non-fiction.
إنيس.. حبيبة روحي نهاية العام 2013 م، أقوم بترتيب أوراقي، إنجاز مهامي المؤجلة، مراجعة حصيلتي خلال العام، بل مراجعة ذاتي كاملة، كل نهاية عام وبداية آخر، هي فرصة لكل تلك الغربلة والتدقيق، ومراجعة الخطط وإعادة بعثها بثوب جديد. وفي مثل هذه الأوقات ألجأ إلى الفاتنة التشيلية، هي وحدها من تحمل لي كتبها حنواً خاصاً، هي وحدها من تكتب باستمتاع تام، وبقدرة مذهلة على ملاحقة التفاصيل، ولم تخيبني... ايزابيل لا تفعل، هكذا قصت لي في ليالي الشتاء، حيث يولد عام ويموت آخر، قصة مذهلة، عن إنيس سواريث، المرأة الإسبانية التي عشقت بيدرو دي بالديبيا، ورافقته في حملة فتح واستيطان تشيلي، إنها الأعوام الأولى بعد اكتشاف العالم الجديد، والإسبان يمضون براية الملك كارلوس الخامس ليغرسوها في كل مكان تصل إليه أقدامهم، هناك يبحثون عن الذهب، ويستعبدون الأهالي، وينصرونهم أو يقتلونهم بلا حساب، إنها أعوام مرعبة، مخجلة، تأخذنا إليها ايزابيل بلا هوادة، هكذا... نتابع رحلة الاثنين، تأسيسهما لمدينة سانتياغو عاصمة تشيلي، هناك حيث يصمدان لهجمات السكان الأصليين، هناك حيث تدور ملحمة لاوتارو، الهندي الذي يتسلل ليتعلم فنون الإسبان العسكرية وتكتيكاتهم، ويعود بعدها ليقود قومه ضد الإسبان، في معركة طويلة وشرسة. يا للجمال الذي صاغت به ايزابيل حكايتها، نعم... إنها حكايتها، بين يدي الفنان تتخلص القصة من أصولها وارتباطاتها الواقعية، وتكتسب حياة جديدة، هكذا... نشهد الحب بين إنيس وبالديبيا، نشهد نهاية تلك العلاقة العشقية، كما نشهد نهاية بالديبيا المرعبة، كل هذا مصاغاً بعناية بكل تلك التفاصيل التي تضعك على مسافة قصيرة من كل تلك الأزمنة التي أهيل عليها الكثير والكثير. لا تفوتوا هذا الكتاب، لا تنتظروا نهاية عام وبداية آخر، فهذا الكتاب يمكن له أن يصنع أيامكم.
What do You think about Inés Of My Soul (2006)?
Ever since I finished my undergrad degree, I've always wanted to read a book in Spanish - just to say I've done it and I hear that Allende is a fantastic writer!My expectations were lived up to by this book. I didn't read it in Spanish, but it was a GREAT read. It was a fictional history book on the founding of Chile in South America. It is therefore, set in the 1500's and from the viewpoint of a woman - Ines Suarez. She takes us through her life story and her part in the founding Santiago, Chile as well as the men she loved.Very good!
—Carmen
رواية عبقرية. بل نظلمها إن قلنا رواية. هي ملحمة عظيمة. كتبتها امرأة. الأمر الذي يشي بالفخر. فصدقت حين قالت : أن الحب كالحرب. يفعلها الرجال و تؤرخها النساء. و هاهي بكل عبقرية تكتب عن غزو الأسبان لأمريكا اللاتينية و احتلالهم لأرض تشيلي الخصبة.تكتب الرواية على لسان المرأة الأسبانية التي حكمت تشيلي مع عشيقها الفارس الغازي بيدرو دي بالديبيا الذي غزا تشيلي و ارتكب من الجرائم في حق أهلها ما يشيب له الولدان. تكتبها و هي التشيلية التي تنحدر من سلالة لا بدا و أن تعُذّبت على يد بيدرو دي بالديبيا وتكن الكُر
—Tasneem
This is a historical fiction novel, based on the true story of Inés Suárez, a poor Spanish woman who travels to Peru to find her husband (who left her for the adventure of the Americas) in the 1500's. Finding her husband is an excuse for her to leave her hometown and be free. In Spain she was left in limbo as basically a widow waiting for husband, who she may never have had word of. In Peru, she learns of her husband's death and then meets Pedro de Valdivia, war hero and Francisco Pizarro's field marshall, and together they "found" Chile. I found this story really captivating, especially since it was based on true events, and I loved Inés' strong personality - especially in a time where women were expected to be docile. Two things were a challenge - keeping the many Spanish names straight, and reading about the brutality that the Spanish bestowed upon the native people of Peru and Chile. The story is told by Inés as an old woman - and I like how it isn't linear of chronological.
—Courtney
