Daughter of Fortune: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Captivating!
Review: Finding and reading this book was like one of those fateful accidents that can potentially change your life. I was stuck in Fresno over the weekend and found myself hanging around the Borders bookstore. Allende's book was displayed on an endcap, and I must admit I was at first captivated by the portrait of the young woman on the cover. The fact that it was also heralded as an "Oprah" selection did not impress me. I read the first page of this book and was immediately captivated. As a native of California, Allende's depiction of the Gold Rush era, and the rampant racism inherent to the state's early formation, appeared historically accurate, and was sometimes disturbing. I suppose the life changing part concerns a shift in my perception of how California was settled. My 8th grade California history class never discussed slavery as demonstrated by Allende's reference to the Singsong girls (Chinese prostitutes) who sat chained to their beds chanting "two bittee lookee, four bittee feelee, six bittee doee," and racism portrayed by the seizure of lands held by Californians and Mexicans.

Contrary to some of the other reviews here, I believe the character development of Eliza and Tao Chien was superb. I was disappointed, however, that Eliza's culinary skills were never fully developed, as she could have made a fortune in the gold fields running a restaurant. Instead, Eliza tends to squander her gifts in a fruitless search for a less than honorable lover. I read this book in two days, and I am not a fast reader.

The story grabs you, and by the end I was sorry to have to leave the world and lives Allende had created. To me, regretting the end of a book is the mark of a good story. The book deals with slavery (Chinese), oppression (Chinese and Latino), greed (everybody), romance, history, and prostitution.

Rating:
Summary: The California gold-rush and an independent woman
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone that lives in the San Francisco Bay Area or is interested in the area. Also recommended for those who like to read about other women making their way in the world in the 1800's without relying on a man (this is an unusual thing for that time period).

The story follows a young orphaned girl, Eliza Sommers, from her upbringing in an upper-class British home (transplanted in Valparaiso Chile) to her striking out on her own to follow her lover into the San Francisco gold rush in 1849. The character development in the first half of the novel is great, with emphasis on Eliza's relationships with her "adoptive mothers" Miss Rose and Mama Fresia. I really started to enjoy the novel when the story arrived in California, as I have traveled to many of the places listed in the story.

I have read many of Oprah's picks, and find this one the least schmaltzy of all of them (yes, I really did say schmaltzy). This is not your typical "girl overcomes adversity" story that Oprah usually picks.

Rating:
Summary: Daughter of Pain
Review: I was more than disappointed in this book. When I got to the end it felt like it had never really started and I wished that I hadn't spent the time reading it. I have heard her other stuff was better... but trust me skip this one.

Rating:
Summary: Allende is an outstanding author!
Review: This was the first book I had read by Isabel Allende and it will not be the last. She is an outstanding writer and this book kept me captivated from the very first page. I enjoyed the various characters, especially the bravery of Eliza, the intriguing world of Mama Freesia, Miss Rose who really is not the prude she is made out to be and the lifestyles of Captain John and Eliza's Asian comprade. The story gives wonderful insight into life in South America in the mid 1800's and what one strong willed woman will do in support of finding her lover. The two month trip aboard the ship to San Francisco was exciting and when Eliza does arrive in CA it gave a wonderful description of life in the midst of the gold rush. I found the author's style especially pleasing and very easy to read. She captured my interest from page one! I was sad to finish the book but have just purchased another of her novels--I cannot wait to read that! You will enjoy this book!

Rating:
Summary: Leaves you wanting more
Review: Why does this book leave you wanting more? Because the ending is so unsatisfyingly and startlingly sudden! After several hundred pages of building a wonderful plot and the characters, it is always a surprise to me when an author chooses to quit writing the book at the pentultimate chapter. Beyond that though (after all, you must be asking yourself why I rated this book four stars?!), Allende has given us an incredibly complex heroine in Eliza Sommers, who is faced with a pretty unique challenge: Here is a woman who was raised to think and act like an upper-middle-class caucasian lady in Chile in the late 1800's, and she is suddenly, due to some unfortunate choices and decisions, a single, ethnic, immigrant girl in Gold Rush California. This book gives the reader some fascinating peaks into several different cultures, including Chilean, Chinese, and, of course, American (whatever that it!). I would recommend this book very highly. Just be prepared for that disappointingly quick ending.