Customer Reviews

The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir (P.S.)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The Sum Of Our Days is a family memoir based on Allende's idea that her deceased daughter Paula would want to know what has happened to the family since she died. Lacking in pretense and affectation, The Sum Of Our Days is an honest portrait of an unusual family, full of interest and charm.

Told through a series of short stories that could be letters to Paula's ghost (and were in fact culled from letters Allende wrote to her mother in Chile), The Sum Of Our Days describes a family that has survived drug addiction, death, betrayal and divorce to celebrate birth, travel, friendship and love. The heavy subject matter has been blessed with perspective and humor courtesy of time.

It's difficult to write about triumphing in hard times and not sound pompous or self-righteous. But who would lie to their deceased daughter? It's a clever way to tell a family story and the result for the reader is a good story well told.

This book is also available in the original Spanish version.

Wow, what a rollicking read. I kept having to remind myself that this was a memoir and not one of Allende's novels. Lesser women would have crawled into a hole having lived through the tragedy and day to day uproar of her life, but Isabel Allende just keeps drawing the hurt and struggling into her family circle and that extended family supports each other and moves forward together. She is truly a matriarch who, as she admits, sometimes needs to be reined in a bit.

Sometimes she needs to reach outside the family for support. That is when the "sisters of disorder" step in.

"Though I had just met her, I told her what was happening with you.
"We are going to pray for your daughter and for you", she told me. A
month later she invited me to her 'prayer circle,' and that is how
these new friends came to accompany me during your agony and death...
and continue to comfort me today. For me it is a sisterhood sealed in
heaven. Every woman in this world should have such a circle of
friends. Each of us is witness to the others; lives; we keep secrets,
help in difficulties, share experiences, and stay in almost daily
contact by e-mail. However far I may be traveling, I always have my
lie to terra firma: my sisters of disorder."

This book is a testament to the power of love of every kind. It is a gift to read.

Like most reviewers, I've enjoyed Allende's previous works, and I spent most of a Sunday afternoon wrapping up this latest offering. I can feel my furrowed brow as I type, because I don't know what to make of it. I enjoyed reading about the various members of Allende's "tribe" and at times wished I could join them. At other times I felt like the book was an infomercial. Clearly Allende is justifiably proud of her friends and family's accomplishments--her friend Tabra's jewelry business (I'll probably make a purchase shortly), her former daughter-in-law's Marin County mountain bike tour company, her husband's novels.

Allende also discusses her frequent travels around the globe with family members--annual trips to Chile to her mother, an African safari with her grandchildren, a trip to India with her husband and Tabra. I suspect the average reader can only dream of such adventures; am I envious? Allende and her husband can afford to be financially generous to their large family, and they obviously enjoy sharing their good fortune, but for a reason I still can't put my finger on, broadcasting that fact to devoted readers just smacked of Oprah to me.

Other reviewers had mentioned that they felt the book was written in haste, and poorly edited. Passages like this one simply didn't ring true for me: "I had shrunk an inch [she's 5 feet tall] and the body lolling in the water was that of a mature woman who had never been a beauty." I'm sure anyone who has seen photos of Ms. Allende would agree that she's stunning and quite beautiful. Had she been unattractive, I suspect her career might not have been as successful as it is.

I'm sure I'll be editing my review once I've given it more thought. For now, I agree with other reviewers that The Sum of Our Lives is not the best introduction to Allende's wonderful body of work. Start with House of the Spirits and work your way up through her earlier works to the current offering.

the sum of our days is an experience like no other. firstly, to belong to any family is tricky business, but to belong to , for the brief magical time one is reading this enchanted memoir, this family, or more accurately, as isabel calls her loved ones, this TRIBE, is to experience an open minded, willing, adventurous, and unfailingly faithful family. from the moment one begins this book, a journey of sheer recognizalbe living begins. nothing is held back, yet not a single mean spirited word is written. it is truth, the truth about those who are loved above all others, family and those friends who are chosen family.
she writes with such passion, loyalty, color, humor, wit, intelligence, intuition, and i only know, when i finished the book this morning, having eeked it out over the recent two days because i never ever wanted to be parted from this woman's daring, wise, funny, sexy, proud,vulnerable and tender outlook, i cried and cried....it was like losing the day to day connection to a rare and irresistble spirit, as well her cherished loved ones who are painted with such detail and honoring, and felt in a most distant way, in a small way, what it is like like for anyone to lose a most precious loved one. it loss to ever finish an isable allende book, but, perhaps, thisone more than any other. who else is like isabel allende? how can one go on with everyday life when separted from her writing?? she almost ruins everyday living with her beautiful life force and questing strength.it is true grief to ever complete any isable allende book, but this one really packs a wallop of both fullness and missing when it is over, a gaping emtiness as one closes the book, while at the same time giving a new power to the reader, a given promise to one's self to try to live as courageously as does this woman and her entire tribe. in my acting classes, i always say, "who would you most like to share a dinner with?" for me, there is no one comparable to isabel allende. her courage, humor, boldness, her caring, her ability to still love life when life has dealt her the worst bad dream of all, is inspiraiton. this book is beyond exemplary, bolstering,inpsiring, vividly beautiful and utterly , wonderfully, compelling. THE BEST!!!!!!!!

Isabel Allende spins a yarn about her family, friends and life. Some of the stories narrated here were arresting, some felt tedious and a tad overglossed. If you're a fan of Allende's you might find this book fascinating, otherwise starting off with one of her novels might be a better idea. I must say though that some passages or jottings were poignant, and allows for a bit of quiet self-reflection.

This is a book written with all her heart, mind and whole body! It is very moving, open and Allende is not afraid of exposing herself to all emotions - good and bad! Her motherhood, her "tribe feeling", her own marriage...
Very real and very beautiful!

Isabel Allende does a delightful job of letting the reader get to know her family with all its quirky characters, good times, and tragedies. It's nice to be reassured that your own family is not the only one full of oddballs, busybodies, high points, and lows. This book is engaging, with several memorable scenes such as the author's march around the Olympic stadium. It generated a very good book club discussion and I plan (if I ever have the time) to read the prequel - Paula.

I really enjoyed reading this book and purchased it for one of my closest friends. The sisters of perpetual disorder had me cracking up laughing. And there were tender moments when I had to put the book down to stop from crying. I would recommend this book to just about anyone who wants an honest read and a look into a writer's life.

Isabel Allende's memoir "The Sum of Our Days" is the much awaited sequel to "My Invented Country" and "Paula." Together they provide insight into this brilliant writer's very real life which crosses three continents. Numerous challenges, a sometimes dysfunctional blended "family," incredible coping skills and heartfelt family connections reveal a truly complex human being imbued with soul. Having read all of Isabel's novels, it is inspiring to know the genuine person within. Thank you Isabel!

Isabel Allende's book "The Sum Of Our Days" bring both extraordinary insight and what I consider thoughtful availability to her memoir that touched me deeply. I got to "be" a part of her story, her family...it was truly intimate.

Her conversations and storytelling throughout the book, with her deceased daughter Paula, are both beautiful and haunting. Watching through Isabel's eyes, her family life unfolding around her, and dealing with their grief was amazing. It aided me personally in my own grief over the loss of my daughter Martha to breast cancer in Febuary of 2007.

Isabel gives hope in sharing her memoir. We can move forward through all of life's changes, both joyful and sorrowful. After all, we are the sum of our days...