TextCDisgStoriesThatold
JoanneLeedom-A
[1]IsabelAllendehasbeeerarylegend”,a“culturalbridgebuilder”,ahemostiinAmeriesheisalsolikeagoodfriendwithwhomyoutakeoffyourshoes,thesofa,alifetogether。
[2]IfirstmetIsabelAlleyyearsagoinLosAngeleswhenshewasgivingareading。IwasihPEN,whomayhavebeenstheprogram—Inolongerremember—butIrememberattendingapowerfuleveningwithmycolleagues。ForthepastmonthsI’vebeeinuingmyreadingofIsabelAllende,andIthatIamoodfriends—thoughshemaynotknowthis。Butasareader,IhavethefeelingIamhisclub,ortribe,becauseifyouimmerseyourselfiionandmemoirs,younotonlyfeelyouknowherfromhereasyaialprose,butyouthinkshesurelyknowsyoubecausehtsintolife。Andeve,youfeelshemightwanttoknowyouayoumoveiribeofpeopleshecolledher。
[3]Thisintimacysheachievesisinpartresponsible,I’msure,forher。Readingherbooksislikesittingandhavihfriendsatakittablewhehemasks,“Youwaory?Letmetellyouened。。。”Andoffyougointoherworld。
[4]InhermemoirSumofOurDays,Isabeltellsthereaderthisisinpartwhatherlifeislikewithherfriends,ingTheSistersofDisorder,whofolloweachother’strialsandprayforeachotheraheirvariedvieirituallife。Iihestrandsofspiritualquest,history,love,politidividualliberationintoabodyofworkthatinformsaainsa。
[5]TheiionshipAllendeherwritirictdisesheembodiesasaritessixdaysaweek,tenhoursadaywheworkonabook。Shehaspublishedhteenbooks—storyoirs,andyoungadultnovels,aslaysandabodyofarticlesasajournalist。Threeofherbookshavebeeomovies。Shehaswonnumerousawards,ingtheGabrielaMistralOrderofMerit,thefirstwomantowin;she’sbeeheAmeriAcademyofArtsaers;she’sbeenawardedhonorarydoctoratesandhasalsotaughtwritingiies,ingtheUyofiaatBerkeley。Herworkhasbeentraoovertwelanguagesandsoldoverfifty-sixmillioncopies。
[6]BorninPeruofpareherlomat—shegrewupmostlyihafewyearsierthemilitarydictatorshipof1973,whenherSalvadorAlleheofChile,wasoustedandassassioVehherhusbandandtwosmall,wheresheuedhercareerasajournalistandtelevisioy。SheetahPabloherenow,buthededtoldhershehadtoomuationtostayinjournalism。
[7]WhileinexileinVenezuela,shereoticethathergrahwhomshe’dspentherchildhood,wasdying。SiabletoreturartedwritinghimaletterthatbecameherfirstheHouseoftheSpirits。Eversince,IsabelbeginsherbooksonJanuary8,thedayshestartedthatletter。
[8]“IamawriterbecauseIwasblessedwithaories,anunhappychildhood,andastrangefamily,”shesays。
[9]TheHouseoftheSpirits,publishediablishedAllendeasanimportantwriter,andwitheachbook,herreadershiphasgrowheworld。ShewritesinSpanish,thenworkscloselywithherEnglishtranslator。
[1inswiththeheart。“Ihemostimportantthingsaboutone’slifehappechambersoftheheart,”shesays,addingthat,“allfiisultimatelyautobiographical。Iwriteaboutloveandvioledeathaion,abwomehers,aboutsurvival。”
[11]Thethemesofhistory,memory,love,andvioleinhernovels,whicharefilledwithherstrongwomenseekingloveandalsotheirowiesidon’teasilyyieldthemspace。Thatislyastrueinhernewnovel,IslaheSea,asirilogy,TheHouseoftheSpirits,DaughterofFortune,andPortraitinSepia。
[12]Alleifiesherselfasafeminist,aioherpassionforthefreedomandspiritofwomen。Sheisalsopassionateandequallyiheheartandpsyalecharacters。
[13]Inhernovelsandmemoirssheshbeliefinlifeandwisdomthattraerialworldwelivein。Sheaerslistentoahelargerspiritualworld。Oftetheadvicethatmightthoseassedon。
[14]InthehereandnowIsabelAlleuohavealargegatheringoffamilyandfriendsaroundherwhocherishher。ShemovedtotheUesmorethayyearsagoand,afterherfirstmarriage,shemarriedamanwhoshesaysistheloveofherlife。ShebecameaU。S。2003。MostofherfamilyandclosefriehinafewmilesofherintheSanFranciscoarea。
[15]Readinghermemoirs,I’veetokaversionofherlifeandfamily—muostfamiliesknowaboutthemselves。
[16]“I’malwayswillingtoopenupmylifea,”Allendesays,“becauseIbelievethatgeishexposedthatmakesotheseekeeps。。。Iamawareofhowmuchweallhaveinon。”
[17]Iwilltaketheriskoosumup,atleastwhatIfelt,aboutIsabelAllehewenerous。Sheisgenerousasastorytelleraandasaperson。Sheopensdoorsandsharesherself—herthoughtsandfeelihediseofanartist。Impliedistheassumptionthatindoingsosheisshoillhealandillumihersandalsoforherself。Thisgeyexplaiinpart,herworldwidepopularity。
[18]ShehasalsostartedafoundationwiththeprooirPaula,abhterwhodiedyoung。TheIsabelAlleionhelpswomenandgirlsiheSanFraobeemporotectedthroughprojeedu,health,aeraryarts。Shequhter’smottoasoguidesheraioo:“Whenindoubt[ask]:Whatisthemtodo?”
Notes
&troduofIsabelAllendegivenbyJoanneLeedom-AbeforeIsabel’sappearahePEiSeries,heldattheWashingtonNationalCathedralonApril30,2010。
2。JoanneLeedom-A:SheisanAmeriovelist,shortstorywriter,andjournalist。HerworksofficludeTheDarkPathtotheRiverandNels。Ms。Leedom-AisaVicePresideioheworldwideassoofwriters)。SheservesontheBoardsofPENAmeriter,thePEionandispastpresideerUSA。
3。Peru:秘鲁
4。Venezuela:委内瑞拉
ForFun
WorkstoRead
1。TheHouseoftheSpiritsbyIsabelAllende
ItisthedebutnovelbyIsabelAlleorydetailsthelifeoftheTruebafamily,spanniions,andtragthepost-ialsodpoliticalupheavalsofChile。ThestoryistoldmainlyfromtheperspectiveoebanandBlancorporateselementsofmagicalrealism。
2。HopscotchbyJulioCortázar
ItisprobablyCortázar’smostfamousbook。ThebookbereadstraightthroughorbyjumpiersiheorderCortázarhasset,orahereaderwishestocreate。Hopscotchhasbeeohypertextnovel。