Evelyn‘s relationship with Frankie is very special, and reveals a lot about her character. Do you know of any immigrants in these kinds of jobs? Do they encounter any difficulties similar to Evelyn’s? How do Frankie’s parents treat Evelyn? Why does she seem 'invisible' to Frankie’s father?Ĥ.

Many immigrants in the United States currently work in caretaker jobs: as nannies taking care of small children, or as home health aides caring for the sick, elderly, or dying. Do you agree? Why or why not? Did this book change the way you think about immigrants? If so, how?ģ. Why did they leave their native countries, and what were their first experiences as immigrants? Did you find any aspects of Evelyn’s journey surprising? It is said that the United States is a country of immigrants, and that immigrants made this country great. Compare her experience entering the country with that of other immigrants you know of or have read about. Evelyn comes to the United States as a refugee fleeing violence. In what other ways is she isolated? How is her isolation different from Evelyn’s? And from Richard’s?Ģ. The book begins with Lucia physically isolated in her apartment during a snowstorm. Each of the three main characters-Lucia, Evelyn, and Richard-experiences some kind of isolation in their present life. I also loved the dark undertones when Richard and Lucia discover just what is in the boot of the car Evelyn is driving. I enjoyed the forays into the past of each character and the moments that led them to the moment they meet. I loved the way Richard, Evelyn and Lucia are thrown together by circumstances and chance. The book is much darker than I thought it would be and all the better for that.

In the Midst of Winter is not the book I was expecting at all based on the front cover which doesn’t suit it all. 31 October 2017, ebook, 353 pages, borrowed from via #POPSUGARReadingChallenge, a book by a Latinx author) Sweeping from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala to turbulent 1970s Chile and Brazil, and woven with Isabel Allende’s trademark humanity, passion and storytelling verve, In the Midst of Winter is a mesmerizing and unforgettable tale.Īt the end of December 2015 winter had not yet reached Brooklyn. But what at first seems an inconvenience takes an unforeseen and darker turn when Evelyn comes to him and his neighbour Lucia Maraz, desperately seeking help. Richard Bowmaster, a lonely university professor in his sixties, hits the car driven by Evelyn Ortega, a young, undocumented migrant from Guatemala. Amid the biggest Brooklyn snowstorm in living memory, an unexpected friendship blossoms between three people thrown together by circumstance.

Isabel allende in the midst of winter