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Maya's Notebook
Isabel Allende’s latest novel, set in the present day (a new departure for the author), tells the story of a 19-year-old American girl who finds refuge on a remote island off the coast of Chile after falling into a life of drugs, crime, and prostitution. There, in the company of a torture survivor, a lame dog, and other unforgettable characters, Maya Vidal writes her story, which includes pursuit by a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. In the process, she unveils a terrible family secret, comes to understand the meaning of love and loyalty, and initiates the greatest adventure of her life: the journey into her own soul.
387 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Isabel Allende
170 books41.1k followersIsabel Allende Llona is a Chilean-American novelist. Allende, who writes in the "magic realism" tradition, is considered one of the first successful women novelists in Latin America. She has written novels based in part on her own experiences, often focusing on the experiences of women, weaving myth and realism together. She has lectured and done extensive book tours and has taught literature at several US colleges. She currently resides in California with her husband. Allende adopted U.S. citizenship in 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,072 reviews
April 26, 2012
إعتراف رقم واحد: هذه الرواية أتعبتني كثيرًا، لأنني بدأت بقراءتها وأنا مشغولٌ من عقالي وحتّى أخمص نعلي في العمل. كنت أختلس نصف ساعة يوميًا لأقرأ ما لا يزيد عن 30 صفحة من دفتر مايا!
إعتراف رقم اثنين: على الرغم من أن مكتبتي تستضيف روايات أخرى لإيزابيل ألليندي. إلا أنّ هذه أول رواية أقرأها لها. ربما لكونها آخر إصداراتها
إعتراف رقم ثلاثة: أنهيت قراءة الرواية ونفسي تصرخ بعبارة واحدة "سأكرر خطيئة القراءة لكِ أيتها الرائعة .. إيزابيل"
إعتراف رقم أربعة: أخبرني صديق شاركني قراءة الرواية (وسبق له قراءة روايات ألليندي السابقة) بأن هذه الرواية لا ترتقي إلى مستوى أعمالها السابقة، وفيها محاكاة إلى حد التطابق في بعض الفصول لثلاثية ملينيوم: الفتاة صاحبة تاتو التنين
إعتراف رقم خمسة: الرواية دفعتني للبحث عن تاريخ تشيلي السياسي إبان فترة حكم سلفادور ألليندي 1970-1973، حيث تناولت الرواية هذه التفاصيل -إلى جانب تفاصيل الإنقلاب العسكري الدمودي عليه- بشكل ممتع
إعتراف رقم ستة: الرواية كما يشي بها اسمها ليست سوى مجموعة من الحماقات في صورة مذكرات دونتها بطلة الرواية مايا بطلب من جدتها وهي تهربها من أمريكا إلى تشيلوي بعد تورطها -دون قصدٍ منها- في جريمة تزوير أموال. أما سبب هذا الطلب الغريب فتفسره الجدة في الصفحة الأولى من الرواية وهي توجه كلامها لحفيدتها مايا قائلة "سيكون لديكِ وقت إلى حد الملل يا مايا. استغليه في كتابة الحماقات التي اقترفتها، لعلّك تقدّرين ثقل حجمها"
إعتراف أخير: أكتب هذا العرض السريع للرواية وأنا أقاوم رغبة ملحة في النوم .. ولولا خوفي من أن تلاحقني مايا في منامي الليلة لأجلت الكتابة عنها غدًا
إعتراف رقم اثنين: على الرغم من أن مكتبتي تستضيف روايات أخرى لإيزابيل ألليندي. إلا أنّ هذه أول رواية أقرأها لها. ربما لكونها آخر إصداراتها
إعتراف رقم ثلاثة: أنهيت قراءة الرواية ونفسي تصرخ بعبارة واحدة "سأكرر خطيئة القراءة لكِ أيتها الرائعة .. إيزابيل"
إعتراف رقم أربعة: أخبرني صديق شاركني قراءة الرواية (وسبق له قراءة روايات ألليندي السابقة) بأن هذه الرواية لا ترتقي إلى مستوى أعمالها السابقة، وفيها محاكاة إلى حد التطابق في بعض الفصول لثلاثية ملينيوم: الفتاة صاحبة تاتو التنين
إعتراف رقم خمسة: الرواية دفعتني للبحث عن تاريخ تشيلي السياسي إبان فترة حكم سلفادور ألليندي 1970-1973، حيث تناولت الرواية هذه التفاصيل -إلى جانب تفاصيل الإنقلاب العسكري الدمودي عليه- بشكل ممتع
إعتراف رقم ستة: الرواية كما يشي بها اسمها ليست سوى مجموعة من الحماقات في صورة مذكرات دونتها بطلة الرواية مايا بطلب من جدتها وهي تهربها من أمريكا إلى تشيلوي بعد تورطها -دون قصدٍ منها- في جريمة تزوير أموال. أما سبب هذا الطلب الغريب فتفسره الجدة في الصفحة الأولى من الرواية وهي توجه كلامها لحفيدتها مايا قائلة "سيكون لديكِ وقت إلى حد الملل يا مايا. استغليه في كتابة الحماقات التي اقترفتها، لعلّك تقدّرين ثقل حجمها"
إعتراف أخير: أكتب هذا العرض السريع للرواية وأنا أقاوم رغبة ملحة في النوم .. ولولا خوفي من أن تلاحقني مايا في منامي الليلة لأجلت الكتابة عنها غدًا
February 23, 2024
EXCERPT: A week ago my grandmother gave me a dry-eyed hug at San Francisco airport and told me again that if I valued my life at all, I should not get in touch with anyone I knew until we could be sure my enemies were no longer looking for me. My Nini is paranoid, as the residents of the People's Independent Republic of Berkley tend to be, persecuted as they are by the government and extraterrestrials, but in my case she wasn't exaggerating: no amount of precaution could ever be enough. She handed me a hundred-page notebook so I could keep a diary, as I did from the age of eight until I was fifteen, when my life went off the rails.
'You're going to have time to get bored, Maya. Take advantage of it to write down the monumental stupidities you've committed, see if you can come to grips with them,' she said.
Several of my diaries are still in existence, sealed with industrial strength adhesive tape. My grandfather kept them under lock and key in his desk for years, and now my Nini has them in a shoebox under her bed. This will be notebook number nine. My Nini believes they will be of use to me when I get psychoanalyzed, because they contain the keys to untie the knots of my personality; but if she'd read them, she'd know they contain a huge pike of tales tall enough to outfox Freud himself. My grandmother distrusts on principle professionals who charge by the hour, since quick results are not profitable for them. However, she makes an exception for psychiatrists, because one of them saved her from depression and from the traps of magic when she took it into her head to communicate with the dead.
I put the notebook in my bag, so I wouldn't upset her, with no intention of using it, but it's true that time stretches out here and writing is one way of filling up the hours. This first week of exile has been a long one for me. I'm on a tiny island so small it's almost invisible on the map, in the middle of the Dark Ages. It's complicated to write about my life, because I don't know how much I actually remember and how much is a product of my imagination; the bare truth can be tedious and so, without even noticing, I change or exaggerate it, but I intend to correct this defect and lie as little as possible in the future. And that's why now, even when the Yanomamis of the Amazons use computers, I am writing by hand. It takes me ages and my writing must be in Cyrillic script, because I can't even decipher it myself, but I imagine it'll gradually straighten out page by page. Writing is like riding a bicycle: you don't forget how, even if you go for years without doing it. I'm trying to go in chronological order, since some sort of order is required and I thought that would make it easy, but I lose my thread, I go off on tangents or I remember something important several pages later and there's no way to fit it in. My memory goes in circles, spirals and somersaults.
ABOUT 'MAYA'S NOTEBOOK': Isabel Allende’s latest novel, set in the present day (a new departure for the author), tells the story of a 19-year-old American girl who finds refuge on a remote island off the coast of Chile after falling into a life of drugs, crime, and prostitution. There, in the company of a torture survivor, a lame dog, and other unforgettable characters, Maya Vidal writes her story, which includes pursuit by a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. In the process, she unveils a terrible family secret, comes to understand the meaning of love and loyalty, and initiates the greatest adventure of her life: the journey into her own soul.
MY THOUGHTS: I love the way Maya's Notebook reads like a memoir - and the interweaving of Chilean history only reinforces this feeling. There were things written of that I remember happening, but others that I was totally unaware of so as I was reading, I was also furiously googling various events. Sometimes we forget that we are living history.
I grew from being wary of the character of Maya, not sure that I would like her at all, to rooting for her 100%. I felt a little bereft once the book ended, left wondering how the rest of Maya's life would pan out.
Allende's writing is, as always, raw, gritty and honest. She doesn't pretty things up - she just tells it like it is. But her writing is also beautiful, almost lyrical in places. I loved her descriptions of the small Chilean island of Chiloe, which I never knew existed until I read this book. She describes the life of the islanders, their complex relationships, their fierce loyalties, and their customs.
She shows just how easy it is for a young person to spiral into a cycle of self-destruction and depression, to feel totally lost and overwhelmed, abandoned. Grief plays a huge part in Maya's life. She is totally abandoned by her mother, effectively abandoned by her father, and raised by the most wonderful grandparents. Her world is tilted off axis when her beloved 'Popo' dies suddenly, and her descent into hell begins.
This is a story of love and loss, addictions, pain and suffering, deception, friendship and familial strength. Not always an easy read, but a very fulfilling and worthwhile one.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#MayasNotebook #IsabelAllende
THE AUTHOR: Author Isabel Allende began her writing career as a journalist in Chile. Born in Peru, Allende grew up in Chile until 1973, when her uncle, former Chilean President Salvador Allende, was overthrown in a coup and died. She fled the country along with her family and lived many years in Venezuela as a political refugee.
DISCLOSURE: I own my copy of Maya's Notebook by Isabelle Allende.
'You're going to have time to get bored, Maya. Take advantage of it to write down the monumental stupidities you've committed, see if you can come to grips with them,' she said.
Several of my diaries are still in existence, sealed with industrial strength adhesive tape. My grandfather kept them under lock and key in his desk for years, and now my Nini has them in a shoebox under her bed. This will be notebook number nine. My Nini believes they will be of use to me when I get psychoanalyzed, because they contain the keys to untie the knots of my personality; but if she'd read them, she'd know they contain a huge pike of tales tall enough to outfox Freud himself. My grandmother distrusts on principle professionals who charge by the hour, since quick results are not profitable for them. However, she makes an exception for psychiatrists, because one of them saved her from depression and from the traps of magic when she took it into her head to communicate with the dead.
I put the notebook in my bag, so I wouldn't upset her, with no intention of using it, but it's true that time stretches out here and writing is one way of filling up the hours. This first week of exile has been a long one for me. I'm on a tiny island so small it's almost invisible on the map, in the middle of the Dark Ages. It's complicated to write about my life, because I don't know how much I actually remember and how much is a product of my imagination; the bare truth can be tedious and so, without even noticing, I change or exaggerate it, but I intend to correct this defect and lie as little as possible in the future. And that's why now, even when the Yanomamis of the Amazons use computers, I am writing by hand. It takes me ages and my writing must be in Cyrillic script, because I can't even decipher it myself, but I imagine it'll gradually straighten out page by page. Writing is like riding a bicycle: you don't forget how, even if you go for years without doing it. I'm trying to go in chronological order, since some sort of order is required and I thought that would make it easy, but I lose my thread, I go off on tangents or I remember something important several pages later and there's no way to fit it in. My memory goes in circles, spirals and somersaults.
ABOUT 'MAYA'S NOTEBOOK': Isabel Allende’s latest novel, set in the present day (a new departure for the author), tells the story of a 19-year-old American girl who finds refuge on a remote island off the coast of Chile after falling into a life of drugs, crime, and prostitution. There, in the company of a torture survivor, a lame dog, and other unforgettable characters, Maya Vidal writes her story, which includes pursuit by a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. In the process, she unveils a terrible family secret, comes to understand the meaning of love and loyalty, and initiates the greatest adventure of her life: the journey into her own soul.
MY THOUGHTS: I love the way Maya's Notebook reads like a memoir - and the interweaving of Chilean history only reinforces this feeling. There were things written of that I remember happening, but others that I was totally unaware of so as I was reading, I was also furiously googling various events. Sometimes we forget that we are living history.
I grew from being wary of the character of Maya, not sure that I would like her at all, to rooting for her 100%. I felt a little bereft once the book ended, left wondering how the rest of Maya's life would pan out.
Allende's writing is, as always, raw, gritty and honest. She doesn't pretty things up - she just tells it like it is. But her writing is also beautiful, almost lyrical in places. I loved her descriptions of the small Chilean island of Chiloe, which I never knew existed until I read this book. She describes the life of the islanders, their complex relationships, their fierce loyalties, and their customs.
She shows just how easy it is for a young person to spiral into a cycle of self-destruction and depression, to feel totally lost and overwhelmed, abandoned. Grief plays a huge part in Maya's life. She is totally abandoned by her mother, effectively abandoned by her father, and raised by the most wonderful grandparents. Her world is tilted off axis when her beloved 'Popo' dies suddenly, and her descent into hell begins.
This is a story of love and loss, addictions, pain and suffering, deception, friendship and familial strength. Not always an easy read, but a very fulfilling and worthwhile one.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#MayasNotebook #IsabelAllende
THE AUTHOR: Author Isabel Allende began her writing career as a journalist in Chile. Born in Peru, Allende grew up in Chile until 1973, when her uncle, former Chilean President Salvador Allende, was overthrown in a coup and died. She fled the country along with her family and lived many years in Venezuela as a political refugee.
DISCLOSURE: I own my copy of Maya's Notebook by Isabelle Allende.
April 7, 2021
Another fine book by the talented Ms Allende: a writer who never disappoints her readers. Allende moves this story effortlessly between Berkeley, Las Vegas and Chiloe. This is Maya's story but it is also the story of Nini and Popo (her grandparents) and Manuel, Nini's Chilean friend. The story flows easily between the recent past and the present, between failure and redemption, between distress and peace. She writes with her intimate knowledge of the Chilean people, never failing to make them real; their history, their customs, their personality. She also writes with diligent realism about the drug culture and the life of an addict in Las Vegas.
By the age of sixteen, Maya has already lived a life uncommon to ourselves. Basically unwanted by her parents, she has been raised by her grandparents; her Nini and Popo. Nini, a proud Chilean who strangely rarely mentions her life in Chile, is a human dynamo. Popo is an astronomer, a quiet reserved African American. When her beloved Popo dies, Maya rebels. Mixing with a bad group of friends, she fairly quickly finds herself in a academy for unmanageable teenagers in Oregon. Two years pass until Maya makes her long planned break for freedom.
After hitching a lift with the wrong type of truckie, she ends up in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas which greets Maya is the seamy, ugly, sordid one: populated with drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes and drug dealers. Arriving broke and desperate, she is immediately befriended by Leeman, a man who gives her a job, a new name and money. But Leeman is a drug dealer and Maya's job is to deliver drugs to his 'clients' and collect the money. He asks nothing of her except her loyalty and her silence. He introduces her to drugs and alcohol and she is soon an addict herself. Ultimately, Maya finds herself being hunted by the FBI, two assassins, Interpol and the police.
Rescued by Nini, she is sent to Chiloe, an island off Chile, to the care of Manuel. An anthropologist currently writing a book, Manuel is the balm to Maya's shattered soul. And Chiloe is the antithesis to Las Vegas; small, peaceful, a true community. Here she learns a quiet solitude, discovers the customs of her ancestors and the amiable Chiloen people, transcribes Manuel's manuscripts and finds a sense of self she has never known. Allende bares the soul of the Chiloen people; their captivating customs, their history, their legends and their myths. This makes for great reading in itself, a wonderful insight into a fascinating people.
I never once found this book boring; it kept me reading late into the night. Not only does she tell an impossibly good story, Allende also relates a grim period of Chile's very recent history; the brutal military regime of General Pinochet. I was charmed by all the characters except one, and especially Chiloe, a place I would now love to visit one day. An eloquent, lyrical book, I think it will invite usually non-Allende readers as it is set in the present and therefore somewhat more accessible than her previous books. In fact, I urge readers new to Isabel Allende to read Maya's Notebook; you will be so glad that you did. Would recommend Maya's Notebook to both reader's of previous Allende books and also those who are new to this wonderful writer.
November 30, 2024
Why I chose to listen to this audiobook:
1. I found my paperback copy at my local library's book sale, and since Isabel Allende is one of my favorite female authors, I just had to buy it;
2. an audiobook version is available as a free loan via Hoopla; and,
3. November 2024 is my self-declared All About Allende Month!
Praises:
1. Allende developed the secondary characters quite vividly. I grew to know and like (or even despise) them - all their strengths and flaws. I respected Maya's grandmother, Nini's fierce protectiveness; I admired Maya's grandfather, Popo's comforting presence; and I empathized with Manuel Arias as he suffered from PTSD. Even loathsome truck driver, Fedgewick, and manipulative Brandon Leeman are amplified in great detail; and,
2. the author's love of Chile continues to shine in this story, this time focusing on the remote island of Chiloe in southern Chile. Her rich descriptiveness of the setting made me feel like I was living in this sedate region amongst the local people, immersed in their culture through food, celebrations, and folklore.
Once again, Allende refers to the military coup of 1973, led by General Pinochet, who overthrew President Salvador Allende, the author's second cousin. In this story, she focuses on what happened to the many people who didn't support Pinochet (or who were indifferent to him) - they emigrated, or they were arrested and tortured, and if they survived, were banished to other countries that willingly took them in.
Enlightening moment: While reading this book, I recalled a Chilean professor at the University of Alberta whose course I was enrolled in 1985 (Educational Foundation?) I remember him to be an angry young man who had no patience for ignorance. Many classmates were mystified by his behavior, but now after reading several books by Allende, I now wonder - what was his life story? How was he affected by the coup? Was he a student/professor who managed to escape by emigrating to Canada? So many unanswered questions.
I don't know about the rest of the students, but I truly was unaware of Chile's political history at that time.
Niggles:
1. unfortunately, I really struggled with the character development of MC, Maya. I can live with an unlikeable character; however, they have to be believable. First of all, she has a happy childhood, raised by loving grandparents, but when her Popo dies, she does a 180 in regards to morals and values. And when she really gets into "hot water", Maya knows that her Nini will help her if she only calls her, but Maya keeps making lame excuses as to why she doesn't. Finally, even though she can easily sense that her love for backpacker Daniel is one-sided,
2. Maya's notebook/diary does not feel like something a 19-year-old would write. The vocabulary and historical knowledge seem too mature. Maybe if someone twice her age wrote it, it would be more believable; and,
3. although narrator, Maria Cabezas, did a fine job for Maya's character, I found it difficult to differentiate between other characters due to her lack of expressiveness and changes in tone and timeline.
Overall Thoughts:
Even though the MC, Maya, tried my patience, I did appreciate learning new things about substance abuse, criminal life in Las Vegas, and Chile's political history and cultural aspects.
1. I found my paperback copy at my local library's book sale, and since Isabel Allende is one of my favorite female authors, I just had to buy it;
2. an audiobook version is available as a free loan via Hoopla; and,
3. November 2024 is my self-declared All About Allende Month!
Praises:
1. Allende developed the secondary characters quite vividly. I grew to know and like (or even despise) them - all their strengths and flaws. I respected Maya's grandmother, Nini's fierce protectiveness; I admired Maya's grandfather, Popo's comforting presence; and I empathized with Manuel Arias as he suffered from PTSD. Even loathsome truck driver, Fedgewick, and manipulative Brandon Leeman are amplified in great detail; and,
2. the author's love of Chile continues to shine in this story, this time focusing on the remote island of Chiloe in southern Chile. Her rich descriptiveness of the setting made me feel like I was living in this sedate region amongst the local people, immersed in their culture through food, celebrations, and folklore.
Once again, Allende refers to the military coup of 1973, led by General Pinochet, who overthrew President Salvador Allende, the author's second cousin. In this story, she focuses on what happened to the many people who didn't support Pinochet (or who were indifferent to him) - they emigrated, or they were arrested and tortured, and if they survived, were banished to other countries that willingly took them in.
Enlightening moment: While reading this book, I recalled a Chilean professor at the University of Alberta whose course I was enrolled in 1985 (Educational Foundation?) I remember him to be an angry young man who had no patience for ignorance. Many classmates were mystified by his behavior, but now after reading several books by Allende, I now wonder - what was his life story? How was he affected by the coup? Was he a student/professor who managed to escape by emigrating to Canada? So many unanswered questions.
I don't know about the rest of the students, but I truly was unaware of Chile's political history at that time.
Niggles:
1. unfortunately, I really struggled with the character development of MC, Maya. I can live with an unlikeable character; however, they have to be believable. First of all, she has a happy childhood, raised by loving grandparents, but when her Popo dies, she does a 180 in regards to morals and values. And when she really gets into "hot water", Maya knows that her Nini will help her if she only calls her, but Maya keeps making lame excuses as to why she doesn't. Finally, even though she can easily sense that her love for backpacker Daniel is one-sided,
2. Maya's notebook/diary does not feel like something a 19-year-old would write. The vocabulary and historical knowledge seem too mature. Maybe if someone twice her age wrote it, it would be more believable; and,
3. although narrator, Maria Cabezas, did a fine job for Maya's character, I found it difficult to differentiate between other characters due to her lack of expressiveness and changes in tone and timeline.
Overall Thoughts:
Even though the MC, Maya, tried my patience, I did appreciate learning new things about substance abuse, criminal life in Las Vegas, and Chile's political history and cultural aspects.
June 13, 2013
This is a story from Maya's view point. The story begins with Maya telling us that her Grandmother, Nini, gives her a notebook and says to write about "the monumental stupidities you've committed and see if you can come to grips with them". Maya is 19 and she admits that her life went "off the rails" at age 15. Maya lives a life from age 15-19 that would serve as a cautionary tale. Yet, it's told with humor, horror and wit. Maya's father is from Chili and her mother is Danish. Her father is a pilot and her mother was a Stewardess when they had an affair that resulted in Maya. The mother promptly leaves Maya with her her grandparents. So her Nini and her grandfather, Popo raise her. Maya has a great childhood until her Popo dies, and then Nini goes into depression and Maya gets a bit wild. Maya gets involved in crime, drugs, alcohol and money laundering. The story unfolds with Maya's current life in Chili and flashbacks on what she did and why she is exiled to a remote island off Chili. I've never read anything of Allende's. She is a fabulous story teller. The reader loves Maya and roots for her, while cringing at her choices in life. Maya is very funny in her accounts of her life history and her descriptions of her family, events, and her life in Chili and her teenage life of crime. It's a great read.
July 3, 2016
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
----Aristotle
Isabel Allende Llona, a Chilean-American novelist, has penned an intriguing yet edgy novel, Maya's Notebook that unfolds the story of a teenage girl who after the death of her grandfather, the only supporting figure of her life, she surrounds herself with negative influences like drugs, alcohol and selling her body, which makes her lose herself as she escapes from the authorities as well as from hit man and lands into a quiet and secluded island off the coast of Chile, where she learns a lot not only about her roots but also rinses her soul with the purity that the community of the island has to offer all the while learning about the deadly family secrets.
Synopsis:
Neglected by her parents, nineteen-year-old Maya Nidal grows up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandparents. Her grandmother, Nidia, affectionately known as Nini, is a force of nature--a woman whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973. Popo, Maya's grandfather, is an African American astronomer and professor--a gentle man whose solid, comforting presence helps calm the turbulence of Maya's adolescence.
When Popo dies of cancer, Maya goes completely off the rails. With her girlfriends Maya turns to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime, eventually bottoming out in Las Vegas. Lost in a dangerous underworld, she is caught in the crosshairs of warring forces--a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a -remote island off the coast of Chile. Here Maya tries to make sense of the past, unravels mysterious truths about life and her family, and embarks on her greatest adventure: the journey into her own soul.
In sixteen years of her life, Maya has experienced almost everything in her life, from drugs to prostitution to stealing and petty crimes thereby living life on the edge and making a negative name for herself in Oregon where she lived with her grandparents, among whom her grandmother, Nini, is a Chilean emigrant whereas her grandfather, Popo, is an African American professor and Popo is the center of Maya's life, but after his death, Maya loses herself in grief and pain thereby finding solace in the comfort of deadly drugs and alcohol, which lands her up in Las Vegas, where she gets involve with a drug dealer by working for his clients to deliver drugs. Pretty soon, from the FBI to the Interpol to the local police to some assassins, all either wanted her dead or wanted her alive to imprison her. With so many criminal cases hanging on her head, Maya escapes to Chile with the help of her grandmother in a secluded island called, Chiloe where she will be taken care by her grandmother's long time friend, Manuel, an anthropologist who is writing his book. This is where she learns about herself, about her family, about the stories and those childhood days that her grandmother rarely talked about and also a lot about a community that is so kind, peaceful, forgiving and happy.
The author's writing style is quite appealing and articulate and something that is easy to comprehend with. The narrative of the book is engaging and is laced with emotions that will move the readers immensely. The pacing is fast, as the story jumps from one scene to another with its proper descriptions. The story has many layers and many destinations to explore, each layer is carefully wrapped over another, and with the progress of the story, the author eventually peels one layer after layer thus making it thoroughly interesting.
The author has depicted so many sensitive themes of a modern society with this book of hers quite strikingly and effectively that the readers are bound to ponder about those themes even long after the end of the book. Drugs abuse, underage alcohol drinking, flesh market, rape and so many criminal acts conducted by a teenager and how the drug market grows with the help of some runaway teenagers who have destroyed their lives while trying to live dependently on drugs. In the modern society, teenagers or the youth feels that escape from grief or pain or struggle is with the help of substance abuse that will help them forget about it, and this is what the author has managed to capture as well as deliver through this story, hence I believe each and every teenager or parents of teenagers must read this book.
The backdrop of both Las Vegas and Chile is excellently captivated by the author into the canvas of her story, where the readers will see a rather dark side of the glittery, sparkly, rich, gambling capital, Las Vegas in contrast to Chile, where the cool and the dry weather with a serene landscape will soothe the minds and the hearts of the readers. The author has captured the Chilean culture, religion, the demeanor of its citizen, the climate, the language as well as the flora quite vividly that will instantly transport the readers into such a charming island. Whereas in case of Las Vegas, the author draws a dark, honest and bold portrait, where the readers will experience a sinister world filled with mobs, drug dealers, prostitutes, killers and many such people who overcrowd the dark alleys of this city.
The characters in this book are quite well-developed, layered with their flaws and back stories, thus giving them a depth. The main character, Maya, through whose journal the readers learn about her story, is brilliantly arrested as the author carefully draws with enough realism to make the readers relate to her. Maya is an evolving character, who in the beginning will project someone as reckless and extremely impulsive, thereby facing a lot of near-death problems and scenarios, but she luckily escapes those to Chile, where her transition begins and the readers will be introduced to a Maya who is understanding, calm and compassionate. Her maturity grows with her enlightenment about life in the Chilean community along with Manuel, who teaches her a lot about the importance and quality of life. Manuel is another character who will peak the readers interest with his exciting stories about Chile and its people. The supporting characters are also quite well etched out and will keep the readers glued to the pages of the book.
In a nutshell, this is a riveting book that will keep the readers engrossed with Maya's passage to redemption and self-discovery while braving dark times with addiction.
Verdict: Not only promising but also a poignant story about a teenager.
----Aristotle
Isabel Allende Llona, a Chilean-American novelist, has penned an intriguing yet edgy novel, Maya's Notebook that unfolds the story of a teenage girl who after the death of her grandfather, the only supporting figure of her life, she surrounds herself with negative influences like drugs, alcohol and selling her body, which makes her lose herself as she escapes from the authorities as well as from hit man and lands into a quiet and secluded island off the coast of Chile, where she learns a lot not only about her roots but also rinses her soul with the purity that the community of the island has to offer all the while learning about the deadly family secrets.
Synopsis:
Neglected by her parents, nineteen-year-old Maya Nidal grows up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandparents. Her grandmother, Nidia, affectionately known as Nini, is a force of nature--a woman whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973. Popo, Maya's grandfather, is an African American astronomer and professor--a gentle man whose solid, comforting presence helps calm the turbulence of Maya's adolescence.
When Popo dies of cancer, Maya goes completely off the rails. With her girlfriends Maya turns to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime, eventually bottoming out in Las Vegas. Lost in a dangerous underworld, she is caught in the crosshairs of warring forces--a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a -remote island off the coast of Chile. Here Maya tries to make sense of the past, unravels mysterious truths about life and her family, and embarks on her greatest adventure: the journey into her own soul.
In sixteen years of her life, Maya has experienced almost everything in her life, from drugs to prostitution to stealing and petty crimes thereby living life on the edge and making a negative name for herself in Oregon where she lived with her grandparents, among whom her grandmother, Nini, is a Chilean emigrant whereas her grandfather, Popo, is an African American professor and Popo is the center of Maya's life, but after his death, Maya loses herself in grief and pain thereby finding solace in the comfort of deadly drugs and alcohol, which lands her up in Las Vegas, where she gets involve with a drug dealer by working for his clients to deliver drugs. Pretty soon, from the FBI to the Interpol to the local police to some assassins, all either wanted her dead or wanted her alive to imprison her. With so many criminal cases hanging on her head, Maya escapes to Chile with the help of her grandmother in a secluded island called, Chiloe where she will be taken care by her grandmother's long time friend, Manuel, an anthropologist who is writing his book. This is where she learns about herself, about her family, about the stories and those childhood days that her grandmother rarely talked about and also a lot about a community that is so kind, peaceful, forgiving and happy.
The author's writing style is quite appealing and articulate and something that is easy to comprehend with. The narrative of the book is engaging and is laced with emotions that will move the readers immensely. The pacing is fast, as the story jumps from one scene to another with its proper descriptions. The story has many layers and many destinations to explore, each layer is carefully wrapped over another, and with the progress of the story, the author eventually peels one layer after layer thus making it thoroughly interesting.
The author has depicted so many sensitive themes of a modern society with this book of hers quite strikingly and effectively that the readers are bound to ponder about those themes even long after the end of the book. Drugs abuse, underage alcohol drinking, flesh market, rape and so many criminal acts conducted by a teenager and how the drug market grows with the help of some runaway teenagers who have destroyed their lives while trying to live dependently on drugs. In the modern society, teenagers or the youth feels that escape from grief or pain or struggle is with the help of substance abuse that will help them forget about it, and this is what the author has managed to capture as well as deliver through this story, hence I believe each and every teenager or parents of teenagers must read this book.
The backdrop of both Las Vegas and Chile is excellently captivated by the author into the canvas of her story, where the readers will see a rather dark side of the glittery, sparkly, rich, gambling capital, Las Vegas in contrast to Chile, where the cool and the dry weather with a serene landscape will soothe the minds and the hearts of the readers. The author has captured the Chilean culture, religion, the demeanor of its citizen, the climate, the language as well as the flora quite vividly that will instantly transport the readers into such a charming island. Whereas in case of Las Vegas, the author draws a dark, honest and bold portrait, where the readers will experience a sinister world filled with mobs, drug dealers, prostitutes, killers and many such people who overcrowd the dark alleys of this city.
The characters in this book are quite well-developed, layered with their flaws and back stories, thus giving them a depth. The main character, Maya, through whose journal the readers learn about her story, is brilliantly arrested as the author carefully draws with enough realism to make the readers relate to her. Maya is an evolving character, who in the beginning will project someone as reckless and extremely impulsive, thereby facing a lot of near-death problems and scenarios, but she luckily escapes those to Chile, where her transition begins and the readers will be introduced to a Maya who is understanding, calm and compassionate. Her maturity grows with her enlightenment about life in the Chilean community along with Manuel, who teaches her a lot about the importance and quality of life. Manuel is another character who will peak the readers interest with his exciting stories about Chile and its people. The supporting characters are also quite well etched out and will keep the readers glued to the pages of the book.
In a nutshell, this is a riveting book that will keep the readers engrossed with Maya's passage to redemption and self-discovery while braving dark times with addiction.
Verdict: Not only promising but also a poignant story about a teenager.
May 2, 2013
Isabel Allende has ranked among my favorite writers for a very long time. I try to read every book that she comes out with. The synopsis of "Maya's Notebook" sounded very interesting to me so I was especially excited to read this book. Now the story line of this book is a little bit different than anything I have read so far by Allende but her characteristic way with words is still very much present and makes this book a joy to read!
This book is made up of the things that the title character, Maya, writes in one of her notebooks that her beloved grandmother started her writing in. I really, really liked Maya. She is a a fascinating character. I wanted to shake her when she was getting into trouble because she seems so much smarter than that. Allende definitely knows how to make you feel for a character. Maya is definitely a character that you want to follow. She is nineteen but wise beyond her years. She's on the run from the authorities because of some of the bad decisions that she makes.
Through this book, we get to see Maya transition from someone who hates where she has ended up and finds the small Chilean town that she is hiding in to be horrible to Maya realizing that there is a lot more to life than she was seeing before she ended up in that small town. Even though she has done all of these bad things and her family is trying to save her by sending her to Chile, she still feels like she is being punished. She eventually realizes that she needs to do better.
I didn't think that the writing in this book was as lyrical as some of Allende's other works have been but I think through that, Maya's character really shines through. I definitely enjoyed this book and think it will appeal to new and old Allende fans.
This book is made up of the things that the title character, Maya, writes in one of her notebooks that her beloved grandmother started her writing in. I really, really liked Maya. She is a a fascinating character. I wanted to shake her when she was getting into trouble because she seems so much smarter than that. Allende definitely knows how to make you feel for a character. Maya is definitely a character that you want to follow. She is nineteen but wise beyond her years. She's on the run from the authorities because of some of the bad decisions that she makes.
Through this book, we get to see Maya transition from someone who hates where she has ended up and finds the small Chilean town that she is hiding in to be horrible to Maya realizing that there is a lot more to life than she was seeing before she ended up in that small town. Even though she has done all of these bad things and her family is trying to save her by sending her to Chile, she still feels like she is being punished. She eventually realizes that she needs to do better.
I didn't think that the writing in this book was as lyrical as some of Allende's other works have been but I think through that, Maya's character really shines through. I definitely enjoyed this book and think it will appeal to new and old Allende fans.
Read
January 29, 2020A young woman (not certain that Isabel Allende succeeded as a young and contemporary voice) loses her way after the death of her beloved grandfather & lands in her grandmother's native Chile. Told in first person, Maya, writes in her journal and alternates between past and present all the while recounting what has brought her to this point. The themes were typical Allende: exile, politics, magic, secrets, and feminocentric. However, the story was chaotic at times and a bit melodramatic. I did not find it believable at times. I still look forward to reading her next book.
June 26, 2013
I adore Isabelle Allende. I've met her twice --(she is actually shorter than me: I love my small girlfriends-we can exchange clothes).
I've had a secret wish (shhhhhhhhh), to be 'part-of-Isabelle's-tribe' for years (take long walks with-talk-share-soak in the warm pools of Calistoga). Heck, I'd be happy to cook she and her husband dinner at 'our' house!
I've enjoyed EVERY book by Isabelle Allende. *ALL* have been different ---*ALL* I've enjoyed!!! This book is no exception.
Maya's Notebook is a 'raw' intimate personal story--taking place on two continents: (Berkeley/S.F. -- and a remote 'charming' Chilean Island -*Chiloe*).
Inside this 400 page gem --the reader feels a close bond with the characters in the book --
For me: I genuinely felt like I was taking a journey through hell at times reading "Maya's Notebook" (revisiting past pain --from a time when my 'own' daughter was around 19 and 'in danger') .... NOTE: I was 'rooting' for Maya ---(I loved that girl)!
And...
I, too, grew up in Berkeley. I, too, 'left' Berkeley, (left the country for two years), when I was 19.
I'm now 61 years old: So----at times I was reading this book (looking from a mother's point of view --other times I felt like the 19 year old myself ---
other times I was just SAD: ---Self Destruction is often so real-- (a way of 'coping')
Lots to relate to in this book: (the feelings, loss, some behaviors, etc.)
----My dad died when I was 4 -- I, too, had my grandparents (my dad's parents), in my life during my early childhood ---in Oakland/Berkeley --and our summers in Calistoga) --- but 'both' grandparents died by my early teen years.
So much of this book just felt 'personal' (from all sides of the coin) --- Breakdowns are hard on the entire family.
The storytelling in Maya's Notebook is excellent! (personal & engaging)
You'll read about: drugs, drug dealing, prostitution, theft, eating disorders, friendships, suffering, depression, hunger, family strength, family hurts, death, loss, love, healing,
AND....
BEAUTY...A simple-calm life on a far away island can be 'healing' -- ( beautiful people living on that Island of Chiloe). The island felt so 'real' as if I, too, was visiting.
The only thing better than reading about Chilean History from Isabelle Allende ---would be to visit 'in person'. Who wants to fly to Chiloe?
I've had a secret wish (shhhhhhhhh), to be 'part-of-Isabelle's-tribe' for years (take long walks with-talk-share-soak in the warm pools of Calistoga). Heck, I'd be happy to cook she and her husband dinner at 'our' house!
I've enjoyed EVERY book by Isabelle Allende. *ALL* have been different ---*ALL* I've enjoyed!!! This book is no exception.
Maya's Notebook is a 'raw' intimate personal story--taking place on two continents: (Berkeley/S.F. -- and a remote 'charming' Chilean Island -*Chiloe*).
Inside this 400 page gem --the reader feels a close bond with the characters in the book --
For me: I genuinely felt like I was taking a journey through hell at times reading "Maya's Notebook" (revisiting past pain --from a time when my 'own' daughter was around 19 and 'in danger') .... NOTE: I was 'rooting' for Maya ---(I loved that girl)!
And...
I, too, grew up in Berkeley. I, too, 'left' Berkeley, (left the country for two years), when I was 19.
I'm now 61 years old: So----at times I was reading this book (looking from a mother's point of view --other times I felt like the 19 year old myself ---
other times I was just SAD: ---Self Destruction is often so real-- (a way of 'coping')
Lots to relate to in this book: (the feelings, loss, some behaviors, etc.)
----My dad died when I was 4 -- I, too, had my grandparents (my dad's parents), in my life during my early childhood ---in Oakland/Berkeley --and our summers in Calistoga) --- but 'both' grandparents died by my early teen years.
So much of this book just felt 'personal' (from all sides of the coin) --- Breakdowns are hard on the entire family.
The storytelling in Maya's Notebook is excellent! (personal & engaging)
You'll read about: drugs, drug dealing, prostitution, theft, eating disorders, friendships, suffering, depression, hunger, family strength, family hurts, death, loss, love, healing,
AND....
BEAUTY...A simple-calm life on a far away island can be 'healing' -- ( beautiful people living on that Island of Chiloe). The island felt so 'real' as if I, too, was visiting.
The only thing better than reading about Chilean History from Isabelle Allende ---would be to visit 'in person'. Who wants to fly to Chiloe?
May 9, 2019
Allende crea en Maya Vidal una ventana a una gran variedad de temas. El Cuaderno de Maya presenta a una muchacha de diecinueve años exiliada en la comunidad chilena de Chiloe, escondida de enemigos contraidos en años anteriores.
Allende reluce con el ambiente de Chiloe. Este cobra vida mediante sus vividas descripciones, tanto del paisaje como de la gente. Descripciones de sus habitantes, amigos de Maya, le dan a Chiloe un aire de serenidad, lentitud, sanacion y tradicion.
Maya, joven de pasado turbulento, es una muchacha de buena naturaleza, aunque algo desprendida de la realidad. Siguiendo sus paginas, vemos su infancia con sus abuelos, su pelea con las drogas y el alcohol, los peligros que corre y su llegada a Chiloe. En Chiloe vemos su maduracion y enamoramiento con un joven extranjero.
Allende usa a Manuel Arias, hombre que hospeda a Maya, para dar un vistazo a la vida de la revolucion. Los fantasmas que atormentan a este son desenterrados por Maya, quien descubre muchas cosas en el camino.
La hisotria es larga, con algunos momentos emocionantes. Allende crea espacios espectaculares. Sus unicos momentos de flaqueza son cuando Maya se ve en estado de drogadiccion. De alguna manera, el factor de realismo se pierde y se hace algo obvio que es Allende la que finge ser Maya escribiendo, y no Maya escribiendo.
Es un bueno libro, digno de ser leido. Lo recomiendo.
(Habia hecho un mejor review de unos 8 parrafos, pero goodreads se refresco cuando lo intente salvar y lo borro. Hize este algo frustrado y mas impaciente, por lo que no es tan bueno. Ni modo.)
Allende reluce con el ambiente de Chiloe. Este cobra vida mediante sus vividas descripciones, tanto del paisaje como de la gente. Descripciones de sus habitantes, amigos de Maya, le dan a Chiloe un aire de serenidad, lentitud, sanacion y tradicion.
Maya, joven de pasado turbulento, es una muchacha de buena naturaleza, aunque algo desprendida de la realidad. Siguiendo sus paginas, vemos su infancia con sus abuelos, su pelea con las drogas y el alcohol, los peligros que corre y su llegada a Chiloe. En Chiloe vemos su maduracion y enamoramiento con un joven extranjero.
Allende usa a Manuel Arias, hombre que hospeda a Maya, para dar un vistazo a la vida de la revolucion. Los fantasmas que atormentan a este son desenterrados por Maya, quien descubre muchas cosas en el camino.
La hisotria es larga, con algunos momentos emocionantes. Allende crea espacios espectaculares. Sus unicos momentos de flaqueza son cuando Maya se ve en estado de drogadiccion. De alguna manera, el factor de realismo se pierde y se hace algo obvio que es Allende la que finge ser Maya escribiendo, y no Maya escribiendo.
Es un bueno libro, digno de ser leido. Lo recomiendo.
(Habia hecho un mejor review de unos 8 parrafos, pero goodreads se refresco cuando lo intente salvar y lo borro. Hize este algo frustrado y mas impaciente, por lo que no es tan bueno. Ni modo.)
August 27, 2013
Isabel Allende is a fearless writer. She can take on magical realism, contemporary political thrillers, historical fiction, or epic sagas and craft unforgettable characters, evocative settings, and surprising plots. She is a natural storyteller with a keen sense of pacing and a flair for high drama. Unlike other authors I’ve followed over the years who captivated me with early works but faded to middle road pablum as they struggle to stay relevant, Allende keeps taking chances—damn the torpedoes.
She emerges, literary guns blazing, with Maya’s Notebook. Maya, a nineteen-year-old fugitive and recovering drug and alcohol addict, has made her way to the Chiloé archipelago off Chile’s southern coast after living as a drug runner in Las Vegas. She is an unreliable narrator prone to disastrous choices and sophisticated self-reflection. Retreating to the safe space of a journal, Maya brings the reader ‘round from her childhood through her recent past to her life in exile on a remote, windswept island in the Pacific.
This novel confounds me. In many ways it reads like Allende’s bid to stay relevant, to keep up with the Lisbeth Salanders and Carrie Mathisons—intelligent but troubled young women with dangerous vices and brutal pasts who battle mental illness, addiction, and the world. But Maya Vidal hasn’t had a particularly troubled past. Yes, she is the result of an affair between a pilot and a flight attendant. Her mother returned to Denmark—uninterested in her infant daughter—and her father dropped her off at her grandmother’s and kept flying. But she had a pretty great kidhood, growing up in a rambling mansion in the Berkeley Hills with her beloved grandparents.
Which makes her descent into the Las Vegas underworld unbelievable. Allende throws her character into so many dire situations that the plot becomes a breathless tangle of overactive imagination. We know, of course, that Maya survives her many brushes with calamity so we aren’t worried about her fate. But instead of admiring Maya’s survival skills, we are asked to suspend disbelief that she falls into a rabbit hole of addiction and $10 tricks because her grandfather died. I think Allende is trying to show how far a child can slide—from teddy bears to turning tricks—and how quickly addiction can grab hold of one’s reason. But the melodrama cheapens Maya’s narrative.
Juxtaposed with the ripe-for-the-big-screen thriller is the quiet drama playing out on Chiloé. Maya’s refuge is the home of Manuel Arias, a taciturn anthropologist who has removed all the interior doors in his house. His story becomes the story of Chile’s political exiles—a frequent theme in Allende’s novels. Chiloé harbors secrets—Manuel’s, Maya’s, and the villagers’; it is a place that can heal and inflict damage in equal measure.
Isabel Allende excels at portraits and she does not disappoint here. Each character is colorfully and distinctly rendered, including the characters of her settings—be they Berkeley, the rehab center in Oregon, the streets of Las Vegas or the misty, green shores of Chiloé. Her writing is as engaging and expressive as ever. Unfortunately, the principal character’s transformation from slacker to victim to take-charge fugitive strains credibility and the loopiness of the plot dulls the lustre of the story’s appeal.
I soaked up the beautiful writing, the interesting twists, and the strong secondary characters, and brushed off my misgivings with the central plot to enjoy an entertaining, if not always plausible, novel. I applaud Isabel Allende for taking chances.
She emerges, literary guns blazing, with Maya’s Notebook. Maya, a nineteen-year-old fugitive and recovering drug and alcohol addict, has made her way to the Chiloé archipelago off Chile’s southern coast after living as a drug runner in Las Vegas. She is an unreliable narrator prone to disastrous choices and sophisticated self-reflection. Retreating to the safe space of a journal, Maya brings the reader ‘round from her childhood through her recent past to her life in exile on a remote, windswept island in the Pacific.
This novel confounds me. In many ways it reads like Allende’s bid to stay relevant, to keep up with the Lisbeth Salanders and Carrie Mathisons—intelligent but troubled young women with dangerous vices and brutal pasts who battle mental illness, addiction, and the world. But Maya Vidal hasn’t had a particularly troubled past. Yes, she is the result of an affair between a pilot and a flight attendant. Her mother returned to Denmark—uninterested in her infant daughter—and her father dropped her off at her grandmother’s and kept flying. But she had a pretty great kidhood, growing up in a rambling mansion in the Berkeley Hills with her beloved grandparents.
Which makes her descent into the Las Vegas underworld unbelievable. Allende throws her character into so many dire situations that the plot becomes a breathless tangle of overactive imagination. We know, of course, that Maya survives her many brushes with calamity so we aren’t worried about her fate. But instead of admiring Maya’s survival skills, we are asked to suspend disbelief that she falls into a rabbit hole of addiction and $10 tricks because her grandfather died. I think Allende is trying to show how far a child can slide—from teddy bears to turning tricks—and how quickly addiction can grab hold of one’s reason. But the melodrama cheapens Maya’s narrative.
Juxtaposed with the ripe-for-the-big-screen thriller is the quiet drama playing out on Chiloé. Maya’s refuge is the home of Manuel Arias, a taciturn anthropologist who has removed all the interior doors in his house. His story becomes the story of Chile’s political exiles—a frequent theme in Allende’s novels. Chiloé harbors secrets—Manuel’s, Maya’s, and the villagers’; it is a place that can heal and inflict damage in equal measure.
Isabel Allende excels at portraits and she does not disappoint here. Each character is colorfully and distinctly rendered, including the characters of her settings—be they Berkeley, the rehab center in Oregon, the streets of Las Vegas or the misty, green shores of Chiloé. Her writing is as engaging and expressive as ever. Unfortunately, the principal character’s transformation from slacker to victim to take-charge fugitive strains credibility and the loopiness of the plot dulls the lustre of the story’s appeal.
I soaked up the beautiful writing, the interesting twists, and the strong secondary characters, and brushed off my misgivings with the central plot to enjoy an entertaining, if not always plausible, novel. I applaud Isabel Allende for taking chances.
July 1, 2024
"هناك أوقات لا يكون للمرء أي قدرة على التحكم بحياته .. الأمور تمر عليه وتنقضي وحسب"
حكاية مايا بيدال مايين الماضي والحاضر ممتزجة مع تاريخ شيلي وعادات جزيرة تشيلوى ...
مزيج من التخبطات والضياع والحب والألم والادمان والمافيا والسقوط في الهاوية والعائلة والحب الغير مشروط ..
إيزابيل الليندي كالعادة حكاءة رائعة ..
وترجمة صالح العلماني كالعاده لاغبار عليها .
١ / ٧ / ٢٠٢٤
حكاية مايا بيدال مايين الماضي والحاضر ممتزجة مع تاريخ شيلي وعادات جزيرة تشيلوى ...
مزيج من التخبطات والضياع والحب والألم والادمان والمافيا والسقوط في الهاوية والعائلة والحب الغير مشروط ..
إيزابيل الليندي كالعادة حكاءة رائعة ..
وترجمة صالح العلماني كالعاده لاغبار عليها .
١ / ٧ / ٢٠٢٤
March 31, 2014
4 Ordinary Magic Stars
"The whole world is magical, Maya."
On the run from the FBI, the Interpol, her own insecurities and past mistakes, a young girl finds herself in a remote island off the coast of Chile where life is slower and emotions are deeper. There with time in her hands to contemplate her story she takes notes in a diary, narrating her family's history, weaving an intricate tale that spans 40 years and 3 different countries and everything is coming full circle. She has the power to change her life course and escape the tragedies of her own making.
Maya Vidal a 19 year old American that grew up with a colourful Chilean grandmother and a loving African-American grandfather, knows what binds a family together and can easily tear it apart. Unable to handle tragedy she builds a wall around her and she hides behind drugs, alcohol and bad relationships. Numb, she thinks she finds the solidarity she desperately wants.
Now, hiding in Chiloe, she reinvents herself by remembering her family's saga and meeting extraordinary people that managed to surpass the limitations set on them by judgmental and cruel people and create a haven.
Allende, Isabel once again stuns with her ability to weave an intricate tale of family and love. Effortlessly and with attention to detail she writes about complex characters you can easily relate to. Strong, independent women, fighting for their rights, unapologetically unique. She creates worlds of magic and she builds a book that you can actually live in. Maya's Notebook is a lyrical tale of survival and people reborn that I really enjoyed.
"The whole world is magical, Maya."
On the run from the FBI, the Interpol, her own insecurities and past mistakes, a young girl finds herself in a remote island off the coast of Chile where life is slower and emotions are deeper. There with time in her hands to contemplate her story she takes notes in a diary, narrating her family's history, weaving an intricate tale that spans 40 years and 3 different countries and everything is coming full circle. She has the power to change her life course and escape the tragedies of her own making.
Maya Vidal a 19 year old American that grew up with a colourful Chilean grandmother and a loving African-American grandfather, knows what binds a family together and can easily tear it apart. Unable to handle tragedy she builds a wall around her and she hides behind drugs, alcohol and bad relationships. Numb, she thinks she finds the solidarity she desperately wants.
Now, hiding in Chiloe, she reinvents herself by remembering her family's saga and meeting extraordinary people that managed to surpass the limitations set on them by judgmental and cruel people and create a haven.
Allende, Isabel once again stuns with her ability to weave an intricate tale of family and love. Effortlessly and with attention to detail she writes about complex characters you can easily relate to. Strong, independent women, fighting for their rights, unapologetically unique. She creates worlds of magic and she builds a book that you can actually live in. Maya's Notebook is a lyrical tale of survival and people reborn that I really enjoyed.
February 23, 2014
What I liked best about the book is the way Isabel Allende takes to you to Chiloe, an island off the coast of Chili, a place she knows and you can tell loves so much. You feel as if you are there among these wonderful,caring and sometimes superstitious people. They quietly go about there daily lives, but yet they know pretty much everything about each other and they take care of one another. You almost want to be there for a few days and experience it first hand.
Maya is there hiding from her past mistakes, finding out about her family's past and in the end finding herself. The narrrative alternates smoothly from Maya's present in Chiloe to her past. The writing flows pretty seamlessly between here and Las Vegas , but the Las Vegas portions felt a bit too contrived to me. It's not that I'm naive enough to think that these things don't exist, it just felt a bit over the top.
Maya is a likeable character and you feel for her and you can't help but love the people on this island. For me it's 3/12 stars . I would recommend if you are a fan of Allende's other work.
Maya is there hiding from her past mistakes, finding out about her family's past and in the end finding herself. The narrrative alternates smoothly from Maya's present in Chiloe to her past. The writing flows pretty seamlessly between here and Las Vegas , but the Las Vegas portions felt a bit too contrived to me. It's not that I'm naive enough to think that these things don't exist, it just felt a bit over the top.
Maya is a likeable character and you feel for her and you can't help but love the people on this island. For me it's 3/12 stars . I would recommend if you are a fan of Allende's other work.
November 9, 2015
Isabel Allende is the author of Maya's Notebook. This is my first book by this author but not my last. I am reading this book because much of the book occurs in Chile on a small island off of Chile's coast. There are many others places mentioned in this novel. This is a great story that shows how a dramatic loss in 19 year old Maya's life caused her to spiral into a life of drugs, alcohol, prostitution, crime and violence. The reader learns about her life through Maya reading her journals that are honest and real. 3.5 stars
December 27, 2016
If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "LONG". If I could use more words, it would be "LONG OH MY GOD SO LONG THIS BOOK FELT LIKE IT WAS NEVER GOING TO END".
Seriously. There was just SO MUCH going on in this book. There's the plot dealing with Maya's family. There's the plot dealing with Maya's time in Chile. There's the plot dealing with Maya spiraling out of control. And there's the plot where Maya's life goes totally off the rails in Vegas.
This book is frighteningly dark - it features rape, sexual assault, drug addiction, drug trafficking, along with any number of beatings and hospitalisations and mental health problems.
Honestly? I have no idea who this book is intended for. Because Maya is nineteen as she tells us her story, and much younger for much of the book. But it's SO FREAKING DARK that you could never EVER give this to a teenager...
So frankly, I liked the stuff that was set in Chile. But everything else was a long, meandering trainwreck.
Seriously. There was just SO MUCH going on in this book. There's the plot dealing with Maya's family. There's the plot dealing with Maya's time in Chile. There's the plot dealing with Maya spiraling out of control. And there's the plot where Maya's life goes totally off the rails in Vegas.
This book is frighteningly dark - it features rape, sexual assault, drug addiction, drug trafficking, along with any number of beatings and hospitalisations and mental health problems.
Honestly? I have no idea who this book is intended for. Because Maya is nineteen as she tells us her story, and much younger for much of the book. But it's SO FREAKING DARK that you could never EVER give this to a teenager...
So frankly, I liked the stuff that was set in Chile. But everything else was a long, meandering trainwreck.
December 26, 2017
I love Allende much of the time. Though not the best of her numerous novels, this one is still worth a read. The Chilean history lessons are welcome, as are as the 'life lessons,' but not their preachy moments. Audiobook reader Maria Cabezas does a terrific job -- but it sure would have been nicer if she'd known how to pronounce South American yerba mate, which is mispronounced several times. Another peeve: in Spanish, popo is the equivalent of caca. The protagonist's endearment for her beloved & Oft-Mentioned grandfather is Popo...
May 21, 2013
I really love the way Isabel Allende writes. Her lyrical descriptions take you to Chile where "the ocean takes bites off the land and the continent of South America strings out into islands; an eyelash between the mountains of the Andes and the depths of the Pacific Ocean, with hundreds of volcanoes, some with lava still warm,that could wake up at any moment and bury the territory in the sea." The beauty of the land and its people contrasts vividly with its troubled history of atrocities perpetrated by military dictatorships.
Maya, the 19 year who comes of age in this novel, gets caught up in the sleazy life of drugs so easily available in Las Vegas. Eventually, she is wanted by the FBI for her involvement in a counterfeiting scheme. Her grandmother Nidia arranges for her to live as a fugitive with a family friend Manuel. The evolution of their relationship as they learn to trust each other is very touching. Maya's deep love and respect for her deceased grandfather Popo is a guiding force which eventually provides a moral compass. Her love for Fahkeen, her rescued mutt, lets her experience the unconditional love that she has so often been missing since her parents abandoned her. In order to survive the harsh realities of this secluded area of Chile (Chiloe), she learns about the the the human laws of reciprocity. She learns to live in a community of people where you give as much as you receive; where personal happiness is less important than being useful. The concept of favors that are repaid to humanity rather than specific individuals is embedded throughout this story.
Although I found this book captivating and an enjoyable read, I felt that too many characters were introduced who did not flesh out the narrative. I also felt that our talented author occasionally copped out linguistically--"It is impossible to describe that instant when the divine liquid (heroin) enters the blood." Come on Isabel, you can do better than that. You were able to describe alcohol withdrawal as "an octopus of anguish that wrapped its thousands of tentacles around my temples and squeezed." There were times when this book retraced when it could have moved forward.
Some take aways that rang true to me:
"Happiness is slippery, it slithers away between your fingers, but problems are something you can hold on to, they've got handles, and they're rough and hard."
" It's pointless to bury psychological wounds-- you have to air them out so they can scar over."
"Intimacy needs time to mature--a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It's a slow-growing plant."
Maya, the 19 year who comes of age in this novel, gets caught up in the sleazy life of drugs so easily available in Las Vegas. Eventually, she is wanted by the FBI for her involvement in a counterfeiting scheme. Her grandmother Nidia arranges for her to live as a fugitive with a family friend Manuel. The evolution of their relationship as they learn to trust each other is very touching. Maya's deep love and respect for her deceased grandfather Popo is a guiding force which eventually provides a moral compass. Her love for Fahkeen, her rescued mutt, lets her experience the unconditional love that she has so often been missing since her parents abandoned her. In order to survive the harsh realities of this secluded area of Chile (Chiloe), she learns about the the the human laws of reciprocity. She learns to live in a community of people where you give as much as you receive; where personal happiness is less important than being useful. The concept of favors that are repaid to humanity rather than specific individuals is embedded throughout this story.
Although I found this book captivating and an enjoyable read, I felt that too many characters were introduced who did not flesh out the narrative. I also felt that our talented author occasionally copped out linguistically--"It is impossible to describe that instant when the divine liquid (heroin) enters the blood." Come on Isabel, you can do better than that. You were able to describe alcohol withdrawal as "an octopus of anguish that wrapped its thousands of tentacles around my temples and squeezed." There were times when this book retraced when it could have moved forward.
Some take aways that rang true to me:
"Happiness is slippery, it slithers away between your fingers, but problems are something you can hold on to, they've got handles, and they're rough and hard."
" It's pointless to bury psychological wounds-- you have to air them out so they can scar over."
"Intimacy needs time to mature--a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It's a slow-growing plant."
April 18, 2013
This is an Allende book that I had a hard time with, it just did not grab me at all. Of course her writing is as always very good, but her contemporary setting and these characters were just okay. Her love for all things, Chile comes through, the Chilean superstitions and witchcraft are explored but I don't know, the usual Allende spark was missing.
October 13, 2021
Gondolom, a jó menzás néni az, aki a nemszeretem ételeket is el tudja készíteni úgy, hogy megegyem. A jó író meg az, aki a hozzám nem különösebben közel álló témákból is olyan szöveget gyárt, ami simán lecsúszik. No most Allende központi mondanivalója (nevezhetem egyáltalán így? kellő óvatossággal, maximum) nekem kicsit necces: mintha arról volna szó, hogy a nagyváros drogost csinál az emberből, bezzeg ha elmész a világ végére, megtalálod önmagad, és kis dobozkában, csinos masnival a tetején mellékelik hozzá(d) a lelki nyugalmat. Hát, nem tudom. Biztos van olyan is. De tartok tőle, hogy ez ennél picit bonyolultabb. Ugyanakkor Allende ezt az egészet olyan színesen, elevenen, az epikus próza sodró hagyományait igénybe véve hozza, hogy benyelem az egészet, és még ízlik is.
Amúgy (csak hogy áttekintsük a történetet) arról van itt szó, hogy Maya zűrös szülők gyermekeként szerető chilei nagymamájával él együtt Ámerikában, de megcsúszik a lejtőn, és hipp-hopp, az elkallódás peremvidékén találja magát. Sőt, egészen konkrétan el is kallódik: a Las Vegas-i drogdílerkedés, majd az azt követő totális lecsúszás, a függőség, a prostitúció olyan mélységeket járat meg vele, amiből általában nincs visszaút. Pláne hogy – krimiszál!!! - Maya ennek tetejében egy komoly bűnügyből kifolyólag az FBI célkeresztjébe kerül. Milyen szerencse, hogy Nini, a chilei nagymama van olyan kemény, mint a drogkereskedők és az FBI együtt, úgyhogy unokáját egy nagy machináció keretében ősei földjére transzportálja, mégpedig Chiloéba, ami az eleve félreeső Chilén belül is egy különösen félreeső szigetecske. Itt Maya összebútorozik az öreg Manuellel, aki mogorva, de a szíve arany, és nekiáll összeszedni magát. Meg, ha már ott van, esetleg másokat. Ugyanis a ramaty múltra neki sincs monopóliuma. Mert hiába emlékeztet Chiloé picit Stars Hollowra, hiába olyan lassú az életvitel, mint egy Tar Sándor-film, hiába leng be mindent az a jó tengeri levegő – azért ott is vannak feltárandó és meggyógyítandó sebek.
Bizonyos elemekben éreztem hiányosságokat. A szerkezet mintha botladozna: a szöveg tulajdonképpen Maya naplója, amit Chiloében kezd el papírra vetni, és amiben váltogatják egymást a régmúltba tekintések a jelenidejűséggel, de nem érzem, hogy organikus egységet alkotnának. A krimiszál is kissé kiszámítható (bár ezzel együtt üdvösen feldobja a regényt), a vége pedig árnyalatnyit túlhajtott – ám akárhogy is, mindez csak azután jut az ember eszébe, mikor már letette a könyvet. Addig csak élvezi. Úgyhogy nyilván jó anyag.
Amúgy (csak hogy áttekintsük a történetet) arról van itt szó, hogy Maya zűrös szülők gyermekeként szerető chilei nagymamájával él együtt Ámerikában, de megcsúszik a lejtőn, és hipp-hopp, az elkallódás peremvidékén találja magát. Sőt, egészen konkrétan el is kallódik: a Las Vegas-i drogdílerkedés, majd az azt követő totális lecsúszás, a függőség, a prostitúció olyan mélységeket járat meg vele, amiből általában nincs visszaút. Pláne hogy – krimiszál!!! - Maya ennek tetejében egy komoly bűnügyből kifolyólag az FBI célkeresztjébe kerül. Milyen szerencse, hogy Nini, a chilei nagymama van olyan kemény, mint a drogkereskedők és az FBI együtt, úgyhogy unokáját egy nagy machináció keretében ősei földjére transzportálja, mégpedig Chiloéba, ami az eleve félreeső Chilén belül is egy különösen félreeső szigetecske. Itt Maya összebútorozik az öreg Manuellel, aki mogorva, de a szíve arany, és nekiáll összeszedni magát. Meg, ha már ott van, esetleg másokat. Ugyanis a ramaty múltra neki sincs monopóliuma. Mert hiába emlékeztet Chiloé picit Stars Hollowra, hiába olyan lassú az életvitel, mint egy Tar Sándor-film, hiába leng be mindent az a jó tengeri levegő – azért ott is vannak feltárandó és meggyógyítandó sebek.
Bizonyos elemekben éreztem hiányosságokat. A szerkezet mintha botladozna: a szöveg tulajdonképpen Maya naplója, amit Chiloében kezd el papírra vetni, és amiben váltogatják egymást a régmúltba tekintések a jelenidejűséggel, de nem érzem, hogy organikus egységet alkotnának. A krimiszál is kissé kiszámítható (bár ezzel együtt üdvösen feldobja a regényt), a vége pedig árnyalatnyit túlhajtott – ám akárhogy is, mindez csak azután jut az ember eszébe, mikor már letette a könyvet. Addig csak élvezi. Úgyhogy nyilván jó anyag.
September 20, 2021
Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende was a far-reaching and sprawling book speaking to a lot of the issues that the author holds dear, namely her love of her native Chile and intricate family ties and relationships making up the larger tribe, and all told in her signature lyrical descriptions and beautiful prose driven by emotion. Isabel Allende notes that she was so worried about her granddaughter that she decided to write "a book about a smart and good-hearted but emotionally disturbed young girl called Maya, who loses the structure that her beloved grandfather provided and starts getting in trouble, first at school, then with the wrong friends, and eventually in the streets." Her thinking was such that if she wrote it all down, it would spare her granddaughter from having to experience such upheaval.
This is essentially the story of Maya Vidal, now twenty years old and basically in hiding on the beautiful island of Chiloe, part of the lakes region of Chile, the ancestral home of her grandmother Nidia Vidal. She has been sent to the home of Manuel Arias, a dear old friend of her grandmother's, to recover from her drug-clouded past. It is through her interactions with Manuel and the other inhabitants of the island, as well as entries into her notebook, that we begin to slowly piece together the life of Maya Vidal. And the beautiful country of Chile becomes an integral part of this book as well as cited in the following passage by Maya Vidal:
This is essentially the story of Maya Vidal, now twenty years old and basically in hiding on the beautiful island of Chiloe, part of the lakes region of Chile, the ancestral home of her grandmother Nidia Vidal. She has been sent to the home of Manuel Arias, a dear old friend of her grandmother's, to recover from her drug-clouded past. It is through her interactions with Manuel and the other inhabitants of the island, as well as entries into her notebook, that we begin to slowly piece together the life of Maya Vidal. And the beautiful country of Chile becomes an integral part of this book as well as cited in the following passage by Maya Vidal:
"I knew Chile through her before ever setting foot here. She told me about steep snow-capped mountains, dormant volcanoes that sometimes wake up with an apocraphal shudder, the long Pacific coast with its choppy waves and foamy collar, the desert in the north, dry like the moon, which very occasionally flowers into a Monet painting, the cold forests, clear lakes, bountiful rivers, and blue glaciers."
December 7, 2012
Spanish/English: Disclaimer: I was born in Chile, lived through the dictatorship with a very different experience and have been to the Island of Chiloe which is as beautiful and mysterious as Allende describes. Naci en Chile, vivi ahi antes y despues de la dictadura con una experiencia muy diferente a la descrita en el libro; he viajado a la Isla de Chiloe la cual es tan linda y misteriosa como Allende lo describe.
Quiero partir por decir que Isabel Allende es una de mis autores favoritas, y este libro me gusto. Una vez mas me perdi en las frases y la manipulacion del lenguaje espanol ademas de la trama que Allende maneja con tanta destreza.
Maya es una chica criada por su abuela Nini y su abuelo postizo Popo en Berkeley en California. Cuando muere su Popo, su mundo se derrumbe, se mete con un grupo de chicas poco deseables y termina deambulando, su vida casi destrozada y escondida en una isla de Chiloe. Escribe sus pensamientos en un cuaderno, no es un diario de vida, solamente un cuaderno en que paso a paso nos va describiendo como llego a vivir en la isla, con unos personajes querendones y grunones, y como esta recobrando las hilachas en que quedo su vida.
Es un libro de encuentros con uno mismo, cuando llega la hora de decidir que es uno mismo solamente quien tiene las riendas de la felicidad y que no puede seguir culpando a los demas o a las injusticias de la vida por su infelicidad.
Allende describe graficamente los pormenores de la decadencia de Maya, pero no cae en lo pesado ya que va turnando con unas descripciones esquisitas de la isla de Chiloe, las curiosas costumbres de sus habitantes y el amor que se encuentra ahi.
Donde tengo mi objecion con el libro, es que Allende una vez mas introduce los hechos ocurridos durante y despues del golpe de estado que destituyo al Presidente Allende y puso a cargo del pais una dictadura militar. Esto lo describe solamente desde un punto de vista, algo angosto - sin detallar el estado del pais, economicamente, socialmente, civicamente que llevo al golpe militar. Los hechos que ocurrieron despues son inexcusables - no hay lugar a duda - pero no se debiera trivializar el porque se llego a ese punto en el pais - ni tampoco el punto de vista de millones de chilenos que simpatizan hasta el dia de hoy con Pinochet y los cambios que logro.
Now in English - and this is not a word for word translation of the above.
Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors and I very much enjoyed this book. Once again I got lost in her use of Chilense, of the Castillean language used by Chileans which she totally dominates. It was refreshing to read this in Spanish after reading so many of her books in English (and I've never liked the woman she uses for her translations).
Maya is a young girl brought up by her Chilean grandmother Nini and her adopted grandfather Popo in Berkeley, California. When Popo dies, Maya's world comes undone, she hangs out with a group of undesirable firlfriends and winds up with no path, practically destroys her life and is sent to the remote island of Chiloe in Chile to hide out with a bunch of people she's never seen before. She writes down her thoughts and her life in a notebook, not a diary, and step by step takes us back to what brought her to the island, and describes the colorful characters living there, some who are affectionate and caring while others are quite cranky and grouchy; through the patience of the islanders and the introspection of her writing, she begins to sort out her life and put it back together.
It's a book about finding yourself at a time when you need to figure out that you are the only one responsible for your own happiness, that you can't continue to blame others, back luck or life's unfairness for your own unhappiness.
Allende uses graphic descriptions and doesn't mince words when it came to Maya's fate and her fall into hell, yet the book is not heavy because of her technique of mixing in the exquisite descriptions of the lush island of Chiloe, the curious customs of its inhabitants and the unconditional love she finds there.
What I do find objectionable with this book is that Allende once again embeds a second story into the book by introducing Chile's military coup of 1973 which dissolved President Allende's government and installed a military dictatorship headed by General Augusto Pinochet. My issue is that she describes this from one, and only one point of view, and it's unfortunately a very narrow viewpoint. She does not detail the occurrences that led up to the takeover, the state of the country, the economy in shambles, the scarcity of food, our social, economic and civil disastrous experiment causing a total and complete meltdown for the country. What happened after the coup bears no excuse, it is inexcusable without a doubt. But when writing something like this I find it trivialized to present one side of the story without some explanation as to why millions of Chileans had a different experience and what exactly led us to that point.
Quiero partir por decir que Isabel Allende es una de mis autores favoritas, y este libro me gusto. Una vez mas me perdi en las frases y la manipulacion del lenguaje espanol ademas de la trama que Allende maneja con tanta destreza.
Maya es una chica criada por su abuela Nini y su abuelo postizo Popo en Berkeley en California. Cuando muere su Popo, su mundo se derrumbe, se mete con un grupo de chicas poco deseables y termina deambulando, su vida casi destrozada y escondida en una isla de Chiloe. Escribe sus pensamientos en un cuaderno, no es un diario de vida, solamente un cuaderno en que paso a paso nos va describiendo como llego a vivir en la isla, con unos personajes querendones y grunones, y como esta recobrando las hilachas en que quedo su vida.
Es un libro de encuentros con uno mismo, cuando llega la hora de decidir que es uno mismo solamente quien tiene las riendas de la felicidad y que no puede seguir culpando a los demas o a las injusticias de la vida por su infelicidad.
Allende describe graficamente los pormenores de la decadencia de Maya, pero no cae en lo pesado ya que va turnando con unas descripciones esquisitas de la isla de Chiloe, las curiosas costumbres de sus habitantes y el amor que se encuentra ahi.
Donde tengo mi objecion con el libro, es que Allende una vez mas introduce los hechos ocurridos durante y despues del golpe de estado que destituyo al Presidente Allende y puso a cargo del pais una dictadura militar. Esto lo describe solamente desde un punto de vista, algo angosto - sin detallar el estado del pais, economicamente, socialmente, civicamente que llevo al golpe militar. Los hechos que ocurrieron despues son inexcusables - no hay lugar a duda - pero no se debiera trivializar el porque se llego a ese punto en el pais - ni tampoco el punto de vista de millones de chilenos que simpatizan hasta el dia de hoy con Pinochet y los cambios que logro.
Now in English - and this is not a word for word translation of the above.
Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors and I very much enjoyed this book. Once again I got lost in her use of Chilense, of the Castillean language used by Chileans which she totally dominates. It was refreshing to read this in Spanish after reading so many of her books in English (and I've never liked the woman she uses for her translations).
Maya is a young girl brought up by her Chilean grandmother Nini and her adopted grandfather Popo in Berkeley, California. When Popo dies, Maya's world comes undone, she hangs out with a group of undesirable firlfriends and winds up with no path, practically destroys her life and is sent to the remote island of Chiloe in Chile to hide out with a bunch of people she's never seen before. She writes down her thoughts and her life in a notebook, not a diary, and step by step takes us back to what brought her to the island, and describes the colorful characters living there, some who are affectionate and caring while others are quite cranky and grouchy; through the patience of the islanders and the introspection of her writing, she begins to sort out her life and put it back together.
It's a book about finding yourself at a time when you need to figure out that you are the only one responsible for your own happiness, that you can't continue to blame others, back luck or life's unfairness for your own unhappiness.
Allende uses graphic descriptions and doesn't mince words when it came to Maya's fate and her fall into hell, yet the book is not heavy because of her technique of mixing in the exquisite descriptions of the lush island of Chiloe, the curious customs of its inhabitants and the unconditional love she finds there.
What I do find objectionable with this book is that Allende once again embeds a second story into the book by introducing Chile's military coup of 1973 which dissolved President Allende's government and installed a military dictatorship headed by General Augusto Pinochet. My issue is that she describes this from one, and only one point of view, and it's unfortunately a very narrow viewpoint. She does not detail the occurrences that led up to the takeover, the state of the country, the economy in shambles, the scarcity of food, our social, economic and civil disastrous experiment causing a total and complete meltdown for the country. What happened after the coup bears no excuse, it is inexcusable without a doubt. But when writing something like this I find it trivialized to present one side of the story without some explanation as to why millions of Chileans had a different experience and what exactly led us to that point.
May 18, 2013
Write it Out
“Maya’s Notebook” is about a troubled, exploited teenager. I almost added mindlessly rebellious to this list but I think that’s almost inherent in the definition of ‘teenager’. You would think that this type of story would be horribly depressing and it is but there’s also joy in the form of her family who never gives up on Maya. Her childhood hasn’t been perfect however. No matter how much love and protection her grandparents give her it doesn’t make up for her parents’ abandonment. She decides to teach them a lesson and goes walkabout where she meets with evil. Some of these folks use her for a quick fix others are in it for the long haul. Either way it ain’t pretty.
Finally she’s able to step away from her addictions and turn back to family. She goes to her grandmother’s native Chile. On arrival she finds herself on a sparsely populated yet almost idyllic island where she almost immediately accepts and is accepted by the natives. She learns a new way of being. She continues to struggle with her addictions as her soul and body slowly knit back together. Because this is Allende you know you’re going to get heavy dollops of both magical realism and South American politics but she manages to weave them seamlessly into Maya’s sad/happy story.
This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher.
(Disclaimer included as required by the FTC.)
“Maya’s Notebook” is about a troubled, exploited teenager. I almost added mindlessly rebellious to this list but I think that’s almost inherent in the definition of ‘teenager’. You would think that this type of story would be horribly depressing and it is but there’s also joy in the form of her family who never gives up on Maya. Her childhood hasn’t been perfect however. No matter how much love and protection her grandparents give her it doesn’t make up for her parents’ abandonment. She decides to teach them a lesson and goes walkabout where she meets with evil. Some of these folks use her for a quick fix others are in it for the long haul. Either way it ain’t pretty.
Finally she’s able to step away from her addictions and turn back to family. She goes to her grandmother’s native Chile. On arrival she finds herself on a sparsely populated yet almost idyllic island where she almost immediately accepts and is accepted by the natives. She learns a new way of being. She continues to struggle with her addictions as her soul and body slowly knit back together. Because this is Allende you know you’re going to get heavy dollops of both magical realism and South American politics but she manages to weave them seamlessly into Maya’s sad/happy story.
This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher.
(Disclaimer included as required by the FTC.)
May 20, 2013
Wow, so this was my first experience with Isabel Allende and it was not what I was expecting at all. I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, just that it wasn't this. Also, just fyi, let's just put a big ol' trigger warning all over this book for pretty much every trigger ever.
Why Did I Read This Book?
I'd run out of audiobooks for review and selecting them on my own takes forever, and this showed up in a newsletter. I've been curious about Allende for a while, thus why I own several of her books (*side-eyes*), and this seemed as good a place to start as any. Plus, I've discovered that I generally love books about dark subject matter and this did sure sound dark.
What's the Story Here?
Nineteen year old Maya Nidal has been sent by her grandma to a small Chilean island to escape some tragic past and possibly pursuers. The story follows two timelines, Maya's past and her present, until the past catches up to where the book started. What unravels is a tale of how Maya made pretty much every wrong decision it was possible to make. Seriously, she does drugs, is an alcoholic, gets raped (this isn't a decision, but getting into a truck with a sketchy trucker after escaping from rehab may not have been the wisest course), joins the underworld and sells drugs so she can earn drugs, pisses off people in the underworld, and then, living on the street, prostitutes herself to obtain money for drugs. The point of the book is that the Chilean island, the name of which I don't know how to spell because audio, opens her up and lets her live again.
What Did I Think Was Missing?
Maya's emotional arc didn't really work for me. We're spared most of her struggle of recovery from addiction. There's some mention of it, but not enough. Recovering from addictions to crack and alcohol is a painful process and she doesn't seem to suffer all that much. In Chile, people regularly drink in front of her and it seems hardly to tempt her, though she does know better than to drink anything herself. From what I've heard, most alcoholics can't handle that. Seeing that she will be dealing with those unhealthy urges forever would have been a more powerful statement, I think. She just seemed to get over it all way too easily.
How are the Characters?
Mostly, they're all terrible people. The rest, like Maya, her grandmother, and Manuel, who Maya stays with in Chile, are on the border between likable and unlikable. I will say that Allende does give them all distinct personalities and they do feel like real people, so points for characterization. However, they're just not people I particularly want to get to know. This was sort of like listening to a radio drama of some super dark soap opera or something. On the one hand, you can't stop listening because you want to know what happens next, but it was also melodramatic like whoa.
And the Romance?
Lol, okay, so this part I did like. Maya's this girl who's been through pretty much everything life has to offer. She's seen and done a lot. Anyway, this guy, Daniel, comes to the island and she sees him and hearts pop out of her eyes like in an anime. The moment she sees him she's like "this is the man I'm going to marry," because her feelings on seeing him reminded of the story of how her grandma met her beloved grandpa. She instaloves all over Daniel, which would be irritating, except that it totally pans out like most actual teen instalove would: a big, huge, awkward dumping. After it happens, Maya's all "this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me," and I was all "trololol." This was basically the comic relief of the piece.
How was the Narration?
Maria Cabezas definitely makes a convincing Maya. She reads with just the slightest accent, like her time in Chile has rubbed off on her. Her voice conveys both Maya's gruffness and youth, and she was just really well-suited to the character. I'm glad I tried this on audio, because I would have DNFed the print really quickly.
Why Did I Read This Book?
I'd run out of audiobooks for review and selecting them on my own takes forever, and this showed up in a newsletter. I've been curious about Allende for a while, thus why I own several of her books (*side-eyes*), and this seemed as good a place to start as any. Plus, I've discovered that I generally love books about dark subject matter and this did sure sound dark.
What's the Story Here?
Nineteen year old Maya Nidal has been sent by her grandma to a small Chilean island to escape some tragic past and possibly pursuers. The story follows two timelines, Maya's past and her present, until the past catches up to where the book started. What unravels is a tale of how Maya made pretty much every wrong decision it was possible to make. Seriously, she does drugs, is an alcoholic, gets raped (this isn't a decision, but getting into a truck with a sketchy trucker after escaping from rehab may not have been the wisest course), joins the underworld and sells drugs so she can earn drugs, pisses off people in the underworld, and then, living on the street, prostitutes herself to obtain money for drugs. The point of the book is that the Chilean island, the name of which I don't know how to spell because audio, opens her up and lets her live again.
What Did I Think Was Missing?
Maya's emotional arc didn't really work for me. We're spared most of her struggle of recovery from addiction. There's some mention of it, but not enough. Recovering from addictions to crack and alcohol is a painful process and she doesn't seem to suffer all that much. In Chile, people regularly drink in front of her and it seems hardly to tempt her, though she does know better than to drink anything herself. From what I've heard, most alcoholics can't handle that. Seeing that she will be dealing with those unhealthy urges forever would have been a more powerful statement, I think. She just seemed to get over it all way too easily.
How are the Characters?
Mostly, they're all terrible people. The rest, like Maya, her grandmother, and Manuel, who Maya stays with in Chile, are on the border between likable and unlikable. I will say that Allende does give them all distinct personalities and they do feel like real people, so points for characterization. However, they're just not people I particularly want to get to know. This was sort of like listening to a radio drama of some super dark soap opera or something. On the one hand, you can't stop listening because you want to know what happens next, but it was also melodramatic like whoa.
And the Romance?
Lol, okay, so this part I did like. Maya's this girl who's been through pretty much everything life has to offer. She's seen and done a lot. Anyway, this guy, Daniel, comes to the island and she sees him and hearts pop out of her eyes like in an anime. The moment she sees him she's like "this is the man I'm going to marry," because her feelings on seeing him reminded of the story of how her grandma met her beloved grandpa. She instaloves all over Daniel, which would be irritating, except that it totally pans out like most actual teen instalove would: a big, huge, awkward dumping. After it happens, Maya's all "this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me," and I was all "trololol." This was basically the comic relief of the piece.
How was the Narration?
Maria Cabezas definitely makes a convincing Maya. She reads with just the slightest accent, like her time in Chile has rubbed off on her. Her voice conveys both Maya's gruffness and youth, and she was just really well-suited to the character. I'm glad I tried this on audio, because I would have DNFed the print really quickly.
May 4, 2014
حتى قلم الساحرة إيزابيل الليندي بأسلوبها الخلاب ، أسلوب الحكواتي المزمن ، لا يمكنه استخراج الروعة والدهشة من دفترك يا مايا بيدال !..
حين جادلتني صديقة حول إعجابي بالليندي و رغم عدم تعدد قرائاتي لها إلا إنني لم أندم على خوض إي تجربة قراءة معها حتى الآن لأنها( الحاوي ) بالنسبة لي فهي تفتح مجال في الحياة من العدم ، حين تنعدم أمام شخوصها الفرص توجدها بشكل طبيعي ( ب طقطقة إصبع الساحرة ) و بسرعة البرق بهذر الجدات الدافئ من وحي اللحظة تأتيك بدراميتها العالية بأروع أساليب الواقعية السحرية التي تتركك مُشبعًا بالأحداث الأساسية الحيوية و كورال من المستجدات الثانوية لا قِبل لعقلك بتصديقها و تقييم منطقية تشابكها .
دفتر مايا بيدال هو قدرها ، هو اختزال عالمها الغامض الذي يعجّ بنزاوتها و شغفها و تجاربها المختلفة وتحولاتها ، أي دفتر يودّ إفشاء أسراره كدفتر المراهقة و رغم ذلك لا تتوقع الكثير من دفتر مايا ! لا تتوقع إلا التجاوزات و الصيبيانية و الرغبة المستميتة في التعبير عن الذات ، كل التجارب التي تمر بها المراهقة حتى تنضج و تتجه نحو هدوئها بثبات و جوهر خصومتها مع الطفولة و اختراقها لعالم البلوغ ، مايا وليدة نزوة عابرة تجد نفسها في كنف جدتها نيني ذات الشخصية القوية و الاستقلالية بعد تخلي والديها عنها كلٌّ بطريقته ، تتربى على مبادئ جدتها نيني و زوجها بوبو الذي يحتل مكان الجد بهيبة عالية في فِكر مايا و فقده هو أول مزعزع لأمانها ، بعد الجد بوبو ستأتي كومة الخيارات الكارثية التي تجعل حياة مايا وحل لا متناهي ، مغامرات جنسية و مخدرات و كحول و دعارة و اغتصاب و معاملات مشبوهة مع عصابات ومافيا حتى تصبح هدف ينبغي الإطاحة برأسه مما يدفع جدتها بإرسالها لصديقها القديم مانويل المنفي السياسي في جزيرة تشيلوي إحدى جزر الأرخبيل في ساحل منطقة لاس ساغوس في وطنهم الأصلي تشيلي الذي فارقته الجدة مع والد مايا آندي بيدال بعد أحداث الإطاحة بسلفادور اللليندي ، بالإظافة للبعد السياسي وتأثيره على معاصريّ تلك الحقبة هنالك جولة سياحية مجانية تتزعمها الليندي لتقودك لجزيرة تشيلوي النائية والهادئة ذات العدد القليل من السكان الذين و لحسن حظ القارئ لا زالوا يحتفظون بالنكهة التشيلية في التعاطي مع الحياة بخرافاتها وأساطيرها و برودة طبعها ، تدرك أنه في وقت ما من الماضي موت تشيلي كوطن في قلب الليندي و شخوصها يورثهم خسارة تجعلهم يتداركون الوقت لتحويلها لربح ، ذلك الوطن الذي لا تتحرج الليندي من إستحضار ماضيه السياسي في لوحات رواياتها بعناصره التي دومًا ما تحضر و بإلحاح في وعي شخوصها ضمن سياق جرئ ومعاصر و حاذق .
إيزابيل قلم سيفكك الإنسان بنواياه المضمرة أمامك مباشرة في داخل تلك الفتاة التشيلية .. بنزاهة فكرية إعتدتها منها .
September 6, 2019
مراجعة وتقييم 📖
معلومات_أولية_عن_الكتاب ❓
1. عنوان الكتاب : دفتر مايا
2. نوع الكتاب : رواية
3. عدد الصفحات :415 صفحة
4. المؤلف : إيزابيل الليندي
5. دار النشر : دال للنشر والتوزيع
6.نوع القراءة : ورقي
7.ترجمة : صالح علماني
8. مكان الشراء : جملون
.
.
الملخص:
.
تأخذنا إيزابيل في هذه الرواية مع فتاة تدعى (مايا) وهي مراهقة تخلت عنها والدتها عندما كانت طفلة صغيرة أثناء سفر والدها الطيار في أحدى رحلاته وتركتها في رعاية جديها وهاجرت البلاد!!
.
عندما تبلغ مايا التاسعة من عمرها تفقد جدها فـ تتأثر بذلك كثيراً ويتغير سلوكها للأسوء ولا تستطيع جدتها التي أصبحت تمضي وقتاً طويلا في العمل بأحدى المكتبات بـ قادرة على ردعها وتقويم سلوكها مما جعلها تنخرط مع شلة مشاكسة ( سارة ، وديبي، ريك) وتُقدم على مغامرات صبيانية خطرة تؤدي إلى إعتقالها لاحقا ويكون العقاب الذي تناله هو قضاء فترة في أكاديمية أوريغون الإصلاحية.
.
تستغل (مايا) الفرصة السانحة وتهرب من الأكاديمية فتقع في سلسة من المغامرات وتواجه أخطار عديدة لم تكن في الحسبان ولم تتوقعها ابداً !! فما الذي حدث لها وما الصعاب التي واجهتها وكيف تأثرت بها؟! وهل نجحت في إجتيازها؟!
.
شخصيات عديدة سنتعرف عليها بالرواية ( براندون ليمان، فريدي، آرانا، أولمبيا، دانييل، مانويل) فمن هم هؤلاء وكيف التقت مايا بهم؟! .
كل تلك الأسئلة ستجد إجابتها بين صفحات الرواية.
.
.
#دفتر_مايا #إيزابيل_الليندي #دال_للنشر_والتوزيع #صالح_علماني #جملون .
التقييم العام:
.
في رأئي :
الترجمة : لا غبار عليها فهي ترجمة الرائع المتميز صالح علماني .
الفكرة : جيدة ولها هدف إرشادي وتوعوي تحديداً للمراهقين وخطورة الإدمان.
.
أسلوب الكتابة : أعتمدت المؤلفة أسلوب (الفلاش باك) في السرد حيث نرى في بداية الرواية جزء مبتور من الماضي لا نعلم عنه أي شيء سوى أن هناك جدة توصل حفيدتها لمنطقة بعيدة لتختبىء فيها عن الأنظار وتعطيها صورة لجدها الراحل الذي أحبها وأحبته ودفتر لتقوم بكتابة مذكراتها فيه !! ومن خلال هذا الدفتر نرى نحن أيضاً الماضي والحاضر الذي يخص مايا ونفهم القصة والأحداث.
.
كانت مرحلة أكتشاف الجزء الذي ربط أحداث الحاضر بالماضي هو أفضل جزء بالرواية وأكثرها تشويق بالنسبة لي على عكس الربع الأخير منها.
. لذا أمنح الرواية 3/5
.
.
سؤال للقراء: هل قرأت هذا العمل للمؤلف؟! هل قرأت عملاً آخراً له ؟! ما هو وما انطباعك ؟!؟!
.
.
#ملاحظة :
الكتاب متوفر الكترونياً لعشاق القراءة إلكترونياً 📲
الكتاب لا يناسب من هم دون الـ 🔞 .
لمشاهدة الاقتباسات 👇🏻
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2EAcklhX...
معلومات_أولية_عن_الكتاب ❓
1. عنوان الكتاب : دفتر مايا
2. نوع الكتاب : رواية
3. عدد الصفحات :415 صفحة
4. المؤلف : إيزابيل الليندي
5. دار النشر : دال للنشر والتوزيع
6.نوع القراءة : ورقي
7.ترجمة : صالح علماني
8. مكان الشراء : جملون
.
.
الملخص:
.
تأخذنا إيزابيل في هذه الرواية مع فتاة تدعى (مايا) وهي مراهقة تخلت عنها والدتها عندما كانت طفلة صغيرة أثناء سفر والدها الطيار في أحدى رحلاته وتركتها في رعاية جديها وهاجرت البلاد!!
.
عندما تبلغ مايا التاسعة من عمرها تفقد جدها فـ تتأثر بذلك كثيراً ويتغير سلوكها للأسوء ولا تستطيع جدتها التي أصبحت تمضي وقتاً طويلا في العمل بأحدى المكتبات بـ قادرة على ردعها وتقويم سلوكها مما جعلها تنخرط مع شلة مشاكسة ( سارة ، وديبي، ريك) وتُقدم على مغامرات صبيانية خطرة تؤدي إلى إعتقالها لاحقا ويكون العقاب الذي تناله هو قضاء فترة في أكاديمية أوريغون الإصلاحية.
.
تستغل (مايا) الفرصة السانحة وتهرب من الأكاديمية فتقع في سلسة من المغامرات وتواجه أخطار عديدة لم تكن في الحسبان ولم تتوقعها ابداً !! فما الذي حدث لها وما الصعاب التي واجهتها وكيف تأثرت بها؟! وهل نجحت في إجتيازها؟!
.
شخصيات عديدة سنتعرف عليها بالرواية ( براندون ليمان، فريدي، آرانا، أولمبيا، دانييل، مانويل) فمن هم هؤلاء وكيف التقت مايا بهم؟! .
كل تلك الأسئلة ستجد إجابتها بين صفحات الرواية.
.
.
#دفتر_مايا #إيزابيل_الليندي #دال_للنشر_والتوزيع #صالح_علماني #جملون .
التقييم العام:
.
في رأئي :
الترجمة : لا غبار عليها فهي ترجمة الرائع المتميز صالح علماني .
الفكرة : جيدة ولها هدف إرشادي وتوعوي تحديداً للمراهقين وخطورة الإدمان.
.
أسلوب الكتابة : أعتمدت المؤلفة أسلوب (الفلاش باك) في السرد حيث نرى في بداية الرواية جزء مبتور من الماضي لا نعلم عنه أي شيء سوى أن هناك جدة توصل حفيدتها لمنطقة بعيدة لتختبىء فيها عن الأنظار وتعطيها صورة لجدها الراحل الذي أحبها وأحبته ودفتر لتقوم بكتابة مذكراتها فيه !! ومن خلال هذا الدفتر نرى نحن أيضاً الماضي والحاضر الذي يخص مايا ونفهم القصة والأحداث.
.
كانت مرحلة أكتشاف الجزء الذي ربط أحداث الحاضر بالماضي هو أفضل جزء بالرواية وأكثرها تشويق بالنسبة لي على عكس الربع الأخير منها.
. لذا أمنح الرواية 3/5
.
.
سؤال للقراء: هل قرأت هذا العمل للمؤلف؟! هل قرأت عملاً آخراً له ؟! ما هو وما انطباعك ؟!؟!
.
.
#ملاحظة :
الكتاب متوفر الكترونياً لعشاق القراءة إلكترونياً 📲
الكتاب لا يناسب من هم دون الـ 🔞 .
لمشاهدة الاقتباسات 👇🏻
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2EAcklhX...
June 1, 2013
As anyone can see from my bookshelves, I’m a big fan of Allende and Latino novelists in general. This book of hers, however, just didn’t quite work for me.
Allende created two stories, really. The present tense one takes place on a remote island off Chile where Maya, a 19 year old, is hiding from gangsters and the law and learning to appreciate her grandmother’s Chilean culture. The past tense story drags us through a ghastly, drug-infested period of her life that caused her to be sent to live on the island with a kindly ethnologist and former lover of her long-suffering but cantankerous grandmother.
I like novels with lots of threads woven together but here, Allende gets tangled up in them. And when she does, she writes long sections of explication trying to find her way back out. Because she chose to write in the first person and in diary form, the horrors in Chile under Pinochet lack emotional punch because we are told about the torture of two characters years after the fact and when we readers already know who survived and who didn’t. Another side trip is briefly taken into the life of Maya’s mother who abandoned her when she was a child. So little is offered to explain this woman’s behavior and how she ended up in Scandinavia with two children that meeting her seems as pointless to the reader as it does to Maya.
Also, the transitions in the book seemed too fast, too easy. Maya, a happy grandchild in a lively Berkley household, quickly descends into being a derelict druggie after her grandfather dies. In quick order, she moves from drug use, to a brief time in a cartoonishly incompetent rehab center, to escape, rape, street life and prostitution. Though the grittiness of these sections seems authentic (Allende has said that she has stepchildren with these problems), the exit from that life is too easy. No AIDs, no painful drug withdrawal, no consequent problems with sexuality when a cool young backpacker shows up on the island. Maya’s unconditional acceptance of island culture is a bit of a stretch, too, even for a kid raised in Berkeley.
Enough. Allende writes beautifully most of the time. Occasionally, like all authors, she writes something just barely OK. This is one of those times.
I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you or order Maya’s Notebook (if you still want to after this review!) on IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org
Allende created two stories, really. The present tense one takes place on a remote island off Chile where Maya, a 19 year old, is hiding from gangsters and the law and learning to appreciate her grandmother’s Chilean culture. The past tense story drags us through a ghastly, drug-infested period of her life that caused her to be sent to live on the island with a kindly ethnologist and former lover of her long-suffering but cantankerous grandmother.
I like novels with lots of threads woven together but here, Allende gets tangled up in them. And when she does, she writes long sections of explication trying to find her way back out. Because she chose to write in the first person and in diary form, the horrors in Chile under Pinochet lack emotional punch because we are told about the torture of two characters years after the fact and when we readers already know who survived and who didn’t. Another side trip is briefly taken into the life of Maya’s mother who abandoned her when she was a child. So little is offered to explain this woman’s behavior and how she ended up in Scandinavia with two children that meeting her seems as pointless to the reader as it does to Maya.
Also, the transitions in the book seemed too fast, too easy. Maya, a happy grandchild in a lively Berkley household, quickly descends into being a derelict druggie after her grandfather dies. In quick order, she moves from drug use, to a brief time in a cartoonishly incompetent rehab center, to escape, rape, street life and prostitution. Though the grittiness of these sections seems authentic (Allende has said that she has stepchildren with these problems), the exit from that life is too easy. No AIDs, no painful drug withdrawal, no consequent problems with sexuality when a cool young backpacker shows up on the island. Maya’s unconditional acceptance of island culture is a bit of a stretch, too, even for a kid raised in Berkeley.
Enough. Allende writes beautifully most of the time. Occasionally, like all authors, she writes something just barely OK. This is one of those times.
I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you or order Maya’s Notebook (if you still want to after this review!) on IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org
February 16, 2017
Maya Vidal may only be 20 years old, but she has been through a lot in that short time. Sent to live in a remote village in Chile after battling great challenges in her life, Maya uses her notebook to write about and learn from those challenges. The mistakes from her past will help her to hopefully lead a more productive and promising future.
Told from Maya's point of view, we are transported all over the world. Most of the book takes place in Chiloe, Chile, but you will also spend time in Berkeley, California, in Oregon, in Las Vegas and other countries throughout the world. Taken back and forth in time from Maya's present to the events of her past that brought her to Chile in the first place. This book is full of strong family ties that help Maya to keep her head on somewhat straight.
Overall this was a great story, but it took way too long to read. Full of great details it makes you feel as though you are in the setting of the book.
Favorite quote from the book: "...there's no fuel for the bonfires of despair."
Told from Maya's point of view, we are transported all over the world. Most of the book takes place in Chiloe, Chile, but you will also spend time in Berkeley, California, in Oregon, in Las Vegas and other countries throughout the world. Taken back and forth in time from Maya's present to the events of her past that brought her to Chile in the first place. This book is full of strong family ties that help Maya to keep her head on somewhat straight.
Overall this was a great story, but it took way too long to read. Full of great details it makes you feel as though you are in the setting of the book.
Favorite quote from the book: "...there's no fuel for the bonfires of despair."
November 6, 2014
Gorgeous. Haunting. Sad. Happy. Mesmorizing. I'm so happy I found this hidden gem.
September 27, 2018
عودة القراءة للفاتنة التشيلية ❤
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