The Wind Knows My Name

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER The lives of a Jewish boy escaping Nazi-occupied Europe and a mother and daughter fleeing twenty-first-century El Salvador intersect in this ambitious, intricate novel about war and immigration (People), from theauthor of A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta

Timely, provocative . . . emotionally satisfying . . . [a story about] the kindness of strangers who become family.The New York Times Book Review

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnachtthe night his family loses everything. As her childs safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuels mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.

Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Daz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durn, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anitas mother.

Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangersand never stop dreaming.

Reviews

[An] homage to parents who make unthinkable decisions to save their little ones, and to kids who survive some of the toughest challenges imaginable.Associated Press

This beloved author transports us to two dark periods in history: Nazi-overrun Vienna in 1938 and the current dire situation at the border between the United States and Mexico. . . .Both stories are rich enough to carry the weight of one novel, but Allende expertly intertwines them.Employing her signature touch of magical realism, she wraps us ina compassionate storythat reminds us we could all just as easily find ourselves in similar situations.The Washington Post

Allendes artistry shapes a lyrical romanticism around social political history and global turmoil . . .[Her dialogue is] current, relevant and real. Our civic discourse is centered by a multitude of voices talking about two thingsimmigration and identitywho belongs and who doesn't, and how to care for the dispossessed. In Allendes version healing is possible, because empathy is a hopeful, albeit inconsistent, follower of migration.NPR

[Allende is]the queen of magic realism.BBC

It feels something like a modern version of The Secret Garden: lost, grieving people finding joy and hope with each other, with a touch of magic.Beautiful and moving. . . draws parallels between humanitarian crises in different times and places in a way that feels deeply personal.Book Riot

The Wind Knows My Name isa treat for fans of Kristin Hannah, Christina Baker Kline, and Julia Alvarez, all authors who understand that history always affects current events.Virtuoso, The Magazine

Allende is always a must readand readers will queue for her latest mix of history, suspense, emotional insight, social commentary, mysticism, wit, and tenderness.Booklist

Powerful. . . Allende finds real depth in her characters, especially when portraying their sacrifices. Thisauthentic and emotionally harrowing workis a triumphant return to form.Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Author Bio

Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and Paula. Her books have been translated into more than forty-two languages and have sold more than seventy-four million copies worldwide. She lives in California.