It was the infamous coup in 1973 that first concentrated Allende's mind on politics and turned her into a storyteller of such stature. Since then, her novels have dogged the footsteps of her long journey from Chile to her adopted home, California. Apart from a slow change of scene, other influences have faded or matured - the magical realism is less intense now, less out there, and these days is expressed more as personal hallucination. In these last two novels, setting the political violence so far back in time gives it a cool, rather than a chilling, perspective - perhaps the naturally big-hearted Allende is attempting an exercise in understanding. Although it is the third book to be written of this trilogy, Portrait in Sepia is the prequel to her celebrated The House of the Spirits - her first novel and at the same time the last and most immediate act of this remarkable must-read family saga.
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