Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses (Spanish: Afrodita: cuentos, recetas y otros afrodisíacos) was published by Plaza & Janés in 1997 and represents Allende’s deliberate turn toward life and pleasure after the grief of Paula — a book she has described as writing her way back to joy after her daughter’s death. The book is a celebration of sensuality in all its forms: food, sex, art, storytelling, and the connections between them.
The structure is loose and associative: chapters organized around different foods (herbs, seafood, chocolate, fruits) interweave recipes (provided by Allende’s mother Panchita Llona), historical anecdotes about aphrodisiacs across cultures, personal memories, literary quotations, and reproductions of erotic art. The tone is warm, funny, and frankly sexual — Allende writes about desire with the same directness she brings to political violence, refusing both prudishness and pornographic exploitation.
The book’s argument — that food and sex are connected at the deepest level, that both are expressions of the life force, that a culture that separates them impoverishes both — is made through accumulation of evidence rather than systematic argument. The recipes are real and usable (they were tested and photographed); the historical material ranges from ancient Egypt through Renaissance Europe to modern Latin America; and the personal anecdotes give the book the warmth and intimacy of conversation with a brilliant, life-loving friend.
Collecting Aphrodite
First Spanish edition (Plaza & Janés, Barcelona, 1997): Illustrated hardcover.
Market values:
- First Spanish edition: $15–$30
- First English edition (HarperFlamingo, 1998): $10–$20
- Signed copies: $25–$60