Rating: 
Summary: Luminous and Spellbinding
Review: The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende's luminous saga of the Trueba family, as seen through the eyes of the women, is more than a wonderful book; it is an ode to the courageous, compassionate and forgiving spirits that all people are capable of becoming. Even after witnessing the horrors of Chilean military oppression, Allende dared to write a novel that denies a basic pessimistic view of humans and instead reveals mankind's capacity to endure suffering and self-transformation for the sake of life, love and justice.In The House of the Spirits, Allende shows us that the cruelest outbursts of evil and violence of which man is capable are committed during civil war: genocides, mass murders, concentration camps. Man is definitely mankind's greatest enemy. It is truly horrifying to think that the sufferings of Jaime Trueba could be supported by authentic testimony: "They tied their hands and feet with barbed wire and threw them on their faces in the stalls. There Jaime and the others spent two days without food or water, rotting in their own excrement, blood and fear, until they were all driven by truck to an area near the airport. In an empty lot they were shot on the ground because they could no longer stand, and then their bodies were dynamited." Jaime is just one among many characters who suffers horribly under the military oppression portrayed in The House of the Spirits. Yet, Allende courageously dares to offer hope that reconciliation is possible and that people are capable of much more noble actions and emotions. In this book, Allende seems to be telling us that evil is not a simple thing and that violent behavior is a complex act. She also portrays every act as having a cause, whether known or unknown. Alba, one of the main characters, is able to understand why Colonel Garcia, hating her so strongly, sets out to destroy, slowly and painfully, both her life and her spirit. Ironically, Alba is Colonel Garcia's own cousin, through both her grandfather and her father. A luminous character, Alba, through an understanding of not only her own position in time and place, but also through an understanding of her greatest enemy and torturer, reconciles herself with life and chooses to forgive and "break that terrible chain" of hatred. Instead of hating, this extraordinary woman focuses her life and her love on the one man in her life, the guerilla leader Miguel, and her unborn daughter. Allende's novel captures Alba's spirit of reconciliation in her name, which means, in Spanish, "dawn." Alba is, indeed, the embodiment of hope as she proves that people are not bound to be evil. Alba, herself, even suggests that that her enemy's hatred had a definite cause and that she, or anyone else, could prevent further malicious acts and emotions when she says, "And now I seek my hatred and cannot seem to find it. I feel its flame going out as I come to understand the existence of Colonel Garcia and the others like him...It would be very difficult for me to avenge all those who should be avenged, because my revenge would be just another part of the same inexorable rite. I have to break that terrible chain." Allende has told us that she writes to bring about necessary changes in Latin America of which the most important are "real revolutions of spirit, of values, of life." She says that the attitudes and beliefs of people's minds can shape the destiny of multitudes that so far have been living in only pessimism and despair. No one was born good or bad, says this book, and reality is what people believe it to be. This absence of a judgemental tone may be partially explained by the fact that the military is an integral part of the people. Soldiers came from the families whose members were persecuted by these very same men. The characters of Esteban Trueba and his son, Jaime depict the sharp contrast between good and evil. This is a book that will haunt you with its swirling romanticism, its superbly crafted interweaving of close family observation and political raison d'etre. Allende is a writer so graceful and elegant that she manages to break our hearts and fill us with joy at the same time. Even after witnessing the horror that people are capable of committing, Allende refuses to despair. By exploring the causes of both the evil and loving actions of the characters in The House of the Spirits, Allende reveals the immense power for change that lies in our own spirits as long as we believe that we can make our world and ourselves a better place.
Rating:
Summary: One of My Favorites
Review: This is, without a doubt, one of my alltime favorite books. Allende's writing style is simple, yet unique, and her characterization is flawless. The plot is very convoluted but the emotions the characters feel are so real and extraordinary you will come away from this reading changed forever.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I've Read In A While
Review: At first, when i got this book as a summer reading assignment, I thought "oh wow, another thick book to make the summer go by even slower". The first chapter really dragged, but after Allende really gets into the characters and the plot, things start to twist and turn everywhere. Allende's use of narration brings life to the book. She allows the main character, Esteban Trueba, his granddaughter, Alba, and a 3rd neutral subject narrate the story. This book represents 3 generations of the Trueba family, and brings out every flaw, weakness, and conspiracy within them, this presents the reader with a great sense of family value and morals, and the outcomes when those values and morals are put to the test. This has got to be one of the most twisted plots ever composed, yet very captivating, haunting, and enigmatic. I would recommend this book to anyone of mature age and open minded literary taste.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful novel set in South America
Review: This is a very powerful novel that should be read by anyone with remote interest in South American history and culture, and Chile in particular. Yes, it is strangely similar to One Hundred Years of Solitude, but not so much that this should stop anyone from reading it. Allende has her own style, a simpler one, and generally her book is an easier read. It is not as powerful as 100 Years, yet it is a more realistic novel, and perhaps it is easier to identify with her characters. The fact that she is related to the great Chilean president Allende (killed himself in the coup that lead to Pinochet's dictatorship) makes her analysis particularly interesting, but there is no need to enjoy politics or history to appreciate her story of three generations of a family in South America, written with much of the magic realism style used so much by Marquez.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: This is a really wonderful book that was given to me by a friend and I couldn't put it down until the last page. The story is compelling and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: The story I want to live
Review: This absorbing epic kept me mesmerized from first page to last. Isabel Allende created and defined characters so fascinating to me, I longed to live among them. I am no historian, and don't even pretend to like politics, but this book of turn-of-the-century South America blends everything so flawlessly, it remains one of my all-time favorites. The generations of the Trueba family are comprised of people too complex to be labled heroes or villians. Allende's skilled writing can make you accept clairvoyance as a talent no more bizarre than singing. She tells her powerful tales with detailed imagery beyond comparison. It makes "Gone With the Wind" green with envy.
Rating: 
Summary: Good novel, but too much of a copy of Gabo's work
Review: This novel would have been a lot more interesting if I had not read One Hundred Years of Solitude beforehand. I found it to be a poor (in relative terms) imitation of Garcia Marquez's masterpiece. I was neither moved nor touched by the saga of the decaying family precisely because the Buendia's power is unmatched. Allende is a writer of much talent, but let's say that originality is not her strong point. I saw the same thing happen with Afrodita and Como Agua Para Chocolate...please, there are some well-read people out there...give us a break.
Rating: 
Summary: Know latinamerica
Review: If you really want to know and understand why latinamericans are the way we are, you've got to read this extraordinary book. I read it about 10 years ago...maybe more. But it is still around in my memory, just as the characters, gosts and the magic involved in our reality.
Rating:
Summary: The House of the Spirits
Review: I felt the book was interesting but long and unusual. I am glad I read the book but would not highly recommend it to other readers.
Rating:
Summary: Magical realism and a great story too.
Review: South American novelists have been treating us for years with their special blend of harsh reality and delightful fantasy. This, Allende's first, is lushly full of both. The Trueba family from the tyrannical patriarch Esteban to his wife Clara, whose lingering influence and downright control of her family remains long after her physical death to the shockingly rebellious daughter and granddaughter and all the parade of minor characters who waft through this meandering tale of less than 500 pages, are at once larger than life, yet drawn vividly from it. The entwined stories of poor judgment and errant passion in both love and politics (the two are forever married, however unhappily, in the literature of Latin America) capture and handily retain reader interest and keep the pages turning. This translation by Magda Bogin excellently retains Allende's fluid and vivacious prose style. This too makes for a great late summer read during hot summer nights
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