The Wind Knows My Name

ByIsabel Allende & Frances Riddle

Release Date: 2023-06-06
Genre: Literary Fiction

Score: 4

From 315 Ratings

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “The lives of a Jewish boy escaping Nazi-occupied Europe and a mother and daughter fleeing twenty-first-century El Salvador intersect in this ambitious, intricate novel about war and immigration” (People), from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta

“Timely, provocative . . . emotionally satisfying . . . [a story about] the kindness of strangers who become family.”—The New York Times Book Review

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.

Reviews

Who actually wrote this?
2
By AnnieJBonz
I have read most of Allende’s work and cannot connect the author of such previously elegant, languorous prose with the writer of this book. Allende’s voice, intelligence, insight, humanity and wit are sadly absent. In their place is a hasty series of cliché-ridden character vignettes in declarative, monosyllabic language better suited to readers of People Magazine. What a disappointment! Whoever translated this for her should apologize for trivializing and flattening her prose to such a degree. If you love Allende’s work, skip this one!
Beautiful story of loss and acceptance.
5
By GailRail
This is a very touching story that laps together the horrific loss that Jewish children experienced during the holocaust to the atrocities that immigrant children face when separated from their families.
The Wind Knows My Name
5
By Mary Mouse Factory
An imaginary tale dealing with the absolute horrors of what goes on every day at the U.S./ Mexican border.
A sad commentary on how we treat immigrants seeking asylum
Skip this one
1
By sgw1942
I was a huge Isabel Allende fan…loved her stories and her writing, until she decided to air her political beliefs. This novel was so misleading. Started out as a Holocaust story and ended up being a diatribe on Trump and his administration. I do not read fiction for these opinions, but as escapism, entertainment, and enjoyment. Done with her as an author…too much else out there to read.
Too political
3
By DixSea
No heart to the story which should have been heart wrenching. It felt like a politician giving facts. The border crisis is a mess, it is heartbreaking but illegal crossings should be stopped, the dangers are real. Stop feeding the cartels by allowing them to smuggle people in.
ThemWind Knows My Name
5
By 74redvet
I’ve read everything Isabel Allende has written.
My first was “Daughter of Fortune”. My favorite is
“Island Beneath the Sea”. My two daughters are hooked as well. This is such a telling story of the tragedies on our border. My grandparents were Italian immigrants.
Such brave amazing people wanting the American dream.