A review by misterintensity
Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende

3.0

The death of Maya Videl's grandfather starts a downward tumble of alcohol and drug addiction that eventually makes her a target of a group of drug dealers. Maya's grandmother, Nini sends her to an old friend in Chile, Manuel Arias, to hide her from the dealers and to give her a chance to put her life back together. Isabel Allende attempts to weave the genres of literary fiction with a dash of magical realism and thriller together. While she creates a compelling story the mishmash of genres does not quite succeed. Her attempt at writing a thriller does not quite capture what works within that genre. Yet the central characters, particularly the members of Maya's immediate family come off as interesting and you understand them. However, Allende introduces too many characters and outside of Maya's immediate circle, they don't make much of an impression even though some of them do have interesting back stories. It may be strange to say but this is an ambitious book even though on the surface it is a quiet one, however it is too ambitious for its own good. It would have been a better read if Allende did not feel the need to add so many elements to this novel.