Literature

Isabel Allende is one of the most famous and widely read Spanish-language authors in the world. In addition, she is one of the most well-known women writers in Latin America. With so much credit bequeathed to her, it then becomes important for us to take a glance at her life and her work, so as to determine what the fuss is all about. Therefore in the paragraphs to follow, we will look at Isabels biography, her writing and the literally movement most present in her writing and in summary, we will see what impact her writing had on Latin American Literature.

Biographical Outlook
Isabel Allende came to this world on 2 August 1943 in a country know as Lima, Peru. Isabel is the daughter of Toms Allende who was the first cousin of Salvador Allende, the President of Chile as from 1970 to 1973. Isabels life changed when in 1945, her father disappeared forcing Isabels mother to relocate her and her two siblings to Santiago, Chile, where they lived until 1953 (Gould 5).

Sometime after 1953, Isabels mother met and married Ramn Huidobro a diplomat appointed to Bolivia and Beirut. His being a diplomat forced the family to move a lot. While in Bolivia, Isabel attended a North American private school and while in Beirut, she attended an English private school. This schooling helped in some way to shape her literally career. In addition, her career was shaped through her interest in reading particularly, the works of William Shakespeare (Gould 25).
Isabel finished her secondary schooling in Chile and thereafter, she met and married her first husband, Miguel Fras. After the nuptials, Allende kicked off her work career with her first job being as a translator for Barbara Cartland, who was a dramatist and journalist for a feminist magazine. Soon after, she worked for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in several different countries. (Gould 50).
An event that came to change her life was the CIA-backed military coup which took place in 1973. Due to the threat on her life resulting from this coup, Isabel relocated to Venezuela where she resided for 13 years. While there, she became a columnist for El Nacional, a main newspaper in that country (Gould 73).
Allende divorced from her husband and it was during a brief visit to the state of California in 1988 that Allende met her second husband and attorney Willie Gordon. In 2003, Allende obtained United States citizenship and currently, she and most of her family i.e. kids and grandkids live in San Rafael, California (Gould 150).
Literary career
Allendes literary career began in 1967 where she was on the editorial staff for Paula magazine. She went from being editor of this and several other magazines to being a journalist for a Chilean television Channel. It was during her stint at this channel and while interviewing Pablo Neruda, a notable Chilean poet, that her eyes were opened to writing. This was due to Pablos assessment that Allende had too much imagination to be a journalist he suggested that she instead become a novelist something that she took to heart for in 1973, she published her first book (Gould 175).
The year 1982 came and with it, came Allendes first literally success. After getting the news that her grandfather was on his deathbed, Allende started writing him a letter and it was this letter that later evolved into a book manuscript, The House of the Spirits (Allende 15). The book became a success and it saw Allende being compared to Gabriel Garca Mrquez an author of the style known as magical realism. Allendes books have since become known for their vivid storytelling. Although Allende is often categorized under the literary style of magical realism, her works often times display elements of post-Boom literature and as such, her style cannot be described as purely adhering to magical realism. Some of her books in addition glean from some of her personal life accounts. For example, her book Daughter of Fortune, which also has some elements of magical realism, was a memoir of her late daughter, Paula (Gould 195).
Magical Realism
A book containing magical realism can be said to have elements of imagination, hyperbole and gross exaggeration, recurrent use of premonition, of coincidence and of things that happen in fiction and wouldnt seem to happen in real life. Magical realism is usually regarded as a regional trend, restricted to Latin American writers who popularized it as a literary form. Magical realism to Latin Americans is a way to express the realistic American mentality and a way to create an autonomous style of literature (Zamora, Lois and Faris Wendy 6). Of all Allendes novels, The House of the Spirits is the most representative of magical realism (Allende 20).
Allende, despite her commercial success, has endured criticisms for this style of writing particularly from Chilean intellectuals. They say that she is not a good writer and will soon be forgotten. They say that she should not take her commercial success, to be literally success (Gould 200).


Literally Success
Despite her critics, Allendes impact, not on only Latin American literature but also on world literature is expansive. She is termed to be a success by many. Allende has featured in scholarly bibliographies, publications and dissertations as well as in film credits, newspapers and magazines. To be specific, Allende has received many international awards, including the prestigious Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize which is normally granted to writers who have contributed to the beauty of the world. She has also been recently called a literary legend by Latino Leaders Magazine, which named her as the third most influential Latino leader in the world in their 2007 article. In 2008, Allende additionally featured as an Oprah Book Club author. All these accolades under Allendes belt only go to show what an impact she has made in Latin America and World literature (Gould 215).
Conclusion
Allende overcame many obstacles which included a death sentence on her life during the coup of 1973 to become a literally success as evidenced by the commercial success of her books. Although many of Allendes Chilean critics say that she is just a passing wind, I beg to differ Allendes books which are loved by many and more so because of her unique style of writing, Magical Realism, are here to stay and many generations hereafter will still pick up her books. Her influence cannot be denied, and an influence such as this, is bound to carry on for many more generations to come.