Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: Do not be dissuaded from reading this book because some may say that it is not the authors' best. It is an extremely well written and entertaining story. It will provide you with hours of adventure as well as fascinating information about the customs and culture of Chile and Northern California in the mid 1800's. It is bright and creative. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: a very romantic look at mid 19th century california
Review: I've been turned onto latin-american writers since college when I was blessed with a professor who taught by using novels as a base for debates about culture. Daughter of Fortune wasn't on his syllabi, but was listed on the bottem with many others he recommended.
Allende pays tribute to the romantic stereotypes associated with different ethnic groups, especially the hard-minded latin women with both the main character of Eliza and her guardian Miss Rose. Allende also shows the necessity of family honor and respect. I also commend Allende's depiction of struggle and determination by everyone in California and the corruption and greed of the '49 Gold Rush. Allende does not leave out the environmental impact either, and although she spends little time on it, it is still there. While I nod my head to Allende's historical accuracy, this work is nothing more than stereotype after stereotype after stereotype. I was dissapointed by the ending, as I was hoping for a twist or an unexpected shock - neither happened.
Allende packs a lot into such a tiny novel, but her characters are rich and she ties each one together in subtle, yet graceful, ways that I did not see coming. It is a love story, but the romance isn't overpowering and obnoxious. I liked it.
Rating: 
Summary: Spellbinding
Review: This is the first Allende book I have read. Although I was a little reluctant to pick it up since I have read (or attempted to begin) some Oprah book club books before and lost interest, I was extremely pleased with this one. The story was engaging from the first page to the last line. I rarely have enough time to read, but this book kept me up at night and didn't leave much time for anything else. The story didn't drag, and unlike some other Oprah books it didn't have the sappy storylines or gut-wrenching endings. Eliza was great to relate to and all the characters were so human in their reactions. Allendes imagery was so real, I could feel the hot Chilean sun warming the back of my neck.
I reccomend this book to anyone who feels ready to be swept away on an epic that defys all restrictions and liberates the soul.
Rating: 
Summary: not what I had hoped
Review: I was really disappointed in the main character, Eliza. I thought her aunt was much more of an interesting character and the book should have been more about her. It definitely felt mediocre to me. I finished it just to see if it would redeem itself in the end. Bummer. But not terrible, just blah!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This novel is one of her bests, it mixes the reality of south america in the 1800's and californias goldrush in 1849. Excellent overall.
Rating:
Summary: Something to pass the time with
Review: A friend bought me this book because she liked it so much, and I read it on a cross country flight. It was okay, but Allende seems to be losing her touch. The characters were pretty dull, the plot ever duller, and it's obvious that Allende didn't bother to do any research on the era. Are we to believe that Eliza could spend years roaming the gold fields of California disguised as a man, and no one notices? Or suspects? First she passed as a Chinese boy, and now as a full grown man? ....It is also a little unbelievable that she even would take off to find her lost lover, considering how sheltered she's been, and that she is an all around weak character. And the ending just leaves you. The book literally, just ends. We have no closure, no resolution, have no idea what became of any of the characters. Even if Allende had been preparing to write a sequel at the time, every book in a series needs to be able to stand on it's own. And really, who would want to read the sequel of this. One round was enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time
Review: At the restaurant you may order based on the devislishly delectable photo on the restaurant menu, and then when you actually have a taste of the food it is far from delectable. This is how I would sum up my reading experience of this book. The author mentioned the country "Malaysia" to which I want to point out that the Federation of Malaysia only came about in the early 1960s. Prior to that the country that is now known as Malaysia is called Malaya. The story lacks punch and it left me hoping for more and was let down time and again throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: What took me so long?
Review: I haven't read an Isabel Allende novel since I was a little girl. Upon hearing the release of Daughter of Fortune, I promised myself I'd give it a whirl. Well... I finally did. I can't believe I took so long to read this gem! I ended up savoring each word like a delicate pastry. What a gift Allende has -- she makes it appear easy. I mean, how could she make the supposedly subtle language seem so... effortless? Miss Rose, Eliza, and all the characters sprang to life without pretense. Some people have complained of its so-called slow-paced plot, but this book should not be rushed. Allende has topped House of the Spirits (which happens to be my favorite Allende novel), and that is no easy task. I shall never hesitate to read an Isabel Allende masterpiece again...
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the time
Review: I would just like to warn people to stay away from this book. It doesn't even deserve one star...I normally like Allende, especially her short story 'And of Clay We Are Created,' but this book was predictable, boring, and incredibly long-winded. What really irritated me was that after wading through all of the romantic muck and life-changing revelations, it doesn't even have a good ending! It's like she got tired of the book (can't blame her there--if it was that tedious to read it, I can't imagine what it was like to actually WRITE it), so she tacked on a chapter that could be miscontrued as a conclusion. There are many much better coming of age stories out there, not to mention better stories by Allende, so DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. ...
Rating:
Summary: excellent!!
Review: This book is a very exciting and intriguing story has a lot of History from the 1850's very well narrated .......I was Impressed , I learned a lot!!
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