Chile: In the Midst of Winter

In the Midst of Winter

by Isabel Allende

     I read this book back in November, right around Thanksgiving when I was frantically busy with the holiday and also suffering from the worst head cold in the history of mankind, so I was not feeling up to writing.  And then we were full bore into holiday mode, which always seems to take over my life in a way that doesn't feel terribly productive or necessary but which happens year after year after year.  A New Year's resolution is always to simply, be more minimalist, seek tranquility.  Here's hoping that will happen in 2019.

     In the Midst of Winter brings together three people whose lives collide unexpectedly on a cold, snowy night in modern day New York.  Richard is a stodgy, bitter, American professor, who opened his home to Lucia, a vibrant, passionate professor from Chile who has come to New York to teach for a year.  Living in his comfortable but cold basement apartment, Lucia is surprised and disappointed that Richard has not truly welcomed her, does not wish to be her friend, and treats her like a tenant instead of a guest.  They come together one night when Evelyn, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala shows up at the door, frantic for help and refuge after finding a dead body in the trunk of her employer's car, which she had borrowed without permission.  As the three characters hatch a plan to address this shocking discovery, they begin to trust each other and share their personal histories.  Each chapter weaves the present to each person's past:  Richard's love and great loss in Argentina; Lucia's youthful, courageous fight for human rights in Chile; and Evelyn's strength and determination to survive the violence of her childhood in Guatemala.  

     The stories of the past are far more compelling than the scenes that take place in the present.  Through each, Allende provides a window into worlds we would not otherwise know ... and of course, this is the best part of reading, is it not?