Invented Country Memoir: Spanish Edition

"A book full of love and humor that, through evocation, reconstructs the life, the yearned-for happiness, and the most beloved spaces of Isabel Allende." - "A book that captures my full attention by exposing the author's relationship with that country of hers, invented, imaginary, fictional, with the history of her family, which in turn is invented memory, with her vocation as a writer." - Jorge Edwards

Love for Chile and a great nostalgia are the origins of this book: the continued presence of the past, the feeling of being absent from the homeland, the awareness of having been a pilgrim and an outsider... all of this is conveyed by Isabel Allende with intelligence and humor. Here, Chile becomes a real and fantastic country at the same time; a stoic and hospitable land, of macho men and strong, earth-bound women. But, above all, it is the setting of her childhood. Evoked with grace, her original family, the grandparents' house, the ceremonial of meals, the stories of infidelity... and the spirits that have always accompanied her, come to life again.

"A stunningly intimate memoir. . . . Allende is that rare writer whose understanding of story matches her mastery of language." - Entertainment Weekly

The revered New York Times bestselling author of House of the Spirits and A Long Petal of the Sea ponders the elements that led to her becoming a writer, including the homeland she lost and the one she found, and the family spirits, both living and dead, who haunt her life and work.

In this wondrous and intimate book, Isabel Allende explores the role of memory and nostalgia in shaping her life, her books, and that most intimate connection to her place of origin. My Invented Country brings her homeland of Chile to life in her unique voice, evoking the magnificent landscapes of her land, the almost mythic people of her family; the tragedy and hope of her people; and the politics, religion, and magic that infuse them all.

My Invented Country orbits two life-changing moments: the 1973 assassination of her uncle Salvador Allende Gossens, which sent her into exile and inspired her literary career; and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on her adopted homeland, the United States. Ping-ponging across distance and time, between past and present lives, it is a monumental tribute to history and the immigrant experience and a wise and personal consideration of what it means to pursue a reflective life in a cacophonous, contradictory world.

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