The Situation: Before Aurora del Valle is born, her mother, uncle, and grandparents are respected members of the Chinatown community in San Francisco. Lynn Sommers is already known for her beauty, something that greatly worries her mother Eliza, as she insists on escorting the young girl everywhere and making sure she spends no amount of time alone with any of the young men who seek to gain her attention. Despite all of Eliza's attempts and attention, Lynn becomes pregnant and gives birth to a young girl. But for Aurora, the first five years of her life will remain a mystery, as will her maternal grandparents, as she will be raised by her paternal grandmother Paulina del Valle, a woman insistent on keeping her granddaughter's early years a secret.
The Problem: Although she has no memory of the first five years of her life, Aurora is regularly haunted by nightmares of figures in black. It is almost as if her life began when she came under the care of Paulina del Valle, a woman who is larger than life in many ways. Irreverent, proud, envied, but also incredibly skilled in business and money management, Paulina makes sure that her granddaughter wants for nothing, while also remaining ignorant about her past. But even the del Valle matriarch is unable to keep the War of the Pacific, followed by the Chilean Civil War, from affecting those close to her.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in both San Francisco and Chile, beginning in 1862, before Aurora is born, and ending in 1910. As the narrator, Aurora sets out to tell not only her own story, but the story of her family, while admitting that her memory is flawed. Readers will recognize several characters from the other books in Allende's Trilogía Involuntaria, including some names from The House of the Spirits, the events of which take place in the future. At the forefront are Aurora's grandmothers, Pauline del Valle and Eliza Sommers, both women who insisted on making their own path in life, despite how women were expected to behave in the 19th century.
My Verdict: Of the four books that involve the del Valle family (including this year's My Name is Emilia del Valle), this one has become my favorite. Aurora may be the focus, but the book takes on several members and branches of the del Valle family tree, and I love the choice of occasionally spending a significant amount of pages on someone other than the main protagonist. With so many colorful characters, and its setting of some of the most tumultuous years in Chile's history, it makes sense to go outside of what Aurora would have been able to see with her own eyes, therefore adding to the already epic story of the del Valle family. The book can be read on its own, separate from the others in the Trilogía Involuntaria, but I recommend reading all three.
Favorite Moment: It is difficult to go against the wishes of Paulina del Valle, but Eliza Sommers manages to stand firm in an early decision.
Favorite Character: Aurora's grandfather, Tao Chi'en, is a respected physician and an advocate for the helpless in his community.
Recommended Reading: Chronologically, Portrait in Sepia is the second book in the Trilogía Involuntaria, but it was published third. Honestly, the series could be read in either the order the books were published, or in the order of the events in the story. Either way would work.
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