Quotes from Isabel Allende

Casi todo el mundo miente, unos por vanidad, para presentarse bajo una luz favorable, otros por temor y la mayoría simplemente por hábito.

Le había costado mucho recuperarse del amor frustrado y temía que si oyera su voz por un instante volvería a naufragar en la misma pasión obstinada de antes.

los mismos hombres que en la vida cotidiana parecen mansos, al contar con impunidad y un buen pretexto suelen convertirse en fieras sanguinarias.

The spotless order of barracks and the artificial peace of fear reigned everywhere.

And that fox escaped with his tail between his legs, with all of the hens chasing after him

cualquiera con fanatismo, poder e impunidad puede transformarse en una bestia.

Ahora, con la perspectiva del tiempo y de la libertad que he adquirido en los últimos años, comprendo cuánto me humillé por amor. Dejé de lado todo, desde mi personalidad hasta mi trabajo, por soñar en un paraíso doméstico que no era para mí.

I am frightened. I have known fear before, but there was always an escape; even during the terror of the military coup there was the salvation of exile. Now I am in a blind alley with all doors closed to hope, and I don't know how to handle so much fear.

Distance erases the contours and colors of memory. I have letters and photographs of the family that Juan Martín built in Norway; he calls me on the phone and has come to see me in recent years, when I no longer had the strength for such a long trip, but when I think of my son I can't seem to conjure the exact details of his features or voice.

La pasión que los unía desde aquella noche y que alimentaban con extraordinario cuidado, los sostuvo y protegió en los momentos inevitables de adversidad.

un estropicio de obreros haciendo hoyos en el pavimento, quitando árboles para pones postes, quitando postes para poner edificios, quitando edificios para plantar árboles.

The Poet's funeral had turned into the symbolic burial of freedom.

El espectro de la pobreza, como el de la soledad, rondaba siempre a los viejos.

There was an army of hundreds of thousands of spirits fighting alongside the blacks, and that was why finally the whites were defeated. Everyone is in agreement about that, even the French soldiers, who felt the spirits' fury. Maître Valmorain, who did not believe in anything he did not understand, and as he understood very little believed in nothing, was also convinced that the dead aided the rebels.

Entonces supe que el coronel... y otros como él tienen sus días contados, porque no han podido destruir el espíritu de esas mujeres.

The Spanish authorities attributed La Pérouse's opinions to the regrettable fact that the man was French, but his writings made a profound impression on Padre Mendoza.

thought about the years I still had left to live and decided that without her it wasn't worth it, for I would never find another woman with her green hair and underwater beauty. If anyone had told me then that I would live to be more than ninety, I would have put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger.

Comprendió que se estaba muriendo en vida porque para él la libertad era más importante que el amor.

In her experience, light skin and money made almost anything easier. She wanted her grandchildren to come into the world with an advantage.

si las locuras se repiten en la familia, debe ser que existe una memoria genética que impide que se pierdan en el olvido.

volveremos a encontrarnos en mejores circunstancias o en otras vidas

Un hombre hace lo que puede, una mujer hace lo que el hombre no puede.

Her stoic attitude contributed to the air of mystery surrounding her, long before she had any secrets to keep.

Souls in pain know no borders.