Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses

Written by Isabel Allende

Narrated by Isabel Allende and Gabra Zackman

New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende celebrates the pleasures of the sensual life in this rich, joyful and slyly humorous book, a combination of personal narrative and treasury of erotic lore.

Under the aegis of the Goddess of Love, Isabel Allende uses her storytelling skills brilliantly in Aphrodite to evoke the delights of food and sex. After considerable research and study, she has become an authority on aphrodisiacs, which include everything from food and drink to stories and, of course, love. Readers will find here recipes from Allende's mother, poems, stories from ancient and foreign literatures, paintings, personal anecdotes, fascinating tidbits on the sensual art of foodand its effects on amorous performance, tips on how to attract your mate and revive flagging virility, passages on the effect of smell on libido, a history of alcoholic beverages, and much more.

An ode to sensuality that is an irresistible blend of memory, imagination and the senses, Aphrodite is familiar territory for readers who know her fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9780063000407

Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende, born in Peru and raised in Chile, is a novelist, feminist, and philanthropist. She is one of the most widely read authors in the world, having sold more than eighty million copies of her books across forty-two languages. She is the author of several bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The Wind Knows My Name, Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and Paula. In addition to her work as a writer, Isabel devotes much of her time to human rights causes. She has received fifteen honorary doctorates, been inducted into the California Hall of Fame, and received the PEN Center Lifetime Achievement Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and in 2018, she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. She lives in California with her husband and dogs. You can visit Isabel Allende at IsabelAllende.com or follow her on Instagram @AllendeIsabel, on Facebook at Facebook.com/IsabelAllende and on X @IsabelAllende

[Linette Roodt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am so happy to have found this audiobook. I have loved this book for so long.

[anglophile65 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was so taken by this book years ago, that I'm very interested in reading it again since I have no memories of what it was about, just that I loved it :)

[kaushalya_kumarasi_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An unforgettable journey into the realm of eroticism which incorporates many things sometimes we easily ignore.

[aapremlall · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant and entertaining. Love her sense of humor.

[MariaOlga - Lectoraapasionada · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read a long time ago.?

An original, enjoyable, and surprising read. (Translated from Spanish)

[Dafatota · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A light novel, full of color, food, passion, and magic, seeks to awaken our senses and desires, to seduce anyone we aim for.
It is very entertaining, pleasant, and delightful; from the first pages, I laughed heartily at the ideas, advice, recipes, and aphrodisiacs that mix eroticism and gastronomy.
For many years, we have been studying how to improve our sexual relationships, and the aphrodisiacs, which bear the name of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, are foods or substances that awaken sexual desire or pleasure.
It is a kind of compilation of everything one needs to know about the world of aphrodisiacs but seasoned with stories and tales related to sexuality.
Our ability to connect with ourselves and our emotions is so low that we increasingly need stronger stimuli to feel things.
I believe the teachings of this novel propose, above all, an internal change to know ourselves, take care of ourselves, and accept ourselves.
Sexual life must be nourished with all the excitement and adventure possible, injecting this into our sensuality.
Sex should mix with tears, laughter, words, promises, dreams, aromas, fragrances, fantasies, games, music, dances, whispers, wines, and meals.
We need to learn to love ourselves fully from within, know our partner, always surprise them with new routines, play with them, take our time, not rush things, always encourage, accept their aromas, and whisper things in their ear; all these tips will improve our life together. (Translated from Spanish)

[Elisabet1972 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun, erotic, and culinary. (Translated from Spanish)

[Atalanta ? · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's not one of Isabel's best. (Translated from Spanish)

[MelissaOsorno · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful culinary composition, of love and family. (Translated from Spanish)

[Florecilla Silvestre · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Personal and intimate reflection on food and sex. Isabel shares her personal experiences, customs, recipes, folklore, and traditions related to sensuality and culinary arts from many countries and periods. Normally, I always enjoy "per se" everything that Isabel Allende writes. But this book has seemed less interesting to me. I wouldn't recommend it among her works. (Translated from Spanish)

[Maave · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

AFRODITE - Isabel Allende

A few years ago, I delighted in this treatise on greed and lust, filled with eroticism. Especially with its stories and tales from the first part compared to the recipes in the second.
I was thrilled by a paragraph that I noted down and that I ended up memorizing from rereading:

"I regret the delicious dishes rejected out of vanity as much as I lament the opportunities to make love that I let slip by while attending to pending tasks or due to puritan virtue."

A whole Epicurean philosophy of life. (Translated from Spanish)

[Nines65 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I believe that with few books have I laughed so much and enjoyed so much. A different book that talks about love, lust, and their relationship with food, among stories from her life and stories told by her. It won't disappoint you! (Translated from Spanish)

[mrsdanaalbasha · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book should be banned for people younger than 18; with that said I read it at 18 and found it grotesque. I enjoyed the recipes, some stories but the rest of the short stories and tales were horrific to me and quite sexual. I found it exaggerated and inordinate. Not my cup of tea.

[anniebairre · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No one author has ever done more to introduce me to the sensuality of food. And rice pudding, no less. There were many, many other foods mentioned, but that one will always stand out. This book is a biography, with interspersed recipes. Forget an island getaway - my idea of the perfect romantic weekend may involve this book, Laura Esquivel's Like Water For Chocolate, and a few recipes from Nigella Lawson. Ok, that's not ALL it would involve, but the way to the human heart is through the stomach, isn't it? That saying isn't just for men. (Or for people with a very poor grasp of anatomy - thanks, Terry Pratchett). Mmm, food....Figs, and oysters, and champagne, and a night under the stars... you should read this book. You won't be sorry.

[anniehidalgo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No one author has ever done more to introduce me to the sensuality of food. And rice pudding, no less. There were many, many other foods mentioned, but that one will always stand out. This book is a biography, with interspersed recipes. Forget an island getaway - my idea of the perfect romantic weekend may involve this book, Laura Esquivel's Like Water For Chocolate, and a few recipes from Nigella Lawson. Ok, that's not ALL it would involve, but the way to the human heart is through the stomach, isn't it? That saying isn't just for men. (Or for people with a very poor grasp of anatomy - thanks, Terry Pratchett). Mmm, food....Figs, and oysters, and champagne, and a night under the stars... you should read this book. You won't be sorry.

[estellen_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Recipes, stories and fantasies - sensual and anecdotal fun...

[riofriotex · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although subtitled as a memoir, this is really more of a part cookbook, part anthology. Allende wrote this after "Paula," a memoir that ended with the death of her 28-year-old daughter after a year in a coma from a genetic condition at the end of 1992. A grief-stricken Allende thought she might never write again, but creating this lighthearted book helped restore her. It’s a lovely blend of recipes and research on food and drinks that have erotic properties or aphrodisiac power, mixed with folklore, a pinch of history and literary excerpts, and some of Allende’s own experiences. Most of the recipes were developed by Allende’s mother and are grouped into sections on appetizers, salads, soups, main dishes, sides, and desserts. I learned some … interesting things about some foods that I can’t repeat here! (well, okay, here's one suggestion from page 59: "Try long, firm asparagus served with two new potatoes at the base of the stem...")

This was a fun read but probably not very practical as a cookbook, unless you are a cookbook collector.

[spacecommuter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Luscious and frothy...just a fun book all around to read. It features recipes that supposedly stir the senses (and other things besides). It's a great thing to read immediately after finishing the equally quirky and ethereal "Law of Love" by Laura Esquivel. Or maybe that's just me.