Quotes from Isabel Allende

We spent a good part of the twentieth century trying out various forms of revolution, from Marxism to savage capitalism, ranging through each and every intermediate shading. Our hope that a change in government can improve our luck is like hoping to win the lottery: totally without rational foundation.

No creía en la oración como método eficaz para resolver problemas de orden práctico.

El dinero nunca me ha interesado, Pedro, en eso me parezco a Indiana. Me temo que juntos terminaríamos convertidos en una pareja de mendigos.

In the end the only insurance he lacked was against his worst memories

The road of gluttony leads straight to lust and, if traveled a little farther, to the loss of one's soul.

Trueba continued polishing his reputation as a rake, sowing the entire region with his bastard offspring, reaping hatred, and storing up sins that barely nicked him because he had hardened his soul and silenced his conscience with the excuse of progress.

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. I don't always succeed, of course; readers tend to be elusive. Who is my reader?

Hay diferencia entre vejez y ancianidad. No es cosa de edad, sino de estado de salud física y mental —le explicó Cathy—. Los viejos pueden mantener su independencia, pero los ancianos necesitan asistencia y vigilancia hasta que llega un momento en que son como niños.»

Our country has produced exceptional men and women: two Nobel laureates—Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral—the singers/composers Víctor Jara and Violeta Parra, the pianist Claudio Arrau, the painter Roberto Matta, and the novelist José Donoso, to mention a few who come to mind.

Las miserias de la enfermedad nos igualan, no hay ricos ni pobres, al cruzar este umbral los privilegios se hacen humo y nos volvemos humildes. Mi

Con humildad duele menos la humillación cotidiana de depender. Sin embargo, la invalidez del cuerpo me trajo un inesperado regalo: me dio una inmensa libertad de la mente.

El imperio incaico quedó chico para contenerlos a ambos. Pizarro, convertido en marqués gobernador y caballero de la Orden de Santiago, se quedó en el Perú, secundado por sus temibles hermanos, mientras Almagro se dirigía, en 1535, con un ejército de quinientos castellanos, diez mil indios yanaconas y el título de adelantado, a Chile, la región aún inexplorada, cuyo nombre, en lengua aymara, quiere decir «donde acaba la tierra».

I also grew up with the family anecdotes told to me by my grandparents, my uncles, and my mother—very handy when it comes to writing novels. How many of them are true? Doesn't matter. At the hour of remembering, no one wants verification of facts, the legend is enough

Many of us daughters have had to live the lives that our mothers could not.

Superego is not the same as consciousness; the former punishes us and the latter guides us. I stopped listening to the overseer inside me who demands compliance and performance with the voice of my grandfather. The race uphill is over; now I stroll calmly in the land of intuition, which has turned out to be the best environment for writing.

Creyeron que los militares iban a «limpiar» el país. «Se terminó la delincuencia, no hay muros pintarrajeados con graffiti, todo está limpio y gracias al toque de queda los maridos llegan temprano a la casa», me dijo una amiga.

Voy dejando ir, voy soltando…

Igual que en el momento de venir al mundo, al morir tenemos miedo de lo desconocido. Pero el miedo es algo interior que no tiene nada que ver con la realidad. Morir es como nacer: sólo un cambio —había dicho Clara.

His adult teeth were still emerging, and when he smiled his eyes seemed to disappear.

He had the intellectual capacity of a louse, but shone in cooking up new ways to be cruel.

In my family, happiness was irrelevant.

Medía su felicidad con una fórmula elemental: «Un buen día más otro buen día igual a una buena vida».

No, pero quería hacer el amor amando, por el placer del cuerpo y la tranquilidad del espíritu.

La memoria è invenzione. Selezioniamo il materiale più brillante e quello più buio, ignorando ciò che è fonte di vergogna, e così tessiamo il grande arazzo della nostra vita. Per mezzo della fotografia e della parola scritta cerco disperatamente di sconfiggere la fuggevolezza della mia vita, di catturare gli attimi prima che svaniscano, di rischiarare la confusione del mio passato.