"Women's emancipation is not incompatible with femininity," declares Chilean novelist Isabel Allende (A Long Petal of the Sea) in her fifth nonfiction book, The Soul of a Woman. "Quite the opposite: I think they are complementary." In this slim memoir-cum-manifesto, Allende, a passionate feminist since age five by her own estimation, recounts her experiences with the patriarchy as a young woman, her early career as a journalist and translator, and her eventual success as a novelist (and a thrice-married woman). In the book's second half, Allende details some of the atrocities faced by women around the world and makes a cogent case for changing laws and policies to empower women and ensure their rights, reproductive and otherwise.
Best known for her novels featuring strong women, Latin American politics and magical realism (The House of the Spirits; The Stories of Eva Luna), Allende is also a long-time supporter of vulnerable women and girls through her eponymous foundation. She recounts her own early experiences as the daughter of a single mother, Panchita, who was forced to take refuge with her father (Isabel's grandfather) after her husband disappeared. As a young girl, Allende saw her mother dominated by men with economic and political power, and she vowed not to live her life the same way. Determined to forge her own path, she worked in TV and magazine journalism before turning to fiction. She peppers this brief autobiography with wry asides about political systems that routinely oppress women, the conflicting messages women receive about beauty and power, and the newfangled ideas about gender politics that her grandchildren bring to her attention. Some of Allende's comments on changing cultural practices sound like the musings of an older woman reflecting on the way things used to be. However, her comments on the value of passion, the unexpectedness of romantic love and the absolute value of women as human beings are both timeless and timely.
Allende's narrative rambles at times, but she never loses sight of her chief objective: to celebrate women's worth and value, and urge readers to stand up for the women in their lives, including themselves. Readers of Allende's fiction and memoirs will enjoy this sharp, thoughtful, often charmingly irascible glimpse into the author's fiercely feminist soul. She comments, "I am not interested in the warrior's rest; I'd rather keep some ardency of mind and blood." The Soul of a Woman is--among other things--an ardent call to keep fighting the good fight. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams
Shelf Talker: Acclaimed novelist Isabel Allende offers a passionate, wise and charmingly irascible meditation on feminism.