Quotes from Isabel Allende

L'unica cosa che voglio è chiudere gli occhi e smettere di esistere, dissolvermi nel vuoto, come la nebbia all'alba

Empezó a ahogarse de miedo y claustrofobia, como le ocurría en la infancia, cuando se escondía en su improvisada carpa para escapar de los inmensos peligros del mundo, de la contundente presencia de los humanos, de los olores opresivos y los sonidos atronadores.

Los jóvenes vieron los ciclos inevitables de vida, muerte, transformacion y renacimiento como un maravilloso dibujo en el cual todo ocurre simultáneamente, sin pasado, presente o futuro, ahora desde siempre y para siempre.

The few exiles who returned to the hospital were received with much less fanfare, because it was unwise to attract attention. This was the tacit slogan throughout the country: don't provoke the military, so as to pretend the recent past was buried and in the process of being forgotten.

Es posible que las historias sean criaturas con vida propia que existen en las sombras de una misteriosa dimensión.

El afecto es como la luz del mediodía y no necesita la presencia del otro para manifestarse. La separación entre los seres también es ilusoria, puesto que todo está unido en el universo.

El viaje de la vida se hace de largos trechos tediosos, paso a paso, día a día, sin que suceda nada impactante, pero la memoria se hace con los acontecimientos inesperados que marcan el trayecto. Esos son los que vale la pena narrar.

la friccionaba con aceite de almendras dulces para evitar las estrías en la piel del vientre

Una cortina de tinieblas oculta el mundo fantástico donde antes me paseaba libremente.

El primer paso es admitir que uno carece de control sobre su vida.

Duplicó sus cuidados, la friccionaba con aceite de almendras dulces para evitar las estrías en la piel del vientre, le ponía miel de abejas en los pezones para que no se le agrietaran, le daba de comer cáscara molida de huevo para que tuviera buena leche y no se le picaran los dientes y le rezaba oraciones de Belén para el buen parto.

I discovered that social climbing was a middle-class phenomenon, the poor never gave it a thought, they were too busy trying to survive. Over the years these communities acquired political savvy, they organized and became fertile territory for leftist parties. Ten years later, in 1970, they were decisive in electing Salvador Allende and for that reason had to suffer the greatest repression during the dictatorship.

la castità è una zavorra; forse prima incuteva rispetto, ma ora è sospetta, nessuno lascia un bambino da solo con un prete

Matias Eyzaguirre was at the port as well, with his car and a bouquet of roses for his reluctant fiancée.

No se puede encontrar a quien no quiere ser encontrado.

El problema no estaba en conseguir la respuesta, sino en formular la pregunta precisa.

The General was right. No one dies of hunger here - you reach out your hand and pluck a mango. That's why there is no progress. Cold countries have more advanced civilizations because the climate forces people to work.

This was to be his most stubborn, persistent memory of the war: that fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, still smooth-cheeked, filthy with the dirt of battle and dried blood, laid out on a stretcher with his heart exposed to the air.

What I learned then helps now in my writing: working under pressure, conducting an interview, doing research, using the language efficiently. I never forget that a book is not an end in itself. Just like a newspaper or a magazine, a book is a means of communication, which is why I try to grab the reader by the throat and not let go to the end.

Relax, Victor. Going around in a sulk will get you nowhere. Pain is unavoidable, but suffering is optional.

Respira, hombre!Si respiras te prometo que hoy sin falta le quito el pestillo a la puerta de mi pieza.- Cuentan que Feliciano alcanzo a sonreír antes de que corazón le reventara

Charles had perished in Italy, like hundreds of other Japanese-Americans in the 442nd Infantry Regiment, which became known as the Purple Heart Battalion due to the extraordinary number of medals for valor it had been awarded. That regiment, made up entirely of nisei, was the most decorated in US military history

Es silenciosa, tranquila, suave, es un estado interno de satisfacción

Uno de los más fornidos salta al ruedo. «Inche Caupolicán!», se presenta.