30 June 2016

Review #473: Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende Llona



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

----Aristotle



Isabel Allende Llona, a Chilean-American novelist, has penned an intriguing yet edgy novel, Maya's Notebook that unfolds the story of a teenage girl who after the death of her grandfather, the only supporting figure of her life, she surrounds herself with negative influences like drugs, alcohol and selling her body, which makes her lose herself as she escapes from the authorities as well as from hit man and lands into a quiet and secluded island off the coast of Chile, where she learns a lot not only about her roots but also rinses her soul with the purity that the community of the island has to offer all the while learning about the deadly family secrets.


Synopsis:

Neglected by her parents, nineteen-year-old Maya Nidal grows up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandparents. Her grandmother, Nidia, affectionately known as Nini, is a force of nature--a woman whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973. Popo, Maya's grandfather, is an African American astronomer and professor--a gentle man whose solid, comforting presence helps calm the turbulence of Maya's adolescence.

When Popo dies of cancer, Maya goes completely off the rails. With her girlfriends Maya turns to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime, eventually bottoming out in Las Vegas. Lost in a dangerous underworld, she is caught in the crosshairs of warring forces--a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a -remote island off the coast of Chile. Here Maya tries to make sense of the past, unravels mysterious truths about life and her family, and embarks on her greatest adventure: the journey into her own soul.



In sixteen years of her life, Maya has experienced almost everything in her life, from drugs to prostitution to stealing and petty crimes thereby living life on the edge and making a negative name for herself in Oregon where she lived with her grandparents, among whom her grandmother, Nini, is a Chilean emigrant whereas her grandfather, Popo, is an African American professor and Popo is the center of Maya's life, but after his death, Maya loses herself in grief and pain thereby finding solace in the comfort of deadly drugs and alcohol, which lands her up in Las Vegas, where she gets involve with a drug dealer by working for his clients to deliver drugs. Pretty soon, from the FBI to the Interpol to the local police to some assassins, all either wanted her dead or wanted her alive to imprison her. With so many criminal cases hanging on her head, Maya escapes to Chile with the help of her grandmother in a secluded island called, Chiloe where she will be taken care by her grandmother's long time friend, Manuel, an anthropologist who is writing his book. This is where she learns about herself, about her family, about the stories and those childhood days that her grandmother rarely talked about and also a lot about a community that is so kind, peaceful, forgiving and happy.

The author's writing style is quite appealing and articulate and something that is easy to comprehend with. The narrative of the book is engaging and is laced with emotions that will move the readers immensely. The pacing is fast, as the story jumps from one scene to another with its proper descriptions. The story has many layers and many destinations to explore, each layer is carefully wrapped over another, and with the progress of the story, the author eventually peels one layer after layer thus making it thoroughly interesting.

The author has depicted so many sensitive themes of a modern society with this book of hers quite strikingly and effectively that the readers are bound to ponder about those themes even long after the end of the book. Drugs abuse, underage alcohol drinking, flesh market, rape and so many criminal acts conducted by a teenager and how the drug market grows with the help of some runaway teenagers who have destroyed their lives while trying to live dependently on drugs. In the modern society, teenagers or the youth feels that escape from grief or pain or struggle is with the help of substance abuse that will help them forget about it, and this is what the author has managed to capture as well as deliver through this story, hence I believe each and every teenager or parents of teenagers must read this book.

The backdrop of both Las Vegas and Chile is excellently captivated by the author into the canvas of her story, where the readers will see a rather dark side of the glittery, sparkly, rich, gambling capital, Las Vegas in contrast to Chile, where the cool and the dry weather with a serene landscape will soothe the minds and the hearts of the readers. The author has captured the Chilean culture, religion, the demeanor of its citizen, the climate, the language as well as the flora quite vividly that will instantly transport the readers into such a charming island. Whereas in case of Las Vegas, the author draws a dark, honest and bold portrait, where the readers will experience a sinister world filled with mobs, drug dealers, prostitutes, killers and many such people who overcrowd the dark alleys of this city.

The characters in this book are quite well-developed, layered with their flaws and back stories, thus giving them a depth. The main character, Maya, through whose journal the readers learn about her story, is brilliantly arrested as the author carefully draws with enough realism to make the readers relate to her. Maya is an evolving character, who in the beginning will project someone as reckless and extremely impulsive, thereby facing a lot of near-death problems and scenarios, but she luckily escapes those to Chile, where her transition begins and the readers will be introduced to a Maya who is understanding, calm and compassionate. Her maturity grows with her enlightenment about life in the Chilean community along with Manuel, who teaches her a lot about the importance and quality of life. Manuel is another character who will peak the readers interest with his exciting stories about Chile and its people. The supporting characters are also quite well etched out and will keep the readers glued to the pages of the book.

In a nutshell, this is a riveting book that will keep the readers engrossed with Maya's passage to redemption and self-discovery while braving dark times with addiction.

Verdict: Not only promising but also a poignant story about a teenager.
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Author Info:
Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean-American novelist. Allende, who writes in the "magic realism" tradition, is considered one of the first successful women novelists in Latin America. She has written novels based in part on her own experiences, often focusing on the experiences of women, weaving myth and realism together. She has lectured and done extensive book tours and has taught literature at several US colleges. She currently resides in California with her husband. Allende adopted U.S. citizenship in 2003.
Visit her here



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