Violeta tells the epic story of a woman who bears witness to modern history’s greatest upheavals, starting with the Spanish flu and ending with the coronavirus. Violeta is one of the most anticipated books of 2022 because Isabel Allende brings her uniquely magical voice to our most pressing modern problems—while dealing with the weight of history that we all feel on our shoulders. “My intention was to use the pandemics as bookends to the century that Violeta lives through, which is the century my mother lived [through],” explains Allende, who cites her mother’s death two years earlier as her inspiration for writing the book. “My mother was a wonderful person but she didn’t have an extraordinary life. Violeta lives in a way I wish my mother could have done.” Violeta’s heroine is shaped by all the big events that defined the past hundred years: wars, the rise and fall of tyrants, economic depressions, the fight for women’s rights, and yes, pandemics. But Violeta refuses to be defined or defeated by the world’s ups and downs. She remains passionate and determined through it all, using her humor to ride the waves of heartbreak, joy, poverty, and loss that she faces in her inspiring journey. Violeta is the latest masterpiece by a true literary icon, and it’s widely available January 25th.