Rating: 
Summary: an absorbing, epic novel
Review: "Daughter of Fortune" tells the story of an interwoven cast of migratory characters whose journeys canvass the globe, bringing them glory and ignominy, fortune and poverty, and ultimately a greater chance at self-knowledge and happiness. The central figure of the story is Eliza Sommers, a Chilean whose adopted British mother, Rose, teaches her the ways of one world, while their Indian servant, Mama Fresia, introduces her to another. As a young woman, Eliza falls in love with an unsuitable character. In pursuit, she travels to gold-rush-era California, there to encounter yet another world and to come into her own as an independent, self-reliant woman."Daugher of Fortune" is a long, meaty book, full of interesting characters who each have their own story. We meet Rose Sommers, whose carries unhealed wounds from the youthful love that destroyed and shaped her life; Tao Chi'en, the Chinese healer who did not believe he could love a woman until he met his wife, who is haunted by his love for her after her death; John and Jeremy Sommers, Rose's brothers whose British politeness conceals their deeply-rooted uneasiness with each other; and countless other workers, servants, prostitutes, noblemen, lovers, and prospectors. Characters disappear and resurface as their journeys draw them in and out of the story's web; we see men and women's fortunes rise and fall, love won and lost, riches made and gambled away, the past forgetten and then rearing up again. That's what the story is ultimately about: the past and its hold on us. Each of the characters has a past, or builds one over the course of the story, and each of them must learn from it, build on it, and finally let go of it. A life lived in the shadow of what was cannot ultimately satisfy any of them, and their struggles to escape the shackles of expectation are powerful and poignant. Like any novel, this one has flaws. The prose carries too much description and too little emotion: the narrator holds back from her characters, looking at their lives too much from the outside. The ending is limp and understated; an additional fifty pages would go far towards closing the story with the same power that began it. But there are strengths that outweigh the difficulties: a detailed and intricate and surprising plot, the characters, a subtle touch of magical realism, and the joy of reading such a big, wholesome book.
Rating: 
Summary: Romance and adventure and the California gold rush
Review: I was immediately swept up in the romance and adventure of this 1999 novel. And I learned quite a bit about Chile and the California gold rush in the process too. A baby girl is left in a basket at a wealthy English home in Valparaiso. She grows up privileged but is never sure of her roots. At the age of 16 she falls in love. It's 1849, gold has just been discovered in California, and Chileans can get there relatively quickly due to their location in western South America. Her lover leaves. And, several months later, with the help of a young Chinese man, she stows away in a ship with the intention of finding him. During most of the book she is disguised as a boy as she searches for her lover over the next few years. She experiences the horrors as well as the freedoms of a new kind of life. And, as I followed her story, I felt I was right there with her, living in the rawness of this newfound world. There's hunger and greed and illness and great natural beauty. There are the sad sorrowful lives of the Chinese girls brought over as slaves for the brothels. There's the hatred between the various ethnic groups. And there's the background story of the Chinese man and his life in China. I was intrigued by it all and sometimes disgusted but I couldn't stop reading. This is a simple fast-paced story, full of adventure. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: If you've read Isabel Allende's other books, this one will provide you with the same satisfaction and joy. The writing, as always, is intricately woven and on every page a new part of the story is unfolded. I don't want to spoil the story for you -- I'll just say... You'll enjoy it!
Rating: 
Summary: A Grand Disappointment From Isabel Allende
Review: Regrettably "Daughter of Fortune" is a far cry from Allende's great novels such as "House of the Spirits" and "Eva Luna". There is far less magical realism, and instead, regrettably, ample banal realism present in this novel. Indeed, one could regard it as a "paint-by-numbers" tale in which the plot and characters seem too familiar and contrived. The most appealing character in the novel is the Chinese doctor Tao Chi'en. I wish Allende had built her tale around him, emphasizing his own epic journey from Manchu-occupied China to Chile and finally, California, instead of her main protagonist Eliza Sommers. Unfortunately Sommers comes across as the least interesting female character in a novel replete with strong-willed wives and prostitutes. Those in search of epic writing by Isabel Allende should turn instead to her earlier work, most notably "House of Spirits" and "Eva Luna".
Rating: 
Summary: It gets better as you read...
Review: It really took me a long time to get into this book. Allende spends so much time describing the rich Chilean culture and environment that the book inches along for 150 or so pages before the plot really gets good. Unfortunately, by this time, the main character was not developed well enough for the reader to understand her passion and motivation or even care that much. Tao Chi'en was much more developed, easy to understand and relate to; that I would have preferred more focus on his young life and his love for Lin, what drove him to leave his country forever. The characters later in the book are colorful and sympathetic...all joining the gold-rush for different reasons. The book ends well, but it sure was a slow start!
Rating:
Summary: A grand tale.
Review: Isabel Allende has written an epic & enthralling adventure, populated with a cast of memorable & amusing characters, reminiscent of R. F. Delderfield's early sagas. Told against the magnificent landscapes of Chile & California, DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE tells the tale of two countries where the old ways & the new collide, mingle & give birth to entirely original citizens & stories, & of a young woman's search for her lost lover during the Gold Rush years. A good introduction to Isabel Allende's writing. Absorbing & informative & a pleasure to meet a resourceful heroine.
Rating:
Summary: Repetitive. I think she's trading on her fame
Review: Yes, it's a good story.
Yes, it's written by much-acclaimed Isabel Allende.
But these books of hers are getting repetitive; it feels as though she's trading on past success and just telling the same story over and over with a new set of characters - a little like formula romances, where if you change the names, the location, and the central conflict, they all read alike.
But my biggest problem is with the writing itself. It's almost all telling, written in narrative style. There's very little dialogue or writing in scenes. Page after page goes 'and then this happened and then this happened and then this happened.'
When I read a good story, I'd rather feel as though I'm in the action at that very moment, not that someone is telling me about it 90 years later.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful tale of courage, true love and friendship
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's South America, the American Gold Rush, mixed cultures and trials of life. The tale of the Sommers family and their "adopted" daughter, Eliza; who as a teen falls head over heels for a young man her family deems inappropriate [who leaves to find his fortune in the California placers] and follows him stowed away on a ship bound for California. I loved the exposure to cultures {Chilean, Chinese, English, nouveau American during the gold rush, and the prostitutes [okay so that's not a culture but it is clearly a separate way of life]. I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between Eliza and Tao Ch'ien grew on her journey. I truly loved the characters -- Mama Fresia, Babaloo the Bad, Tao Ch'ien, and Rose who was not what she seemed at first. It is interesting and compelling from beginning to its not terribly surprising end [which was fine -- you truly want it to end the way it does by the time it gets there]. This is my first Allende book and it won't be my last. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Well written
Review: The book was grasping and very well written. Although I did not find it very interesting when I started the book but the more I read it I realized I could not keep the book down. I liked the fact that it did not end expectedly but let us speculate. The book also had a great flow. Good read.
Rating:
Summary: East meets West
Review: It is a delightful saga of a adopted girl, Eliza, who grows up in a strict, disciplinarian English household in Chile with an Indian as a caretaker, set in mid 19th century. She inherits the adventurism from her father, Captain John Somers, a bachelor always at sea, who gives her up to his sister, Sara, for adoption. Eliza's Chilean mother, a victim of one night tryst with the sea captain with a roving eye, is not part of the drama . Sara, a spinster living with her other older brother, Jeremy, has her own seedy past, tries her best to instill all good Victorian values in Eliza under her tutelage. But Eliza wants none of the piety and falls in love head over heals with an ordinary employee, Joachin Andieta. They have a roaring affair in the attic while Sara and Jeremy are going about their business. I guess Ms. Allende had to include raw sex to show the absurdity and hypocrisy of Victorian morals. Joachin rushes off to California, in search of gold, and Eliza follows in search of Joachin with the help of Tao Chi'en. Tao, a Chinese immigrant, who is a doctor, an acupuncturist, a cook, amongt other things, the novel's other protagonist, almost steals the show. (Note the spelling of Joachin, change J to T and you have Tao Chi'en.). Tao is epitome of Eastern virtues, moral rectitude, a genuine human being, who guides and nurtures Eliza. Eliza lives like a boy with Tao in California, pretending to be his deaf/mute brother. After few days of this idyllic life she suddenly realizes why she left her country to begin with and gallops off to find Joachin, leaving Tao Chi'en behind. She then gets involved in numerous adventures, dressed as a boy, once as an pianist in a brothel. But where is Joachin? Actually he had enough of gringo hospitality, becomes a full blown marauder, taking revenge, killing innocent people, a 19th century Al Capone. Who does Eliza belong to? A fascinating tale of love, greed, sacrifice, friendship, morality, adventure and above all survival.
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