Editing Isabel Allende (section)

== Reception ==
''Latino Leaders Magazine'' called her a "literary legend" in a 2007 article naming her the third most influential Latino leader in the world.<ref name="Top"/>

Her work has drawn some negative criticism. In an article published in ''Entre paréntesis'', [[Roberto Bolaño]] called Allende's literature anemic, comparing it to "a person on his deathbed", and later called her "a writing machine, not a writer".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bolaño|first=Roberto|author-link=Roberto Bolaño|title=Entre paréntesis : ensayos, artículos y discursos (1998-2003)|date=2004|publisher=Editorial Anagrama|others=Echevarría, Ignacio.|isbn=84-339-6210-8|location=Barcelona|oclc=57244781|page=102}}</ref><ref>[[Roberto Bolaño|Bolaño, Roberto]]. Entre paréntesis, page 102: {{Verse translation|lang=es-cl|''Es decir la literatura de Allende es mala, pero está viva, es anémica, como muchos latinoamericanos, pero está viva. No va a vivir mucho tiempo, como muchos enfermos, pero ahora está viva.''|In other words, Allende's literature is bad, but it is alive, it is anemic, like many Latin Americans, but it is alive. She will not live long, like many sick people, but she is alive now.}}</ref><ref name=clarin/> Literary critic [[Harold Bloom]] said that Allende only "reflects a determinate period, and that afterwards everybody will have forgotten her".<ref name= clarin>[http://www.clarin.com/diario/2003/02/09/s-04003.htm Los éxitos y las críticas] ''[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]]''. 9 February 2003<br /> {{Verse translation|lang=es-cl|''Isabel Allende es una muy mala escritora y sólo refleja un período determinado. Después todos se olvidarán de ella.'' ([[Harold Bloom]])|Isabel Allende is a very bad writer and only reflects a certain period. Then everyone will forget about her.}}<br />{{Verse translation|lang=es-cl|''Me parece una mala escritora, simple y llanamente, y llamarla escritora es darle cancha. Ni siquiera creo que Isabel Allende sea una escritora, es una escribidora.'' ([[Roberto Bolaño]])|She seems to me to be a bad writer, plain and simple, and to call her a writer is to give her court. I don't even think Isabel Allende is a writer, she is a hack.<!-- https://context.reverso.net/translation/spanish-english/una+escribidora -->}}</ref><ref name="bloom2003">{{Cite book|title=Isabel Allende|series=Bloom's Modern Critical Views|date=2003|publisher=Chelsea House Publishers|author-link=Harold Bloom|last=Bloom|first=Harold.|isbn=0-7910-7039-5|location=[[Philadelphia]]|oclc=49991424}}</ref> Novelist [[Gonzalo Contreras]] said that "she commits a grave error, to confuse commercial success with literary quality".<ref>[http://www.icarito.cl/medio/articulo/0,0,3255_5700_39755205,00.html Isabel Allende critica duramente a escritores chilenos y desata polémica], ''[[La Tercera]]''. 9 February 2003<br />{{Verse translation|lang=es-cl|''Ella incurre en un gravísimo error, confundir éxito de ventas con calidad literaria.'' ([[Gonzalo Contreras]])|''She makes a huge mistake, mistaking bestseller for literary quality.''}}</ref>

Allende told [[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|''El Clarín'']] that she recognizes she has not always received good reviews in Chile, stating that Chilean intellectuals "detest" her. However, she disagrees with these assessments:

{{blockquote|text=The fact people think that when you sell a lot of books you are not a serious writer is a great insult to the readership. I get a little angry when people try to say such a thing. There was a review of my last book in one American paper by a professor of Latin American studies and he attacked me personally for the sole reason that I sold a lot of books. That is unforgivable.<ref name="donegan2013">{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/13/familyandrelationships.healthandwellbeing1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928140702/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/13/familyandrelationships.healthandwellbeing1|archive-date=28 September 2013|url-status=live|title= This much I know: Isabel Allende, writer, 65, San Francisco | first =Lawrence | last = Donegan |newspaper= The Guardian|access-date= 24 November 2014|date= 12 July 2008 }}</ref>}}

It has been said that "Allende's impact on Latin American and world literature cannot be overestimated."<ref name= "Top" /> The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called Allende "a genius",<ref name= "Top"/> and she has received many international awards, including the [[The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize|Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize]],<ref name= "Top"/> granted to writers "who have contributed to the beauty of the world".<ref name="Top"/>