Portrait in Sepia

A Novel

By: Isabel Allende

Narrated by: Isabel Allende, Blair Brown

""Portrait in Sepia is the best book Allende has published in the United States since her first novel of nearly two decades ago, The House of the Spirits.”
—Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

“Portrait in Sepia tightens the weave of a multigenerational fantasy as complete and inspiring as the real world it parallels … Allende’s enchanting historical universe keeps expanding and Portrait in Sepia is a new galactic jewel.”
—Chicago Tribune

A sequel to Daughter of Fortune, New York Times bestselling author, Isabel Allende, continues her magic with this spellbinding family saga set against war and economic hardship.

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.

Fantastical

I was immersed visually and emotionally with the story, the places and all the characters.

The story and prose.

The woman’s voice. The beauty of the land and story. I really enjoyed the book. Recommend the book.

Excelle t performance of a seminal work

Voicing was impeccable. It made listening co pletely seamless, with each character inhibiting their own universe.

Sprawling tale

Loved descriptions of time, place and people-also got lost at times in the details and multiple characters of different places and generations. Fully enjoyed the telling though.

The Characters themselves- no one seems tossed in to fill a space.

I like the way that in the mist of the stories Isabel Allende tells, she includes bits of historical context. Giving a deeper perspective to the mix.