Ines of my Soul (Book Review)
I don’t usually review or recommend novels because to be honest most of the ones I read are grist for the mill of paperback mass consumerism – spy novels, a bit of horror, and intrigue of some nature. However, Ines of my Soul by Isabel Allende (also more readily available in bookstores as paperback) was a present I bought for my partner Linden last year and having finally read it myself I’m impressed by just how brilliant a novel Isabel Allende has written.
Almost forgotten, the life of Ines Suarez in the 1500’s was one of pivotal importance to the conquest and development of Chile, alongside larger than life historic figures which have been far better recorded. I won’t ruin the story by recounting the plot blow for blow but after a measured beginning it draws you into a compelling adventure and tragic story… on the one hand there is the feeling of triumph of conquest, but at the same time the cruelty and cost of the barbaric wars against the Chileans and the indominatable Mapuche to the South leaves a bitter taste in one’s mouth about being European by descent.
This is probably not a book for those feeble hearted who disdain violence. It is a very violent book and accedes to the glory of war that was Spain in the 1500’s. But it is a book about the real culture displaced by the Conquistadors and the greed that drove the conquest, alongside the people who wanted a fair and just world away from Spain.
Ultimately we are where we are in world history and there is little doubt that stronger countries will have devoured weaker ones. South America would have fallen to European might one way or another. It would be unrealistic to imagine the Americas, Australia and anywhere else remaining indigenous forever given the tools and the trade of the real world. However, Ines of my Soul has a brilliant way of dancing around the reality and hardship and sheer brutality of conquest while putting faces and names and lives to the historic events such as the founding of Santiago and the conquest of Chile.
Highly recommended if you’re in the market for a good read. The real sign of a good novel is when you realise toward the very end you never checked the page numbers a single time.
