The Wind Knows My Name (Original Spanish title: El viento conoce mi nombre) is a 2023 novel by Chilean writer Isabel Allende.
Like many other works by Allende, this is An Immigrant's Tale, or rather multiple immigrants: Samuel Adler, who was whisked away from WWII Austria thanks to the Kindertransport; Leticia, who was forced to leave El Salvador with her dad after a massacre in her village; and Anita, a Salvadoran little girl who is separated from her Mama at the border and waits to be reunited with her.
The wind knows these tropes' names
- Blessed with Suck: Selena Durán's grandmother Dora is able to communicate with the dead, but she would rather they left her in peace.
- Brits Love Tea: As a result of ending up raised in England, Samuel grew with the ritual of high tea. Now in his eighties and living in America, he observes the custom.
- Embarrassing Damp Sheets:
- Samuel suffers from this at his first foster home, along with some of his hair falling out from stress. He does recover.
- This occasionally happens to Anita both at the facility and one of her foster homes.
- Establishing Character Moment: For the adult Camille, since there is no characterization for her as a child. She calls her father to complain about all the inconveniences caused to her by the pandemic and the lockdown, but does not bother to ask how Samuel is doing.
- Epigraph: A quote from The Little Prince"Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
- Foster Kid:
- Once Samuel Adler arrives in England after the Kindertransport, he goes through a series of foster homes and ends up in an orphanage. Eventually he is sent to live with a Quaker couple, Luke and Lydia Evans, who become parents to him.
- Anita spends time at two of them. In the first one, her foster mom almost hits her, but changes her mind and locks Anita in a closet instead. In the second one, the foster mom's husband tries to rape Anita.
- Gratuitous Italian: Frank's mother nearly has a stroke when she learns he is defending a rich man accused of child trafficking: "Mi ha spezzato il cuore! Che peccato! Un mio figlio che difende un pedofilo!" (It broke my heart! What a sin! My son defending a pedophile!)
- Happy Place: Anita describes her happy place, Azabahar, as an enchanted kingdom where she and her deceased little sister are princesses, her mother Marisol is a queen, and her grandmother is the fairy godmother. As far as Anita is concerned, Azabahar is better than heaven, because you don't have to die to go there.
- Human Traffickers: Alperstein, Frank's client is a rich man who is involved with this, as well as money laundering and embezzlement. Frank is his lawyer.
- Lifesaving Misfortune: Part of Leticia's backstory. When she was a child, The Salvadoran Civil War was happening and her village was destroyed during what later was known as El Mozote massacre. Leticia and her dad had been out of town because he'd taken her to the hospital for what was later diagnosed as an ulcer.
- Missing Mom: Marisol and Ana are separated at the border, and Ana is sent to a facility. Selena and Frank are unable to track down where Marisol ended up, but Ana is confident that her Mama will come and get her. It is later discovered that Marisol was murdered by the same boyfriend who tried to kill her earlier.
- The Mourning After: Leticia's third husband loves her and treats her kindly. Sadly, he dies at a young age, leaving Leticia with a young daughter. At his funeral, she swears they will be together forever. Years later, she is uninterested in marrying ever again.
- Pædo Hunt: It is revealed that Carlos, on top of shooting Marisol, molested Anita as well.
- Propaganda Machine: After Krystallnacht, the Nazi-occupied authorities accuse the Jews of causing all the damages and disturbances, when they were actually the victims.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: After an incident in her first foster home, Anita is placed in another home where the foster mom is well-meaning but overwhelmed. Her husband gets caught trying to rape Anita.
- Reduced to Ratburgers: A family friend's daughter tracks down Samuel in England. She tells him that when the war ended, there was such a famine in Austria that people ended up eating cats and dogs.
- Sexual Extortion: Rachel Adler finally understands that she and her family need to leave Austria. She tries to get visas at the Chilean consulate and even offers up her jewelry as a bribe, but the consul makes it clear he is interested in something else as payment. It is not until after three "meetings" with him that Rachel realizes he has no intention of helping her.
- Stiff Upper Lip: The general attitude after bombings in London with multiple casualties.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: The trip to the U.S. border is risky enough. For their safety Marisol cuts off Anita's hair and her own. She also instructs her daughter to call her "Papa" instead of "Mama".
