The House of Spirits

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Summary: Allende's debut novel...and literature classic.
Review: Isabel Allende's debut novel "House of Spirits" ranks up there with Chinua Achebe's first novel "Things fall Apart", and Keith Ablow's "Denial". Allende tells us the multigenerational story of the Trueba clan, through the eyes of Esteban Trueba, the family's volatile patriach, who represents the best and worst of the old aristocracy of Chile, and through the information that Alba, Esteban's granddaughter, has put together through family diaries and such. The novel has an unforgetable character in Clara, who is a clairvoyent and who marries the fiery Esteban. Clara is a strong woman, even if she seems frail, and for all of Esteban's sound and fury(and he has plenty of both), she is the one that dominates that relationship. This story is told through almost eighty years of tragedy and truimph for Chile(in the book, the South American country isn't named, but we know it's Chile). The sins of Esteban will eventually come back to torment his descendants as the book climaxs with the bloody coup, where we see some of the most graphic scenes in the book. This is quite an adult book, but every high school senior should have to read this. Despite Esteban's numerous failings, I still found every character in this story riveting and understanable.

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Summary: my favorite book
Review: this is my favorite book and I stongly recommend it. Being form Latin America, I can see how Allende reflects the reality and at the same time some magic in her writing. I love this book!

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Summary: A must read
Review: This book encourages human survival instintcs, i loved it for its real - magical blend. I highly recommend it for everybody trying to get a better look of life.

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Summary: I had to read it for class, but realized its a great story
Review: I was reluctant to read the book at first, in part because it was a required reading for a project and in part because I had read something saying it had no plot. With regards to the latter statement nothing could be farther from the truth. By definition a plot is "the pattern of events or the main story." Well the main story of this book is that of a family that changes from generation to generation, the political developments that lead to an oppressive regime that nobody wants, and how the world is a tapestry in which the dark and magical past mingles with the present. Magical realism is deftly used to express the emotions, the innocense, and the bliss of old stories that is entertwined in this story where no person is without great passion.

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Summary: ew
Review: This was probably one of the worst books I have read thus far in my existence. Wow. There was ABSOLUTELY NO PLOT. Many of the people I collaborated with while reading this book said, "well life is a plot, isn't it?" NO IT'S NOT. LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE. Why does anyone need to waste their time with this travesty of a story? Magical realism is the worst writing style I can imagine. One of the main principles of magical realism is that time is nothing. But I doubt you would say that as in the time that you can read this book, which is quite a while considering there is random rambling for around 400 pages, you could have done every chore imaginable that you need done in your house, and saved the world three times. Either something was lost in translation from spanish to english, or this was the most poorly written book in the history of fiction...or anything.

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Summary: House of Weirdness
Review: All in all, a pretty good book;the characters are multi-dimensional, descriptions beautiful (most of the time), and the style is engaging, with a mixture of reality and otherworldliness. However,there's no denying that Allende's books are weird, and sometimes the weirdness borders on gruesome.This book is by no means an exception, and sometimes the graphic details repulsed me. In the first chapter, for example, there's an autopsy scene, which is disturbing enough since the person who's dead was the main character's sweet sister. It gets worse, though: the coroner's perverted assistant is attracted to the corpse and nearly makes love to it (lovely, isn't it?) If you are weak of stomach, I wouldn't recommend this. Of course, if you can overlook the stupidly gross parts and pay attention to the colorful characters, you'll probably enjoy it like I did, in the end.I was actually relieved that the movie was a little different; I'd even go so far as to recommend the movie above the book, since the movie "cut the bruises out of the banana", by lacking a few of the worst morbid scenes and wisely eliminating two boorish characters. While Allende is a good writer,I really wish she, along with a few other Spanish writers, would have a little more respect for modesty and decency.

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Summary: In awe and so grateful...
Review: I can't possibly describe how impressed and how deeply engrossed I was with "House of the Spirits" and its author Isabelle Allende. I wish I was fluent in Spanish so I could have read this book in its purest form and experienced my journey of Chilean history that way. Although, Magda Bogin has done a fabulous job of bringing this essential work of literature to English readers all over the world (it's still an incredible read as a tranlated piece). Ok, Isabelle Allende...have any of you ever run into such an inspiration as this woman? She expresses and shares so much incredible emotion throughout this book I'm amazed at her intensity as an author. Her need to tell the story of her homeland, her family, her rich heritage through novel form and not biography makes this a powerful read. You can read this story on two levels: fiction or non-fiction; it really is both. The agony, the magic, the intensity of this story definitely pulls you into the world of South America from the early 20th century up to the mid 1970s. This is a huge chunk of time to cover and the tale of the Trueba family is an epic of mellodramatic proportions. I loved experiencing the sagas with this family. I learned so much about Chilean politics;I shared in the magic and spirituality of Allende's ancestors. I was open to the harshness and starkness of the story as well as its beauty. There is a lot of both. This book is authentic, natural and intense. It has left an impression on me that I can't even begin to describe. This is the best I can do. Allende is a powerhouse writer. I'm going to follow this story up with either "Paula" or "My Invented Country". Also, try to get a hold of a copy of "Giving Birth, Finding Form" a fantastic audio interview with Isabelle Allende, Alice Walker, and Jean Shinoda Bolen. Isabelle is pure inspiration. It was recorded three weeks after the death of her daughter Paula. You can learn so much about her personality; it makes for a more enriching read!

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Summary: A stellar read
Review: En este libro se narra de una forma muy interesante la vida de una familia en particular. Lo que mas me gusto de este libro fue la manera en que la autora describe a lo largo del libro las personalidades de los sujetos envueltos en la novela; que vienen a ser muy distintos y extremos, lo cual, intensifica el drama... Definitivamente es un buen libro y lo recomiendo a todos.