I should have known after reading and so enjoying House of the Spirits decades ago that any other book by this author would feel like a letdown. Her latest novel, My Name Is Emilia del Valle, continues the saga of the del Valle family that she has written about in several of her previous novels. This tale didn’t add much to the family’s history. It did seem to be pushing feminism, in the 1890s, down our throats constantly, which was annoying. The Chilean history was much more interesting to me than Emilia’s family drama and wartime romance. And, of course, Allende’s prose is beautiful.
My Name Is Emilia del Valle is best for longtime readers of Allende’s other del Valle books rather than those new to the tales, like me. The flow of the writing impressed me much more than the plot. 3 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advanced review copy.