Paula: A Memoir(front cover image of the item may vary)

I read Isabel Allene’s book, “My Invented Country,” and saw a review of “Paula,” It turned out to be a book that was difficult to put down.It is part history, part autobiographical, and most of all a memoir of her late daughter. It was hard for me to just stop after finishing the book because I felt like I know Isabel Allende. I rarely read fiction but I plan on reading her novels and I look forward to seeing Violeta translated into English. This book is truly the best book I have read in a long time.

This is a fascinating really well researched little book. It tells the story of three periods in the establishment of the State of Israel, beginning with the involvement of the British Lord Wedgwood in the promotion of the Zionist project and continuing with the tale of a ship that bore the British lord's name - the "Wedgwood" as it brought Jewish refugees after the Holocaust to what was then the British Mandate of Palestine, and later as the flagship of the newly created Israeli navy. The book is simply written and easily understandable. It provides a rich and accurate picture of the human effort and suffering involved during those years in bringing large numbers of refugees in overcrowded and poorly equipped ships over the Mediterranean with many interesting quotations and anecdotes that have not been published before.Kerman provides a well-founded critical view of the actions of those responsible for the ship in the different periods of its use, which roused some controversy in present-day Israel. Well worth a read.

An extraordinary book! Perhaps the most memorable memoir ever written! A courageous telling of life, death, love, and experiences. The history of South American history, along with deeply personal experiences told and lived by Isabell Allende.An extremely unique book!

A writer who can make you laugh, smile, and cry in the same chapter is indeed a writer to be cherished. Such is the case with Allende's Paula. As a mother, I suffered with Allende's description of her struggle to keep her comatose daughter alive, yet amid the tragedy she could digress and recall earlier periods of laughter and funny irony. Even in the midst of the anguish of trying to find a way to communicate with her inert daughter, she found comic relief in the drama of the lives of other patients in the hospital. The author provides compelling stories of her early childhood, great loves, and introduces a parade of interesting characters. All these are gently interwoven with a description of historical events and political turmoil in Chile creating a provocative glimpse of an era which I suspect most US readers were probably unaware. A tender and sensitive description of loss, tragedy, and of finding peace, Paula is indeed one of my more revered reads for this year.

This book will make you feel you belong in Isabel's own family. You will laugh, cry, feel joy, and never want the book to end. At least all of this happened to me. I have read various Allende books (she is my favorite author btw) and this might be my favorite book of hers. It's a tough statement to make because all of her books are incredible and so rich with detail and always contain strong and interesting characters; but this particular book was very emotional and felt extremely personal and for that it made me love it even more. Once you read this I strongly urge you to read The Sum Of Our Days. I think the two should be read close together to get the full impact of this time in Isabel's life.

I loved this novel because of the way Isabel Allende used to communicate with her dying daughter. It made me think in the way mothers try to console their kids when they are sick. Most of the time we try to entertain them to keep them away from their pains. She does something similar telling her all her past. Even though Paula cannot hear, she continues talking and talking about their past. Isabel Allende is a great story teller, she transport you in space and in the journey you cannot avoid laughing or crying. I like her as a writer, she opens her heart and invites you to participate in the story. I also admire her because most of her novels are based on true stories and many of them. are personal stories. She is not afraid to be judged or criticized.

Easy and yet powerful reading. I bought two because I know I will end up giving away one (as usual).If you are building your library... buy them used - great quality.

We read this for a book club. I admit I struggled to get through the first 100 pages. It seemed very scatterbrained and jumped around a lot, probably just like how she was feeling while writing it. But it does redeem itself as you get farther along. Her writing is very good and she starts to focus more on events in more length. I have heard her other books are amazing and this one is just a little different being a memoir.

El libro es mi favorito, lo he leído reiteradamente en español, pero quise aventurarme a leerlo en otro idioma. Con respecto a la copia física que recibí, pues se nota que le falta un poco de calidad a la impresión, el detalle más notorio es que vienen algunas páginas mal cortadas y pegadas una a la otra, aunque solo es en los bordes y no impide la lectura, es por eso que le doy esta calificación. Con respecto al contenido, simplemente debo alabar a la escritora, de la cual he leído muchos otros libros. Como recomendación, primero sugeriria leer "La casa de los espíritus" ya que será mucho más agradable leer Paula, y más adelante, si te agrada la historia, podrías buscar "La suma de los días".

A story that had everything to be just plain sad, told in a way that make it as delicate, strong and even poetic as it can be!

I loved every word, she has a brilliant way with words !Will look for other books by Isabel Allende.

Tive que devolver, o livro era escrito em inglês,

Very good condition