Isabell Allende knows how to tell a story like no one else. She captivated me with The House of the Spirits - which became one of my favorite books of all time - and Eva Luna. In her most recent novel we follow Violeta del Valle, who is telling the story of her life to a beloved person named Camilo, a figure the reader will get to know further in this book.Violeta was born during the Spanish flu outbreak and when she talks about it, it feels much like what the world is experiencing nowadays, like the lack of masks for workers in the front lines, the stay-at-home measure to contain the spread of the virus, the use of medicines without any proven efficacy. During the first years of Violeta’s life she did not have any manners, she did not know how to dress, how to feed herself and behave properly, always throwing fits. She still slept in a cradle next to her parents bed.So her father hired an Irish private tutor whose name was Josephine Taylor. Miss Taylor did not tame Violeta’s rebelliousness but taught her the basic societal norms or accepted behaviors. The protagonist grew up and became a woman ahead of her time, a businesswoman with a free soul who lived for 100 years. Violeta del Valle lived through the Great Depression of The United States, telling us readers how it affected her country, her family business and the fate of her whole family. She lived through the World War II, Cuban Revolution, and through the military coup and dictatorship in Chile. This last historical event had a great impact in Violeta’s life and is a recurrent theme in Allende’s novels. The protagonist also discusses the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall and ends with the COVID-19 pandemic.I love how the author writes strong, female characters. Violeta embodies strength with intelligence and compassion, she is a free woman who stands up for herself and who does not spare efforts to achieve what she aims. She also worked helping women victims of domestic abuse. Violeta is empowered and driven. I also like all the historical background depicted in this coming of age novel. With a magnificent prose, you end up this book wishing Violeta had lived another 100 years, only to read what more she would have to say about herself. I highly recommend this book.