Violeta Del Valle

The narrator and titular protagonist of Violeta is born in an unnamed South American country in 1920. The narrative follows her life for the next one hundred years; the novel itself is structured as a letter from Violeta to her grandson, Camilo. Throughout the narrative, Violeta explores themes of loss, family, inheritance, and the relationship between the personal and the political. She often rebuffs typical expectations of womanhood in her home country. She notes, early in the novel, that “I saved money, got a loan from the Regional Bank…[and] planned to continue investing in that business and any other opportunities that might come up. This was something unprecedented. Women of my social class did not work…” (113). Violeta is independent, both temperamentally and financially. She is often unafraid to speak her mind or to reject societal constraints.

Violeta is born during the influenza pandemic of the early...