Reader Score
76%
76% of readers
recommend this book
Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 6 reviews on
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht--the night his family loses everything. As her child's safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel's mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.
Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita's mother.
Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers--and never stop dreaming.
"When I learned Isabel Allende's new book… is set in my hometown… I put it on the top of my reading list. Allende's artistry shapes a lyrical romanticism around social political history and global turmoil. I'm eager to find what she discovers in our borderlands."
All things books from The New York Times. You like reading, we do too.
In her new novel, “The Wind Knows My Name,” Isabel Allende introduces characters who narrowly survive real-life events. https://t.co/GWBOrULi4v
"The deliberate cruelty of the bureaucracies that enforce the separations, and the enduring psychic wounds these ruptures inflict on children, are the novel’s foundation and its psychological backbone."
"This beloved author transports us to two dark periods in history: Nazi-overrun Vienna in 1938 and the current dire situation at the border between the United States and Mexico. . . . Both stories are rich enough to carry the weight of one novel, but Allende expertly intertwines them. Employing her signature touch of magical realism, she wraps us in a compassionate story that reminds us 'we could all just as easily find ourselves in similar situations.'"--The Washington Post
"Allende's artistry shapes a lyrical romanticism around social political history and global turmoil . . . [Her dialogue is] current, relevant and real. Our civic discourse is centered by a multitude of voices talking about two things--immigration and identity--who belongs and who doesn't, and how to care for the dispossessed. In Allende's version healing is possible, because empathy is a hopeful, albeit inconsistent, follower of migration."--NPR
"[Allende is] the queen of magic realism."--BBC
"It feels something like a modern version of The Secret Garden lost, grieving people finding joy and hope with each other, with a touch of magic. Beautiful and moving . . . draws parallels between humanitarian crises in different times and places in a way that feels deeply personal."--Book Riot
"The Wind Knows My Name is a treat for fans of Kristin Hannah, Christina Baker Kline, and Julia Alvarez, all authors who understand that history always affects current events."--Virtuoso, The Magazine
"Allende is always a must read and readers will queue for her latest mix of history, suspense, emotional insight, social commentary, mysticism, wit, and tenderness."--Booklist
"Powerful . . . Allende finds real depth in her characters, especially when portraying their sacrifices. This authentic and emotionally harrowing work is a triumphant return to form."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)