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    Ines of My Soul: A Novel
    Ines of My Soul: A Novel
    Ines of My Soul: A Novel
    Audiobook14 hours

    Ines of My Soul: A Novel

    Written by Isabel Allende

    Narrated by Isabel Allende and Alma Cuervo

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “Powerfully evocative. . . . Allende is at her best here; spinning words like spells, enthralling the reader with surreal visions of the New World.”— Newsweek

    A passionate epic of love, freedom, and conquest, based on historical events, from the New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits and A Long Petal of the Sea.

    Though she was born into poverty, Inés Suárez, a seamstress in sixteenth-century Spain, embodies the same restless hope and opportunism that fuels her nation’s conquest of the Americas.

    Learning that her shiftless husband has vanished, Inés uses his disappearance to embark on her own adventure. It is a journey will lead her to Pedro de Valdivia—a conquistador who becomes the first royal governor of Chile—and to a love that not only changes her life but the course of history. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateAug 18, 2020
    ISBN9780063000438
    Author

    Isabel Allende

    Isabel Allende is the author of twelve works of fiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Maya’s Notebook, Island Beneath the Sea, Inés of My Soul, Daughter of Fortune, and a novel that has become a world-renowned classic, The House of the Spirits. Born in Peru and raised in Chile, she lives in California.

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    Reviews for Ines of My Soul

    3.5/5

    582 ratings42 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great book… while long the book/audiobook keeps you entertained while one is learning so much about latin american history. A great read!
    • 4/5
      Allende is a wonderful writer and the first half of this novel is gripping. But by the last 80 pages she seems to be trying to wrap it up, and it loses momentum. I'd have read 600 pages if they were like the first 200.
    • 5/5
      Love love love. Wish I’d read it before I went to Chile, but it put the catedrals, Plaza de Armas, Santiago and Valparaiso into spectacular perspective. I see now why Chile’s soccer team Colo Colo has a Mapuche on their logo! As always, Allende brings her stories into vibrant reality, while Alma Cuervo runs along as smooth as any mountain spring. 10/10
    • 4/5
      Historical fiction about the life of Inés Suárez. Born in Spain in the early 1500s, she sails to South America with her niece to find her husband, Juan de Málaga, who has gone in search of gold. The story is told by Inés, near the end of her life, in the form of a diary she plans to give to her stepdaughter, Isabel. The narrative covers her three romantic relationships, and her participation in the expedition to conquer Chile. They establish the city of Santiago and battle the native people.

      Allende is known for her female protagonists, and Inés is the prototype of a strong woman. She becomes self-sufficient as a seamstress, cook, and nurse. Allende employs magical realism here, but less so than some of her previous works. This novel is a sweeping saga covering approximately eighty years. Inés experiences many adventures, hardships, battles, and love affairs. The author does not spare the gruesome details of combat, punishments, and executions.

      I enjoyed this book and looked forward to picking it up. It occasionally wanders from the primary storyline. I was not previously aware of Inés Suárez and her role in Chilean history. It inspired me to do further research.
    • 4/5
      Inez Suarez was born approximately 1507 to a poor family in Spain. She seized her destiny full heartedly. She was not content to continue to live quietly in Spain merely supporting herself after her husband Juan de Málaga left to find his fortune in the New World with the Pizzaro brothers. Instead after several years, she set off after him, not knowing where in the Spanish new world he might be.After discovering de Malaga had died, she became the mistress of Pedro de Valdiva'Inez accompanied de Vadiva on his hazardous expedition south from Peru into the unknown wilderness which became known as Chile. During the trek south, she acted as a healer and also saved the expedition by her miraculous ability to find (“witch”) water in the desert.She had a major role in the defense of their new outpost Santiago, devising a bloody plan that turned the tide of the uprising against the small force of Spaniards by thousands of Mapuche natives.According to Wikipedia, Inez is still “seen as a symbol of a Chilean woman standing up to authority, … and as a role model to contemporary protestors against mistreatment.”I was not familiar with the history of South America other than a mere sentence or two in my long ago high school history books. And so, Allende’s fictionalization was fascinating, though the brutal treatment of the Mapuche natives was eye-opening and saddening; they are more examples of the ‘might makes right’ against people willing to stand and fight for their land and their way of life.I’ll definitely be reading more of Allende. Although I realize these are novelizations, I always find interesting history in them and appreciate the way she can tell a good tale, making me care about her characters. I also appreciate the strong women in her stories.
    • 3/5
      I should have liked this more as I love most of Allende's works and I have been to Peru; however, this read, at times, more like a history of Chile than a work of fiction. Perhaps it was the first person narrator that bothered me. The story is told by Inez Suarez. Born to a poor family in Spain, she marries the "love of her life" at an early age. The "love" however, eventually fades and the husband goes to the new world to find gold. Through a set of circumstances, she is able to use the excuse of searching for him and she too leaves her poor status in Spain and goes to Peru. The journey is treacherous and times are extremely hard.She eventually meets Pedro de Valdivia who is considered the founder of Chile. Although they cannot marry as he is married as she is, the live as husband and wife in Peru. De Valdivia is a soldier under one of the Pizarro brothers and leads an expedition to Chile taking Ines with him. The conditions are almost unbelievable and the South American Indians are treated horribly and also horribly torture.There are lots of battle scenes and scenes of torture. The complications of life with De Valdivia are interesting as is her relationship with her second husband. I liked the scenes in Peru having been to Cuzco and some of the South American Indian culture; however, sometimes the "history" is too much.
    • 4/5
      This is the life story of Ines Suarez, a Spanish woman from a poor background, who became the gobernadora (the female governor) of Chile. She left Spain to find her husband in the New World although she had no love for him. Eventually she discovered that he had died in battle and she was a widow. By this time she was in Cuzco Peru and she encountered Pedro de Valdivia and the two of them fell passionately in love. Valdivia was a trusted military advisor to Franciso Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador who toppled the Incan empire. As a result of his service to Pizarro, Valdivia was a wealthy man but he dreamed of going to Chile and settling that land. Ines and Valdivia convinced Pizarro to let them make the attempt. They were accompanied by some Spanish soldiers, a priest, the pregnant Incan wife of one of the soldiers and many Yanacona Indians. This troupe crossed a barren desert and reached the site of Santiago but the Chilean Indians, the Mapuche, were not about to accept these intruders in their land. Ines was a valuable participant in the travels because of her knowledge of medicine and also her ability to dowse for water. Many years of hardship and fighting followed the settlement of Santiago. Ines and Valdivia were together for 10 years but never married since Valdivia had a wife back in Spain. After Valdivia made a trip to Peru he abandoned Ines who promptly married one of his lieutenants, Rodrigo de Quiroga, with whom she lived happily for 30 years. That's the bare bones of the story but the details make a fascinating read. Allende had to imagine many of the details because, although Ines Suarez was a real person and did shape the history of Chile, not much is known about her. Perhaps because Allende is Chilean herself, these details ring true. Allende doesn't gloss over the grisly details of the battles with the Mapuche and some may find that off-putting. It was certainly a bloody period of history. As well as an historical story, this is also a love story. Ines was a woman who loved passionately and was loved passionately. She was also spiritual and mystical. Once you read this book I don't think you will ever forget Ines Suarez. I know I won't.
    • 5/5
      "You will find, señora, that these conquistadors have no shame. They arrive as beggars, they act like thieves, and then they behave as if they were lords of the world."
      These conquistadors from Spain once came to my country, the Philippines, and lived like the lords of the world. The horrendous things happened to Chile were the same things happened to my country: they took advantage of our land & resources, abused our natives, ruined our culture, and imposed their religion. The Indians in their land, however, were different from our natives. Indians fought endlessly unlike the Filipinos who embraced the presence of the conquistadors. I don't know if it was because of inherent hospitality of the Filipinos or the desire to avoid of conflict. As a result, the Spaniards colonized us for more than 300 years.

      Inés of My Soul is a fresh perspective to read. I usually read about being colonized because of our history, not from the eyes of the colonizers. Inés Suárez wrote about her love and adventures from Spain to Peru and Chile. Her manuscripts were for her daughter to read. These were mostly ignored by historians for centuries (I think because of her gender).
      "Courage is a virtue appreciated in a male but considered a defect in our gender. Bold women are a threat to a world that is badly out of balance, in favor of men. That is why they work so hard to mistreat us and destroy us."
      The autobiographical book was woven by intuition of [author:Isabel Allende|2238], meticulously crafted and researched.
      "We are off to Chile, Inés of my soul. ."
    • 2/5
      Okay, I'm gonna confess that I didn't finish this. Maybe it just wasn't the right book for me right now. First, I was listening to the audio and I found the narrator's not very convincing accent kind of annoying, so that didn't help. More importantly, though, it seemed to drag. I was interested in the historical part and the romance just seemed too contrived, too syrupy, "Ines of my soul" oh, please. But for some readers, the romance might be the best part. So I think my review is even more subjective than usual. I wanted to learn about the history, but I wasn't interested in Ines' supposedly deep but actually very banal "philosophical" observations along the lines of "I tried to stop them from beating the slaves so much. Some of my best friends were Indians. And, it's such a pain being a woman, all the guys want you." Sorry to people who loved the book. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
    • 3/5
      interesting historical fiction based on the Spanish founding of Santiago & Chile but, unexpectedly, very ordinary story telling.Read May 2007
    • 4/5
      Vivid telling of the conquest and founding of Chile, from the viewpoint of Ines Suarez, a historical figure, dictating her memoirs to her stepdaughter, Isabel. From life as a seamstress in Spain, Ines follows her feckless husband, who has gone there attracted by the siren call of gold: El Dorado. Once there in Peru, she becomes the mistress of the governor, finds out the her husband has died, then later she becomes the wife of another of the conquistadors. The novel is chock-full of battles with the indigenous Indians, culminating in the battle with the Mapuche, who are trying to hold on to their land in the South. Ines is a foundress of the city of Santiago. There are gorgeous descriptions of the landscapes, but too many gruesome battles for my taste. This was an era I know nothing about and was glad to learn something about it. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      I was kind of disappointed by this book. I have really liked all of Allende's fiction a lot, and was exicted to read this one. This book is told from the perspective of Dona Ines Suarez, who is a foundress of Chile. At first I was really interested in the conquistador time period, because I've never read historical fiction set in that time. However, I very quickly lost interest. There were too many descriptions of battles between the Spanish and the Incas and the Mapuches, and it just became really tedious to read about them again and again. I really just didn't care. And I didn't like Ines all that much... I didn't dislike her, I just didn't like her as much as I have liked many of Allende's other characters. Maybe because she is an acutal historical figure, Allende couldn't take as many liberties in character development, I dont' know...

      the book was still fairly good, and i enjoyed most of it, but i think if i was more interested in the historical time period, i would have liked this book a lot more.
    • 5/5
      Historical fiction is one of my passions, and Isabel Allende is a favorite author. She does not disappoint with this novel based on Dona Ines Suarez and the early years of Chilean history.

    • 3/5
      Not sure if this book was really interesting or not. The narrator did not capture my attention too much while listening. I find most historical fiction very interesting. It could be that this particular history was not of interest to me.Ines of My Soul is a work of fiction on Ines Suarez. I found some of the story interesting and that I did chuckle at some things. I am not familiar with Ines Suarez which is why the story didn't capture my attention.
    • 3/5
      good historical fiction about the conquest of chile; there's no doubt that allende writes with a lot of skill and i give this 2 1/2 stars primarily because it's not my thing and because i started to find the battles redundant.
    • 4/5
      Very interesting!
    • 4/5
      it tells the story of Inés de Suárez a Spanish conquistadora and mistress to Pedro de Valdivia who participated in the Conquest of Chile ,a historical fiction novel....
    • 4/5
      I found this book a great inspiration because of the female lead in the book. Once again she does a great job trying to piece together a story from what little historical fact there could be found about Ines. The book is also a bit on the "heavy" side. At certain points, I had to put the book down to recoup, it really bummed me out a bit. But it is based of of history and history isn't all that pretty.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic but heavy book.If you want to read about again a strong independent female you are at the right address with this book by Isabel Allende. She can give you the spirit you need in your own life.
    • 5/5
      In this book Isabel Allende sets upon the difficult task of creating a narrative that strings together the pieces of history and distant records from the 1530’s conquest of Chile. The book is written in first person giving a voice to Inés de Suárez, a genuine female ‘conquistador’. Allende brings to us fleshed out characters who, through Inés de Suárez, are introduced to us as if we were part of an intimate conversation—Inés is in this way trusting her story to us. This book presents a superb insight on those gruesome and treacherous wars of conquest.In her narration of the events, Allende has meticulously played with that fine line that separates her voice as the author and the voice of Inés de Suárez. That is not an easy task, particularly because Inés de Suárez, as a conquistador is herself part and occasionally the perpetrator of violent acts to save her life and the lives of those living in the recently established settlement, later known as “Santiago de la Nueva Extremadura”, or today, simply Santiago, the capital of Chile. Allende places herself in Inés’ shoes with an extraordinary ability that allows to suspend judgment (although sporadically we hear the author through Inés regrets) in order to be respectful of Inés de Suárez version of history—Inés’ own voice.Independently of our contemporary view of the history of the conquest, Inés de Suárez—as a woman of her time caught in an unusual situation—is not repentant, on the contrary, she is proud of her achievements and although somehow repulsed by violence, she is not completely condemning of it, nor of the atrocious behaviour of men towards women in general and indigenous women in particular. Inés’ story adds an important dimension to our knowledge of the events—a Spaniard female version of history. While history has passed little and relatively unsavoury facts of the life of Inés de Suárez, history on the other hand, has been benevolent enough and much less judgmental of the character of Diego de Almagro, Francisco de Aguirre and Pedro de Valdivia among many others. This I believe is the important story within the story of this book.The book manages to depict with meticulous detail a new world of the ‘promised land’ as seen by the colonisers. The descriptions of the geography, the pristine mountains, air and rivers, the settlement and birth of a new city, together with the early poverty of the colonisers, their abuses of the indigenous people and intrigue among the colonisers themselves, are conveyed with captivating realism. Because of my general knowledge of Chilean history, I know that at least ninety percent of the names cited in this book are of real people who played their part in the history of Chile. For instance, among the indigenous people, Michimalonko, Lautaro (Felipe), Vitacura (one of Santiago’s municipalities is named after him), the Spanish officers and soldiers and many if not most of the women mentioned. However, for a non Chilean reader this important aspect of the novel and which adds to its value cannot be appreciated. For this reason, I would have liked to see footnotes to assist the reader to discern historical facts. Having read many of Allende’s books and having grown a little tired of her use of ‘magic realism’, this book was like a breathe of fresh air. This is to me one of Allende’s best, if not her best book and I value the fact that she undertook much historical research in order to bring us a reliable narrative of the life of Inés de Suárez.
    • 5/5
      This is a first-person fictionalized account of the life of little-known Ines de Suarez, c. 1507-1580, conquistadora and gobernadora of Chile along with her lover, Pedro de Valdivia (originally field marshal to Perus' conquistador Francisco Pizarro), and later with her husband, Rodrigo de Quiroga.Isabel Allende, born in Peru but raised in Chile, writes as though she is Ines telling the story of her life, at age 70 and shortly before her death, to her adopted daughter Isabel. Allende brings to life Ines' adventurous voyage to the New World, the harrowing trip from Peru to what will become Chile, and her part in its settlement and the battles with the natives. At times the descriptions of the latter scenes become tedious, but it's offset by the detailed research into the life of the heroine and the narrative style that makes her real.Veteran New York actress Blair Brown does an excellent job reading the book, with a perfect Spanish accent and pronunciations. Spanish guitar interludes at the beginning and end of each disc add to the atmosphere. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book - particularly the historical perspective although not nearly as much as some of her other books
    • 2/5
      The story is about a young Spanish woman who follows her husband when he goes off to the New World to make his fortune. The book seemed pretty interesting but there was one thing that turned me off and it happened so much that I just couldn't listen anymore. It's told from the point of view of a much older Ines telling about her younger self, which is fine. I've read lots of books that start in the future and then go back. However, she continually makes allusions to things that will happen later in the most annoying ways. "As you will see later," "As will be explained later," "Which would never come to pass," "If I had only known how it would turn out." These phrases are fairly irritating when used more than once. Yes, I believe you should only use this once in a book no matter how long that book is. It can make a certain impact when used correctly. If used too many times, it simply becomes irritating. If the book is 985 pages long, it should still only be used once. I listened to the audio book for an hour and she said it 10 times. I'm not sure how many chapters or pages that was but it wasn't very long of a time to have it said that many times! Just tell me the story as it happens. Quit telling me that something is going to happen or that I will see different results later. Just tell it and let it unfold naturally. So I wish I could tell you more about the book but I just got irritated and stopped listening. The book is already on it's way to it's new owner, care of Paperback Swap. I hope that person enjoys it more than me
    • 5/5
      Ines is so alluring, provocative, powerful, masterful and wise, yet fortune fated her to never have children. If Senora Suarez could found Chile with such grace, just imagine what women of her bloodline could accomplish in the modern age. She loves passionately yet wisely, and though she carried no bitterness toward de Valdivia towards the end, his fall was inevitable and justified. I wish I could have learned more of the sensible love between her and Rodrigo, after the fevered love of her younger days. Definitely a book for history-lovers and -haters alike!
    • 4/5
      This is a nice piece of historical fiction about a woman who moves to the new world following love. With her courage and love for a married man Ines helps found Chile and and create a strong country that stands many wars to name a few assaults. This is a wonderful account of the importance of women in history, their often unsung bravery and importance.
    • 4/5
      It's an excellent story with the bonus that the narrator, Inés Suárez, lived the events depicted.
    • 2/5
      Unable to read this one, as I could not get into the book - it sounded like a great idea but just didn't work out for me.
    • 5/5
      This is an amazing story about a real, amazing woman of the 16th century. She was born poor in Spain, married the town gigilo who then abandoned her for the lure of El dorado in the newly discovered South America. She eventually follows him there and ends up helping found a city and possibly a country and has a relationship with two remarkable men.The book is written in first person with Ines telling her story which ends with the death of one of her two loves in South America, but not her last one. It is told as a story to her adopted daughter, Isabel.It was a wonderful slow read taking me to a place of intrigue, hardship and beauty.
    • 4/5
      Historical fiction of the life of Isabel Suarez, a daring Spanish conquiistadora who toiled to build the nation of Chile-and whose vital role has too often been forgotten by history.
    • 3/5
      An interesting read from an unreliable narrator giving an insight into the Spanish conquest of Peru and Chile. Awful slush seriously lets it down though.