Maya's Notebook

February 4, 2013
Allende (The House of the Spirits) moves away from her usual magical realist historical fiction into a contemporary setting, and the result is a chaotic hodgepodge. The story, told through 19-year-old Maya Vidal’s journals, alternates between Maya’s dismal past and uncertain present, which finds her in hiding on an isolated island off Chile’s coast, where her grandmother, Nidia, has taken her. Maya’s diary relates a journey into self-destruction that begins, after her beloved step-grandfather Popi’s death, with dangerous forays into sex, drugs, and delinquency, but ends up in a darkly cartoonish crime caper, as she becomes involved with gangsters in Las Vegas. Maya describes her present surroundings, meanwhile, with a bland detachment that would be more believable coming from an anthropologist than a teenager. Allende’s trademark passion for Chile is as strong as ever, and her clever writing lends buoyancy to the narrative’s deadweight, but this novel is unlikely to entrance fans old or new. Agent: Carmen Balcells, Carmen Balcells Agency.

This simply titled novel follows the complex journey of a young woman's growth, trials, and redemption. Allende's skill lies in telling a story that is simultaneously accessible and thought provoking. The listener is drawn in by a compelling tale and held there by poetic language. Narrator Maria Cabezas has a youthful voice that can nearly break hearts with its blend of innocence and experience. Her performance as Maya is perfectly believable. Essentially abandoned by her parents and devastated by the death of her beloved grandfather, Maya must find her way back from the ravages of self-destructive behaviors and move ahead with life. Cabezas makes us root for Maya, no matter her choices; in the end, we want only the best for her. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine