'Allende has everything it takes: the ear, the eye, the mind, the heart, the all-encompassing humanity'
- New York Times
'Isabel Allende is a grand storyteller who writes with surpassing compassion and insight. Her place as an icon of world literature was secured long ago. She will be celebrated, by readers and writers alike, for generations to come'
- Khaled Hosseini
'A historical saga that sweeps from the Spanish Civil War to the rise and fall of General Pinochet'
- Daily Telegraph, Highlights for 2020
'though this is fiction, Allende's epic is deeply rooted in fact, and often reads like a biography - of her homeland not least . . . [The characters] are brought alive by Allende's generous imagination and brisk, vivid prose'
- Daily Mail
'A decades-spanning tale of war, exile and belonging . . . Grounding the novel is the love story between Victor and Roser, all the more touching for being unconventional . . . The book is all-encompassing, both in its sweep through history and the sheer number of lives crammed into it . . . The writing is unadorned but affecting, shot through with sad details
- Sunday Telegraph