
The Wind Knows My Name
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Edoardo Ballerini
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Maria Liatis
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Written by:
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Isabel Allende
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Frances Riddle - translator
About this listen
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 the author 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 Kristallnacht—the night his family loses everything. As her child’s safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel’s 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 Díaz 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 Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita’s 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 dangers—and never stop dreaming.
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What the critics say
"[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 in a compassionate story that reminds us ‘we could all just as easily find ourselves in similar situations.’”—The Washington Post
“Allende’s 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 things—immigration and identity—who belongs and who doesn't, and how to care for the dispossessed. In Allende’s version healing is possible, because empathy is a hopeful, albeit inconsistent, follower of migration.”—NPR
What listeners say about The Wind Knows My Name
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Deb Fong
- 2023-09-24
Poignant and Important
Tying the story of child refugees across continents and time Isabel Allende has delivered another outstanding novel. This story is important in this time of political hard liners, a rise of extremism world wide and the continuing trauma running from violence engenders. As usual, Ms Allende’s writing is lyrical and her story captivating. A great read.
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Overall
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Performance
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- M.S.
- 2023-07-30
Excepted more from this book
This is a heartbreaking book following the life of two children from two different centuries that experienced the similar life tragedies.
However, I was expected more from this author. I like the beginning of the book, the Samuel’s story, but than I got lost in the new not really defined characters in the Anita’s story. In my opinion there are not enough details in that story that could help the reader to really connect to the characters. The story sounds more like a combination of the newspapers clippings and the articles from some lawyers documents. I think these two stories are very important stories to tell, especially the today’s relevant Anita’s story, and I am somewhat disappointed that this book didn’t go deep enough.
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- Leslie Carignan
- 2023-06-29
Allende does it again. Wonderful story!
Fabulous book. Allende does it again. Should be required reading in high school curricula world wide!
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