The House of the Spirits, Allende's debut novel published in 1982, became a bestseller and won much critical acclaim. Written partly in the magic realist tradition of the so-called Latin Boom, partly as a social and political representation of the Chilean post-revolution reality, the novel is a semi-autobiographical view of four generations of women.

Paula (1997) is the story Allende intends to tell her daughter if she ever wakes up from a coma. She tells Paula about the kooky relatives she has, about the demise of Salvador Allende, and about growing up in Lebanon and Chile. Amidst the sadness, Allende also tells about her personal love affairs as well as her tale of becoming a writer.

Laura Esquivel's first novel of 1990, Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments, With Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies, was a run-away bestseller in Mexico...