Robert (USA: CA) (2024/06/14): A very dense, emotional memoir of the period of time the author spent caring for her daughter, Paula, who fell into a coma during treatment for a rare blood disease. Isabel uses the hours by her daughter's bedside to record the story of her own life for Paula to have should she recover. Anyone who enjoyed Allende's wonderful first novel, "House of the Spirits," will learn the actual events behind much of that book. The characters grow beyond Isabel's and Paula's family and ancestors to capture other hospital patients and caregivers, all united by their desire for Paula's well-being. This is a painful, humorous, and love-filled book, heavily infused with Isabel's spirituality and sensuality. The ending is just lovely.
