My Invented Country

Thrust into exile by the coup that overthrew her uncle on September 11, 1973, and then shocked again by the events of September 11, 2002, Isabel Allende was forced to, as she says, twice "reinvent herself." The riveting pastiche of personal, social, and Chilean history that results is not always consistent, but it never fails to fascinate. Cristine McMurdo-Wallis's voice, with its pleasing throatiness, especially in the lower registers, conforms naturally with the discursive pace of Allende's nostalgic ramblings. A talented actor, she moves gracefully from the familiar tone used in the sweeter memories of Allende's wild Chilean family to the restrained fury felt at her uncle's ouster and finally to her embrace of a new American identity. Author and reader combine, thus, to produce a narrative at once harsh, humorous, and delightful. P.E.F. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine