Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic characters in a wonderful tale
Review: This is the first Isabelle Allende book I've read, but it won't be the last. Her characters are absolutely superb - even the minor players are rich in detail and give wonderful depth to the story. Eliza is a strong character who refuses to follow convention, only wanting to follow her heart. I wasn't just reading this story...I was there! I was growing up as a 'lady' with a steel rod in my back...I was aboard a rolling ship heading towards my lost love...My heart cried daily on the journey I was undertaking...I was overjoyed to meet so many wonderful people...and in the end, I smiled in agreement, wiped away a tear, and closed the book. Don't miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: horrible
Review: esta novela es pesima, mal enfocada, y predecible, parece escrita para ventas solamente. y sus personajes no son nada profundos, es una perdida de tiempo hablar de ella y hasta de escribir un comentario.luis mendez
Rating: 
Summary: Good Historical fiction
Review: I just finished reading Daughter of Fortune and I have to agree with some of the reviews that state the ending of the story left alot to be desired. The story line was captivating, and the characters were vivid and easy to imagine in the mind's eye. Tao Chien's spirituality and wisdom was well executed for the reader to enjoy. I also enjoyed the historical fiction imparted to the story relating to the Gold Rush. However, Allende left her readers who "traveled" on this long journey with Eliza unfulfilled. At the end of this novel it is left up to our imagination as to what Eliza, Tao and the Sommer family's plights will be. My thought was that Allende must be planning a sequel since she left so many of those details up to the reader's imagination and speculations. I would recommend reading this book but you can walk, don't run to the bookstore for it.
Rating:
Summary: A few flaws in strong female characters
Review: "Dauther of Fortune" presents two strong women: Rose and her foundling daughter. Rose is a woman who has sacrified her future in a society that does not forgive past transgressions. Her foundling daughter is much more impulsive and uses her social error to escape an unforgiving society. These two women are strong characters in their own time and i doubt that Rose would almost give up her existence because of loss. Nor, would her foulding daughter need to see her lover dead in order to be free of him. The author has created two strong female characters that then submit to stereotypical behaviors. This is a good adventure story with lots of backgound about the gold rush and its participants; however, the story ends too neatly and quickly for the adventure that is represents.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating till the abrupt ending
Review: I am close to the age of Isabel Allende and she always has the power to evoke strong memories of my childhood in Chile. Her writing is vivid and never disappointing, and is, as well, exceptionally well translated into English. Daughter of Fortune is written with Allende's usual flair and has the added advantage of spotlighting an interesting chapter of history involving the many Chilean treasure seekers during the San Francisco Gold Rush. However,in this case, Allende's unravelling of the plot leaves too many knots intact at the end. Even allowing for the mysteries of magical realism, I have the feeling that the editors of a less well established author would never let her get away with that; the reader is left with the gnawing feeling that Allende tired of her plot: after tossing in several random clues, the author grew bored, lost focus, and dropped the story abruptly. Since Allende is such a wonderful writer, I would add my voice to those of other readers who would like her to alleviate our frustration by presenting us with a satisfying sequel.
Rating:
Summary: OK - if you want to learn about the gold rush days
Review: This book was alright - not great. I found it interesting becasue it provided interesting history about this time period.
Rating:
Summary: daughter of fortune
Review: Excellant book! Allende writes with a poetic hand that makes it hard to put down the book. The characters are strong, very real personalities. It was a joy to watch each life unfold as the character grew up and encountered sadness, happiness, and finally contentment at the end. So many books have endings that I would like to re-write, but not this one!
Rating:
Summary: Daughter of Fortune
Review: I am Japanese girl living in Australia for 3 years. This book is written (translated) in plain English so that I could fully understand the beauty of the story itself. I do not like the books which seems to be "something special" for its complicated and tricky English, which, I believe, is actually fake. This story has given me a great trip to Chile, China and Calfornia in 19 century. I have a feeling that I have shared thier lives together.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mediocre Effort From A Talented Author
Review: Allende's best works (The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Paula) display one common element. That element is a passionate narrative that stems from the first-hand emotional connection that she has with the book's characters and situations. Some of those connections exist in Daughter of Fortune. Like Eliza, Allende left Chile to settle in California. Another trait Allende shares with her heroine is that she fell in love with (and later married) a non-Chilean. Yet, any emotional passion created by these links is not strong enough to transcend Allende's use of the California Gold Rush period as the story's background. Since she did not experience the Gold Rush for herself, Allende's description of the period comes across like the history books that she must have used as research material. As a result, reading Daughter of Fortune is much like hearing an echo: there is some connection to the original source, but it is distorted and faded. Daughter of Fortune is better than the mess that is titled The Infinite Plan. The book has maximizes its use of narrative and minimizes dialogue. The main characters are well developed. And Joaquin's outcome is clever. But, the book doesn't have the passion of which Allende is capable. As a result, the book leaves the reader ultimately unsatisfied (as is evident by the number of reviews noting the abrupt ending). Hopefully, Allende will find a topic for her next book to which she has a strong emotional involvement.
Rating:
Summary: only a wonderful book to read
Review: I work in a bookstore an so I have to read it before the christmas time. It was the first book I read from Isabel Allende, but I was surprised positivly about her style of writing. It is intesting to have one main story and many small stories waved into it. It's the story about Eliza Sommers. She grew up in a very english family in Chile, and with 16 yaers she fell in love with a young boy who works in the firm of her uncle. They loved each other in a dark room in her house, but he was a very poor boy and so he heard form the big goldrush in California in the 19th century. And so, the boy she loved leave her alone and she get pregnent. And what should she do now? She want to go after him to California and tryed to find him. But she couldent find him, she only could find the way to herself. But it was not an easy way. And so I think it is a wunderful book to read it alone in your bed, and have a good time.
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