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Summary: Chose an earlier Allende book to read
Review: I just got home from a book group in which we discussed this book. Of the 6 women there, no one was overly enthused. The general feeling was that while all of the detail was interesting in a historical sense, it was not presented in a way that advanced the plot or aided in character development. We cared about a few of the characters but most others seemed shallowly drawn. We were not riveted to the resolution of Eliza's search for her true love. All thought the ending was predictable.Allende fans in the group all advised reading some of her earlier works to see why she is so popular. There is too much wonderful fiction to read out there to spend time on this mediocre work.
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Summary: The characters were life-LESS
Review: I, too, am very disappointed with this work. I felt no connection whatsoever with the characters of the book. I did not feel or sympathize with their emotions and I couldn't care less if they lived or died. This was really a poor-written book. I respect Allende, but if she keeps writing books like this, she is going to lose me as her reader.
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Summary: A novel of identity and deception
Review: Daughter of Fortune is a fast and pleasant read -- it's a plot-driven novel in which all things are clearly spelled out for the reader. The two protagonists of the book are likable and well-developed. There's the young Chilean woman, Eliza, who flees her adoptive home for California to follow her first love, who has been lured there by the promises of riches in the Gold Rush. Then there's Tao Chi'en, a Chinese man who is part sailor, part doctor, and part sage. The adventures of the two up and down the California coast make for an enjoyable read, and the secondary characters give the novel some meat for its bones -- Eliza's adoptive mother Miss Rose, Joe Bonecrusher -- the cross-dressing madam of a traveling brothel, and Paulina -- the wife with business savvy who makes a fortune importing fresh produce packed on ice to California's starved population, all make for an intriguing read. Allende uses the juxtaposition of the Chinese, Chilean, and English cultures to unobtrusively remark on issues such as a woman's position in the world, and the theme of identity weighs in heavily. Fortune in this case can either be interpreted as fate or simply luck, but in either case, the characters seem to be unable to escape it for better or worse. Good summer reading -- a step up from mass market paperback fodder, but not too heavy and cumbersome.
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Summary: Another engaging novel by Allende.
Review: In her most recent work, Daughter of Fortune, Isabel Allende once again proves herself as one of the best modern latinamerican writers. The novel, which takes place in Chile and then in Gold Rush era San Francisco, tells the tale of another Allende strong-minded heroine. The descriptive passages capture the essence of mid-nineteenth century San Francisco, and the engaging plot quickly draws the reader in.
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Summary: Spellbinding!
Review: "Daughter of Fortune" is magical, mystical, spellbinding...the list goes on and on. As an avid reader of historical fiction, I am putting this at the top of my list! All of us who claim California as our native state must read this novel, as should anyone else who is interested in the cultural and societal beginnings of The Golden State. Allende's skill is evident in the turns and twists of both character and plot development. Excellent!
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Summary: a rich tapestry
Review: Author writes with a smooth flowas she weaves her characters into a rich taprstry. Eliza is raised in Chile and follows her teen age lover to California during the goldrush.`Racial bias at its worst shows how women and men lived during the early days of San Francisco. Women were property rgardless of their race;class in one form or another existed for men as well. Eliza finds herself in love with a Chinese physician who practices acupuncture and uses herbal medicine ever looking for new ways to improve his skills. A way of life painted in great detail kept me reading as I thought of my great-grandparents and how they lived in that time period. I feel sorry for the readers who did not like this book..I loved it and highly reccommend it..to me it was fascinating!
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Summary: Allende strikes gold with this book!
Review: I am beginning to think that not ALL Oprah's picks are gloomy ~~ this book is far from gloomy; it's thought-provoking, fun, tragic and interesting. You pick up tidbits of information that you never thought to learn ~~ example, Tao's reverence for "Golden Lilies" is typical in his culture (bounded feet that Chinese women think glorifies their beauty ~~ as well as being helpless and feminine), wherease nowadays, most women would scoff at the idea of being helpless and so feminine ~~ we don't really need men to protect us. In China, that was the woman's role ~~ to be defenseless and to bear boy babies. (Girl babies are often thrown out with the trash ~~ in Chile, where the other main character derives from, girls aren't revered either.) This is not just a love story about a Chinese man who falls in love with a Chilean girl with the "big feet." This is a book about a young girl who falls in love with her Chilean lover and travels to California to find him. On the way, she discovers the realities of life ~~ as a woman, there were only two options opened to her: prostitute or some man's wife. She decides to disguise herself as a Chilean boy to protect herself in the rough days of the Wild West and the hunt for gold that swept through California and the world and in the process, finding herself as a woman again ~~ not a wimpy female who couldn't do anything for herself, but as a strong independent character who can survive on her own. This is also a story of a Chinese man who finds himself in California, making his way and fortunes of the time. This book entertwined their stories. This is also about women who finds themselves "trapped" behind their corsets, society's mores and rules. This is also a story about racial issues ~~ Tao was told once never to look at a white man in the eye because it was a sign of disrespect. Though California is a melting pot, for a long time, racial unrest unsettles the people there ~~ till money speaks volume. Between ship captains, gold lust, prostitutes, racy novels ~~ it's all there in this book. This is not your typical romantic read, nor is it Oprah's typical gloomy book. This book is about going after your own fortunes and fulfilling your dreams whether you're a man or a woman. It's about daring to take a chance despite the circumstances you'd find yourself in and going along with the wild ride that is called Life. Reading this book is like taking a ride into the past, with your perceptions changed.
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Summary: I dont see what the big deal was!
Review: I spent GOOD money to buy this book. And man, did I feel I wasted my money! I couldnt even finish it! Maybe I just dont have the mental "umph" or the literary mind I believed I had. By the time the main character meets the love that shes supposedly gonna go traipsing all over God's green earth for, I was straining to keep my eyes open...oh well, I know now. Maybe you'll enjoy it more than I intended to. To each his own, eh?
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Summary: creative term paper
Review: This could be a very creative term paper about the history of CA Gold Rush, racial situations, sexual mores,moral codes, aristocrocy hanging on for dear life in fast changing world of values, etc. A good read. If you have not read LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquirel - go for that as it has some of the same flavors and romances of peoples. This reminds me of that and I will reread it - perhaps will understand LIKE WATER FOR...now.
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Summary: An interesting, but not compelling read...
Review: This is, for the most part, a pleasure to read. It took me a while to get into, I had to slog through the first fifty pages or so, but once I did I was hooked by the plot. The characters seem to blossom before our eyes, and we become drawn into their lives, their desires, and their troubles. However, the plot tends to jerk us around a bit, going this way and that, and there's not sufficient development to suck us in deeply enough to avoid feeling thrashed about. Things are smooth, then BOOM, we're dropped into another scene, where things lag for too long. Then, BOOM, another shift of gears, and we're in another place altogether. I found this abruptness hard to work through, and got frustrated several times. But each time I returned to the book, and made it through. I did feel the ending was a little too pat, as if the author got tired of the book, and just wound it all together and was done. But I didn't mind the ending (some folks did), I just felt it needed to be more drawn out in order to be justified. All in all a pleasant read (although I don't think I'd shell out for the hardback).
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