Starlight Book Review – Isabel Allende’s In the Midst of Winter

Cover of In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

4/5 I read my first Isabel Allende book between undergraduate and grad school. Allende’s style appealed to me — the great storytelling with the spice of magical realism — to the point in which I continued checking out her books from my local library. In fact, I even read In the Midst of Winter twice now. Originally, I read In the Midst of Winter in 2017, discovering both its relevant story and lighter dashes of magical realism. More recently, I read this Allende work again for my monthly book club.

“New York Times and worldwide bestselling “dazzling storyteller” (Associated Press) Isabel Allende returns with a sweeping novel about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil… In the Midst of Winter begins with a minor traffic accident—which becomes the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story between two people who thought they were deep into the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmaster—a 60-year-old human rights scholar—hits the car of Evelyn Ortega—a young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala—in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn. What at first seems just a small inconvenience takes an unforeseen and far more serious turn when Evelyn turns up at the professor’s house seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant Lucia Maraz—a 62-year-old lecturer from Chile—for her advice. These three very different people are brought together in a mesmerizing story that moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil, sparking the beginning of a long overdue love story between Richard and Lucia.”

I appreciated In the Midst of Winter both times I read it. During that nearly five year gap between my two readings of In the Midst of Winter, I read other stories about plights similar to Evelyn’s. While reading In the Midst of Winter back in 2017, I wondered if Allende was trying her hand at writing a mystery as well as a memoir. Still and all, she worked her enchantment in this book. Evelyn and Lucia won my sympathy early on but I came around to rooting for (shipping even) Lucia and Richard. While well written and clear to read, some of the subject matter greatly troubled me. Readers seeking magical realism might want to give Allende’s earliest works a try. Yet, I recommend at least one reading of In the Midst of Winter to anyone who seeks to understand contemporary critical issues.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies…

Cover of The Four Tendencies… by Gretchen Rubin | Image Source: Goodreads

3.85/5 During my time between Jorie’s Reads and the Starry Night Elf Blog, I read a number of books which resonated with me. I still reflect on these works and marvel at how they shifted the focus on my lens of life. In this and upcoming Starlight Book Reviews (SBR), I endeavor to share with Gnomies some of the books which provided insight and reflection. Enter Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too), a book which caught my eye as a former colleague requested to borrow it from the library! Never fear, though, I also anticipate continuing to share SBR on books I read in 2022.

“In this groundbreaking analysis of personality type, bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you do at home, at work, and in life… During her multibook investigation into understanding human nature, Gretchen Rubin realized that by asking the seemingly dry question “How do I respond to expectations?” we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively…”

After I picked up The Four Tendencies…, I soon understood how I react to expectations — demands placed on me. I also saw how others in my life respond to the same. Rubin provide several examples of each tendency and these greatly illustrated why someone might not react well to an expressed expectation. While some readers continue to criticize The Four Tendencies…, I recommend giving the book a chance… Can you guess what Tendency I possess, Gnomies?

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.