Rating: 
Summary: A very poor sequel
Review: Like many other reviewers, I have also read The House of the Spirits and Daughter of Fortune. My enjoyment of Ms. Allende's work has decreased with each novel. The House of the Spirits is an excellent book: very well researched, vivid, funny, passionate and memorable. Daughter of Fortune got off to a good start, but languished in the second half of the book. I was one of the few people I knew who didn't like the book very much. Portrait in Sepia continues the decline. Ms. Allende appears to have done very little research to back up her writing this time, despite the fact that there are many sources to turn to when writing about, for example, San Francisco and Chinatown at the turn of the century. Her characters are so underdeveloped that I had no feeling for any of them - my favorite character was the English butler-turned-husband, whose role was relatively minor (although all of the characters seemed minor...). She must have had a deadline to meet or perhaps she's lost her passion for writing because there is little in Portrait to remind me of the brilliance of The House of the Spirits.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe it's me...
Review: Maybe it's me, but I had a hard time getting "into" this book. It didn't keep me very interested, but I read on to see if it would get better & how it would end. I read Daughter of Fortune and it was much of the same way for me, but it picked up after the first 75 pages. I thought this would be the same way, but really it picked up in the middle, after 150 pages! It was a neat story to tell, but it could have been told faster, and therefore made the book more engrossing.
Rating: 
Summary: UNA NOVELA MAGISTRALMENTE ESCRITA
Review: NO SE COMO PERSONAS
QUE NO TIENEN NI LA
MAS MINIMA IDEA SOBRE
LITERATURA LATINOAMERICANA,
Y PEOR AUN; QUE NI SABEN ESCRIBIR
SE ATREVEN A CRITICAR, PERSONAS
QUE NO TIENEN NI LA MAS MINIMA
IDEA QUE SON NI COMO SE UTILIZAN ELEMENTOS
LITERARIOS...ESTA HA SIDO UNA MAGISTRAL
CREACION, GRANDIOSA EN TODOS LOS
ASPECTOS, MIS FELICITACIONES A LA
ESCRITORA ALLENDE POR ESTA
OBRA,TAN EXCELENTE EN TODOS LOS
ASPECTOS....
Rating:
Summary: A Portrait of A Wonderfully Crafted Work
Review: Portrait In Sepia kept me riveted as I turned each page to find out more about Aurora del Valle. Allende gives the readers something extra - she relates the courtship of Severo and Nivea del Valle (who appeared in The House of Spirits). Allende uses language and imagery to weave together a story of love, betrayal, loss, and discovery. A powerful, yet quietly moving, story from beginning to end.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-written tale
Review: The story of Aurora and her ancestors is a great one. Isabel Allende divides the story between USA and South America, and there are great characters all the way through the book. Specially the female characters are strong, and it soon becomes clear, that Paulina del Valle in some ways is the true herion of this story. Portrait in Sepia is a story about love, hate, life, death, passion and all the other great emotions of life.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, but not exceptional
Review: This book follows many of the characters Allende introduced in another novel, Daughter of Fortune. I actually liked this book a little better than Daughter of Fortune, because I felt there was at least a little more mystery involved. There are many compelling characters in the book, but, unfortunately, I didn't really think that Aurora (the storyteller) was one of them. Her grandmother Paulina was infinitely more interesting. Also, I thought the title was strained. It felt like Allende just tacked a paragraph or two onto the end of the story to justify the title. Although Aurora was a photographer, I didn't feel that the title naturally sprang from the work. Rather, it was foisted upon it.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Interweaving of Previous Works
Review: This book is made exquisite by the author's use of magic realism, historical events, and previously introduced characters woven together to create yet another photograph, if you will, of a woman seeking the truth or her past. I have always loved Isabelle Allende's work for her attention to detail in her main characters. Although at times she uses magic realism to enhance her characters it is always very clear how each part of their life has effected them and has lead them to the place at which they (or the book) end. I have read House of Spirits, Daughter of Fortune, Eva Luna, and The Letters of Eva Luna and was amazed at the imagination Allende exibits in Portrait of Sepia. She uses her trade mark character detail and magic realism to weave together two of her earlier works in a way that captivates her readers and again leaves you wanting more. I personally adore her endings because, although they are not grand and do not necassarily tie up all the pieces, they leave the reader with the sense that the characters are not fictional people who's life ends with a happily ever after at the end of the book. Allende makes her characters believable to the extent that it seems logical that they and their impact on their world do not fit into a single work, but span different books and different stories.
Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful book from Isabel Allende
Review: This is a wonderful follow-up to Daughter of Fortune--full of rich characters, history, insight and an absorbing plot. I listened to the unabridged audio version and especially enjoyed the music of the language. I'm glad I read Daughter of Fortune first because the overlapping characters were more real and sympathetic as a result of knowing their history.
Rating:
Summary: My First Introduction To Ms. Allende!
Review: This is the first time that I've read Ms. Allende and maybe due to the fact that I've not read any of her previous titles I did not have any expectations when beginning this story and as a result found this a pleasent read. Although there were some slow parts I enjoyed the history of these two families but in the same breath found it at times difficult to follow the many different characters that were introduced. Still it was nice to be given a chance to know the various characters that make up this story and as a result given a chance to know the families. I look forward to reading Ms. Allende again in the future and recommend this book as a nice way to pass the weekend.
Rating:
Summary: BRAVO!!!!
Review: This novel was the icing on the cake! It was wonderful to unweave the web of history and the timeline that spanned generations. Readers will feel absorbed into this family tree and if they've read other of Allende's works they will agree she's outdone herself! DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE is absolutely a pre-requisite for PORTRAIT IN SEPIA; this is the only way to truly appreciate this masterpiece, or literary work of art.
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