Review of Ines of My Soul, Isabel Allende
Thursday, March 15, 2007 Ines of My Soul, Isabel Allende published by Harper Collins From a provincial village in Spain, where young Ines marries her lover to avoid servitude to her grandfather, to Peru and Chile, where she joins conquistadors to carve empires from the jungle, this is an exciting read. Based on the life of Ines Suarez, Allende's imagination makes history come to life. When her husband abandons her to search for gold in Peru, Ines decides to follow her own inclination for adventure in the New World. Working as a seamstress, cooking empanadas, and gaining doctoring skills, she pays her way and fate leads her to the future governor of Chile, the military genius responsible for the victory of the Spainards over the Indian tribes. She's with him until, like Pisarro, he succumbs to the corruption of power, including atrocities to the Indians. Ines' honesty is searing. She sees through the hypocrisies of the church, the intrigues of kings and governors, the civil...