Isabel Allende's Reading List

The author of the forthcoming novel “Maya’s Notebook” says reading Gabriel García Márquez made her want to become a writer: “I thought, ‘If this guy can do it, so can I.’ ”

Open in WellRead Daily app →

By the Book: Isabel Allende (2013)

NYT By the Book column (2013-04-04).

Source: www.nytimes.com

The Death of Bees

Lisa O’Donnell · Buy on Amazon

"“The Death of Bees,” by Lisa O’Donnell, the kind of edgy, crazy and horrible story that may well happen anywhere."

One Thousand and One Nights

Unknown · Buy on Amazon

"At 14, living in Lebanon, I discovered the irresistible mixture of eroticism and fantasy reading “One Thousand and One Nights” inside a closet with a flashlight."

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez · 1967 · Buy on Amazon

"“One Hundred Years of Solitude” made me want to become a writer. García Márquez characters resembled my own family; his voice seemed easy. I thought, “If this guy can do it, so can I.”"

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez · Buy on Amazon

"“One Hundred Years of Solitude” made me want to become a writer. García Márquez characters resembled my own family; his voice seemed easy. I thought, “If this guy can do it, so can I.”"

Patrick Melrose novels

Edward St. Aubyn · Buy on Amazon

"I just started “The Patrick Melrose Novels,” by Edward St. Aubyn, because everyone is talking about it."

Favorite books (2023)

Favorite books recommended by Isabel Allende, as compiled by radicalreads.com. Source article: https://radicalreads.com/isabel-allende-favorite-books/.

Source: radicalreads.com

The Female Eunuch

Germaine Greer (also rec’d by Angela Davis ) · Buy on Amazon

"As a young woman, I was desperately angry with machismo until I read this 1970 book — revolutionary at the time — and discovered that there was an articulate, smart, and humorous way to tackle the patriarchy. I channeled my fury into action and became a feminist journalist."

The Road

Cormac McCarthy (also rec’d by Bruce Springsteen , Jennette McCurdy , Michael J. Fox & Nick Cave ) · Buy on Amazon

"Among the thousands of apocalyptic futuristic novels in existence, this one stands out as the most depressing. Yet it is so beautifully crafted that I have read it three times. In McCarthy’s tale, the love of a father for his son sheds the only light in the midst of supreme horror and darkness. What a writer!"

Suggest an update?