Author Isabel Allende challenges anti-immigrant rhetoric, book bans and going 'backward' on women's rights
Bestselling author Isabel Allende spoke about the current "anti-immigrant" sentiment, book bans, women's rights, Latin America and what is left for her to write, in a wide-ranging interview with Noticias Telemundo.
Isabel Allende likes to start the day very early. She says that in the early dawn her senses awaken and she organizes her thoughts to write about the imaginary worlds that she, for more than 40 years, has created for millions of readers around the world.
“Before, I could write for 10 hours straight and, when I got up from my chair, all my bones hurt, even my teeth hurt. Now I can’t do that,” said Allende, laughing and speaking in her native Spanish with Noticias Telemundo from her home in California.
At 81, Allende says that she has seen it all in a life marked by challenges, exiles, creative bets and a wildly successful career: A winner of multiple literature awards, Allende is widely considered one of the most read Latin American authors in the world, with over 70 million books sold.
From her first novel, "The House of the Spirits," which became an international bestseller, to memoirs like "Paula" (about her daughter's illness and death), Allende's stories revolve around recurring themes such as love, violence, justice, redemption and friendship.
“There are certain things that move me a lot. Solidarity, those people who are capable of sacrificing everything to help another. That moves me tremendously and appears in many of my books,” she explained.
Rating: 5