The Sum of Our Days by Isabelle Allende

I just read another magical book. I do not expect that my writing about it here will convince anyone to go and immediately read The Sum of Our Days by Isabelle Allende. But this way if you come across it, maybe you will remember that it is a beautiful, nearly-hypnotic story, and will pick it up.

The Sum of Our Days is Allende's second memoir, after Paula, the story of her daughter's life and death from a slow-moving hereditary disease. (I just bought Paula at the used bookstore, before I was even finished with The Sum of Our Days; Paula seems like it could be less uplifting but I'm going to give it a try.) Allende is known for her novels; she wrote The House of the Spirits which was made into a fairly famous movie, and more recently released Zorro, probably her most famous novel yet. I've read Zorro and Allende's Daughter of Fortune but wasn't blown away by either of them. Impressed as I was with this memoir, I hope to someday find Aphrodite, Allende's nonfictional work about humanity's carnal lust for food and sex.

After seeing Isabelle Allende's recent TED Talk I was convinced to give the author a second chance. In her TED talk, Allende is witty, intelligent and engaging; the subjects she spoke passionately about--feminism, creativity, dreams, magic, beauty, passion--are ones that inspire me as well. I connected with her in her brief lecture, and so when I stumbled upon her memoir on the library's new book shelf, I gave it a chance.

She uses the same voice in her nonfiction account of her story and the lives of her "tribe" as she did in the talk. I found her writing to be similarly engaging and hypnotizing, which is especially remarkable to me because Allende, a Chilean immigrant, writes in Spanish. Each of her books has been translated, by the same 80-year-old-woman, into English, and yet somehow her very distinct voice holds true.

Much of Allende's life revolves around her family: immediate, extended, adopted, and honorary. Her tribe comes with a unique mix of drama, in direct proportion, I think, to the passion with which each member lives. They have withstood death and divorce, births and marriages, moves, career changes, infidelity, and changes in sexual preference. Allende tells each story transparently and through the lens of her very distinctive Chilean culture. I think the cultural aspect of the memoir was part of what captivated me. The communal way of life that is so comfortable to Allende and her family is absolutely foreign to me, and so dramatic that her family's intimacy often causes problems even among themselves.

I also was fascinated by Allende's spirituality. An undeniably mystic woman, she dances around the labels "atheist" or "agnostic," and instead consults astrologers and the spirit of her dead daughter or other loved ones. For a woman who denies belief in a traditional god, I was surprised at the depth and intricacy of her spirituality. I think Allende understands her belief system, in all it's disarray and nontraditional ritual, in a way that I hope to someday discover for myself.

Allende is a joy to read. I am starting tomorrow on Paula; for me to read a book about death in the wintertime must mean there is something significant to be found in an author's words. If you run across Allende's novels or memoirs, give her a read.