Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining enough
Review: "Daughter of Fortune" is an entertaining enough novel, evocative in its pictures of a world long past. But if you want to read a true Allende masterpiece, try "The House of the Spirits" which is magnificent. Maybe she has spoiled me for her other works.
Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: Not one of Allende's best efforts, however I still found the novel interesting to read. Set in Chile, China, and California between 1843 and 1853, it is an interesting mix of historical fiction; a social commentary on the British of the day; a look at prejudices in the USA; a glimpse into the chinese culture; and relationships which have gone awry. Alot of ground to cover in one novel, however Allende's talent for storytelling ties all the elements toghether in an easy to read fashion which make for an enjoyable novel. As always, her strong female characters and matriarchial family structure is present. Hija de la Fortuna is a lighter read than her other novels, and very recommendable.
Rating: 
Summary: Choose it for an excitement reading!
Review: Don't get confused, every writer has to propose you a story, and your inner feelings will show you that this one is a must, with the Isabel's high quality style.Could be better books from Isabel?, you can bet, and even though the author propose you an ending that is requesting your imagination, from my personal point of view, the book is so exciting that you want to never end its reading, and that's what gives you such an empty sensation at the end. Here you'll find a lot of motivations for the story that maybe could be not so clear for american readers, like Joaquin Murieta appareance. I don't know if the translation is quite rigorous enough, but I'm sure you'll going to have a real good time. If your goal is make comparisons or prepared a literature paper, perhaps your choice is another kind of book.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: I couldn't put this book down. This was the first book I had read with this author (It won't be my last). Her characters are so interesting. I didn't want the book to end...It's amazing how someone can go on and on after so many things have gone wrong...It's a book you will recommend to many people like I did...
Rating: 
Summary: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Review: Extremely disappointing! The only redeeming factor was the historical content and the somewhat interesting look at the gold rush California years. The story (if one finds a story) in itself was choppy and just sloppily written as if the author became bored with it herself. Parts of the book were just too unbelievable to even imagine and the ending was ludicrous with too many loose ends. Come on, Oprah....we know you like books with strong female characters, but next time could you please pick one that at least tells a good, believable story!
Rating:
Summary: Too Many Questions Left Unanswered
Review: I really wanted to like this book, and although parts of it were interesting, overall I rate it as mediocre. The adventure parts of the novel were much better than the "romance." Too many questions were left unanswered, however. Do Eliza and Rose ever reconcile? If so, does Rose and/or the rest of the family move to California to be with Eliza, or do they return to Chile? How does Eliza deal with her anger when she discovers that she has a father, but all her life was made to believe she was an orphan by the people who supposedly love her most? And what becomes of the relationship between Eliza and Tao? As much as we would like to believe they lived happily ever after, in reality, it is hardly likely that they could have forged a future together. They would not have been accepted in any society in the mid-1800's. This book is worth reading if you don't expect too much. It is not one you will remember for the rest of your life.
Rating:
Summary: Daughter of Fortune
Review: Per Oprah's show this book sounded so interesting. Sad to say it's probably one of the most depressing stories I've ever read. Plus very difficult to finish. The story line was very slow and I found it hard to hold my interest. Unfortunately there were more words spent on descriptions than the actual story.
Rating:
Summary: Good until the last drop,then the last drop left me thirsty
Review: The book is well-written. The characters are well -developed. I enjoyed the history of China, America and Chile. Isabel Allende did a remarkable job of creating a strong feminine character. But when it came time to develop the relationship between the Chinese and Chilean characters she chickened out and abruptly ended the book. The last chapter was wholly unsatisfactory. It left far too many loose ends.
Rating:
Summary: Details. Details. Details. Oh the detail!
Review: I tried so hard to get into Daughter Of Fortune and finally managed to, to find that Isabel Allende copped out and gave us the most ridiculous and pathetic ending she could have. What starts off way too slowly manages to pick up and starts to get really interesting and involving before Miss Allende turns it into another ho hum melodrama. Daughter Of Fortune revolves around the life of Eliza a girl left on the doorstep of aristocrats in Chile. She is raised as their daughter and in turn becomes something which she grows to find out she doesn't really want to be. As she meets and falls in love with a peasant - Joaquin Andieta - we are presented with a potentially interesting and important topic - class systems and the barriers that stand between people - but Daughter Of Fortune soon turns into a road trip to the gold fields of California (a road trip I could have done without). The book also introduces Tao - Eliza's friend on the trip - a Chinese medicine man who grows to like Eliza more than what he first imagined he would. This all turns out worse than an episode of The Bold And The Beautiful and disappointed me, especially as I really tried hard to get on its wave length. I shouldn't have tried so hard. It's way too long and detailed - Allende needs to tone down the description - but does show that Allende has the potential to explore important themes in her books. She stands above other authors who write in the romance adventure genre primarily because she has talent as a writer and because she is not afraid to research her material. She now needs however to get a good editor who can show her what to leave out and what to throw away. That I think is the difference between good authors and great authors and what stands between Allende and the next league. A slight-notch-above-mediocre Oprah pick.
Rating:
Summary: *Extremely* disappointing read
Review: I have long been a fan of Allende. I was really looking forward to this new novel, but unfortunately, this latest effort was almost as much of a disappointment as 'The Infinite Plan'. One of Allende's strengths has been her ability to create original, interesting, and multi-dimensional characters; she especially excells at creating powerful and compelling female protagonists. But the main characters in 'Daughter of Fortune' (Eliza and Tao Chi'en) were one-dimensional, cliched CHARACATURES. I wasn't able to muster any sympathy for them, and the few potentially interesting characters were rather peripheral or disappeared half way through the novel. The plot seemed somewhat promising at first, but it soon felt like Allende tried to patch together several different story ideas, many of which seemed interesting on their own but failed to fit together in any motivated or satisfying way in the end. Several plot elements seemed rather contrived and formulaic. The prose was flat and read more like a checklist than a narrative--I often felt that Allende was throwing facts out just because she had them, not because she was trying to create a vivid portrait that captured any particular place or theme. This is the first Allende novel I've read in English, but somehow I don't think that I'd enjoy it any more in Spanish than I did in English. If you have never read any of Allende's works, spare yourself the misfortune of reading this novel--treat yourself by reading her earlier works instead.
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