Isabel Allende and Saints for All Occasions

EPISODE 50

Isabel Allende and Saints for All Occasions

December 24, 2019 - Abbe sits down with the legendary author Isabel Allende to discuss the Spanish Civil War, the current refugee crisis, the heroism of Greta Thunberg, and her latest novel, The Long Petal of the Sea.

In this episode, Abbe reviews one book she recently re-read: Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan. She finds that the book definitely holds up to the first time and rediscovers this family of characters all over again.

Abbe also sits down with the legendary author Isabel Allende to discuss the Spanish Civil War, the current refugee crisis, the heroism of Greta Thunberg, and Allende’s latest novel, The Long Petal of the Sea. Tune in to hear the story Isabel Allende tells that makes Abbe weep.

My experience of having lived through the overtaking of the military of a democratically-elected government in Chile was so similar to what happened in Spain in 1936, that I could relate to it. I could have been in 1936 in Spain as I was in Chile in 1973. Both events have so many similarities, that I started thinking that it can happen again. It can happen in many places—it can happen here. It's always a possibility.
—Isabel Allende

Finally, Abbe and debut novelist Kiley Reid chat about her novel, Such a Fun Age, and the race and power dynamics that are tied up in its plot.