Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Maya's Notebook

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende

8 reviews

liri_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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loxeletters's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I've been sitting in this review for a while... I enjoyed this book. It was funny, interesting, and well-written. I really enjoyed exploring the Las Vegas drug scene and the topic of addiction. I

But there were also some major issues I had, especially the way this book treats PTSD. Manuel's trauma is confronted in a way which I found distasteful and unrealistic. I would have liked to explore the topic of Pinochets dictatorship more in depth in general - I was hoping it would be a big theme in the book, that's why I picked it up - but instead it felt rushed and shallow. This may very well be also due to the diary format, which of course lends itself to a lot of telling and less showing.

My second big issue with the book was the way the big mystery was realised. For the first half of the book, we're wondering why Maya is in Chiloé. Once the Las Vegas Part of the story is told, however, the stakes felt suddenly quite low. I felt like they were all being a bit overdramatic. Then, in the last thirty pages, things suddenly pick back up again and everything devolves rapidly. The final solution regarding Arana was also very speculative for me... Not enough actual proof, only some speculation on Maya's part to eplain his role. It felt weird.

All that being said, I really enjoyed the setting of Chiloé and the community of the little island. Makes me want to visit actually! I liked the characters, though I was frustrated by Maya at times. I enjoyed the parts about the dictatorship and about her addiction. I also appreciated the dry, understated humour. Overall a mixed experience. I was told this is Allende's most "YA" work, and I'm excited to read more adult works by her.

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lena_loves_reading's review against another edition

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4.0

I couldn't feel a connection in the beginning, but I enjoyed the ending :)

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gitli57's review

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emotional informative reflective

3.0

Allende can be very hit or miss for me. In Maya's Notebook, she managed to hit and miss in the same book. There was some genuinely moving writing about the horrors of the US backed Pinochet dictatorship in Chile (which Allende and her family experienced first hand). Allende can also bring off an Indigenous sensibility and does here. But there are larger believability issues, starting with the narrative voice. Since the novel is told in first person, this really undermines her main character. Many of the plot points wobble into TV novella territory. The line between genuine emotion and sentimentality is not as sharp and obvious as some critics like to suggest, so decide for yourself whether or not Allende crosses it.

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