Portrait in Sepia: A Novel
Ratings9
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings9
Average rating4.2
Aurora del Valle suffers a brutal trauma that erases from her mind all recollection of the first five years of her life. Raised by her ambitious grandmother, the regal and commanding Paulina del Valle, she grows up in a privileged environment, free of the limitations that circumscribe the lives of women at that time, but tormented by horrible nightmares. When she is forced to recognize her betrayal at the hands of the man she loves, and to cope with the resulting solitude, she decides to explore the mystery of her past.
Portrait in Sepia is an extraordinary achievement: richly detailed, epic in scope, intimate in its probing of human character, and thrilling in the way it illuminates the complexity of family ties.
Reviews with the most likes.
Counting this as my Chile book around the world...although I've read many that can count for it.
Really thoroughly enjoyed this one and it was a classic Allende novel where I can get completely swept up in the characters and the setting and settle in.
Quite a ride!
Portrait in Sepia is as enthralling as any American soap opera, with beautiful women and reluctant lovers and mismatched husbands and wives. Portrait in Sepia is more than a great tale with intriguing characters and inventive plot twists, though. It's also a thoughtful look at the blending of cultures and ethnicities and the difficulties and joys the blending brings.
Note: I'd not realized Sepia is a sequel; I wish I'd known this and read Daughter of Fortune first.
I would rate this 3.5 stars because it was a step up from the first book in the trilogy. I appreciate the pacing knowing it's by Isabel Allende. I love the characters this time around compared to the first book.
