The stories I think are based in Allende's native Chile and seem to come from another time. Outlaws, rebels, illegitimate children and mistresses all feature in stories sometimes domestic and sometimes fantastic.
I love the short story format as it often encourages authors to leave more up to the reader; we get snippets rather than beginnings, middles and endings. Not so with Allende, her stories read more like fables. We get a full life but told simply, pared down to the essential parts but still poetic and beautifully told. I loved reading them and would definitely recommend.
Graham Greene's 'A Burnt-Out Case' next.
