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kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
laurenw's review against another edition
3.75
A multi-generational story about an intriguing family who appears to have drawn in every kind of trauma possible, the book is not bad, but it is chaotic. For all the claims of this focusing on a matriarchal line, and we do follow 4/5 generations of daughters, all the events in the book are framed through the perspective of 1 man, who is not a pleasant character. Obviously books can be enjoyable and still center a problematic character, but the role of Esteban (plural) throughout the story detracts from the spirit of the women this story should have been about.
Ultimately, fell flat for me, but the political background and its rich cultural depictions were its shining grace.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Miscarriage, and Lesbophobia
doradalberto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
kimchikat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, War, and Classism
bigolscrewup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
And that fox escaped with his tail between his legs, with all the hens chasing him
4/5⭐
This is my second Isabel Allende book, after "Violeta" and I've always wanted to read this book before reading any of her other books, but I'm glad to have found some time to read this book finally. I love reading stories that details a family's history through multiple generations, highlighting each family member's eccentricities in a country that's on a path towards a military coup.
I didn't enjoy the the frequent shifts in perspective throughout the book and sometimes within a chapter, which made it difficult for me to follow the story at times. Even though Clara's idea of arranging the story based on events instead of chronological order sounded good as an idea, it was frustrating at times to read some chapters without having any clear idea on when a particular event happened, especially in this story, where there are so many interesting characters, who are all related to each other. Also, I felt the story lost some of its charm once Clara was out of the picture.
The magical realism in the book added a layer of wonder, which blended with Allende's elegant prose drew me and made reading this book an absolute joy.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, and Abortion
alinaedwards's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I began this novel halfheartedly. I'll admit I was a little skeptical, not entirely sure that I would enjoy this kind of story. Usually I don't go for long, multigenerational sagas, although there's one exception I can think of—Pachinko. Also, I quickly noticed that there is very little dialogue in the novel, and usually I like a decent amount of dialogue in the fiction I read. Needless to say, I'll never doubt the power of this genre (subgenre?) again, and I'll think twice before attributing value to how much or how little dialogue there is in a novel again.
I effortlessly read through the first thirty pages, and figured that I seemed to be enjoying this well enough, so why not keep going. The more I read, the more immersed in the world I became, until I felt like I had landed within the pages and I was really there with the Truebas. Every character, every scene left a memorable imprint on my mind. Allende somehow makes every character—and there are at least ten important ones, all coming in and out of the story—stand on their own, convincing me that each figure in this story, every minor and major player, could be the protagonist of their own novels and each would be a brilliant story. I can't remember the last time I have been in the hands of a writer whose skill in developing characters matched Allende's. What's more, the world is immersive and riveting precisely because it is built around the novel's characters, constructed to complement who and what they are—not the other way around.
After finishing the novel I reflected a bit on who the protagonist of The House of the Spirits is, and I concluded that simply based on who had the largest presence in the book, it must be Esteban Trueba, the most detestable character in this story (tied with another minor character). He is the only one who is with us from beginning to end, and the only one with a clear arc. Although there were times when I truly hated Esteban (obviously intentional on Allende's part), I really admired Allende's choice to stay so close to this man throughout the story, highlighting his flaws more than his virtues while also focusing in on his humanity. He represents the worst of our species, and yet we feel for him anyway, especially at the end of the novel. Allende takes a big risk here, but it plays out beautifully and tragically.
Despite the protagonist being a violent and brutish man, The House of the Spirits is a uniquely feminine novel. This is hard to explain. My perception of the novel's inherent femininity exists on a subliminal level; in short, it's an intuition. The focus on spirits, the two houses, intuition as a magical experience, and love as nurterer and nurtured combined to form a feminine aura. Additionally, the novel's strongest characters are three women of three generations: Clara, Blanca, and Alba. Together, they stand as the backbone of this magnificent novel.
I am planning to read either The Japanese Lover or Eva Luna next. The House of the Spirits has blasted the bar up to the sky, but I don't doubt Allende's ability to blow me away yet again.
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
eve_kadou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
coleanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
flowerwineandbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
People praise the poetic descriptions in this novel, and maybe it's the fault of translation but I didn't find the prose all the beautiful. There were a few stunning lines, but these were more from Nivea, Clara, and Alba about the importance of justice and resilience of women.
<blockquote> "this is to assuage our conscience, darling," she would explain to Blanca. "but it doesn't help the poor. They don't need charity, they need justice." </blockquote>
<blockquote> It was then I understood that the days of [character name] and all those like him are numbered, because they have not been able to destroy the spirit of these women. </blockquote>
This book has virtually no plot, it's all characters. And that would be fine, except most of the characters were not ones I was able to root for very easily. Additionally, I HATED HATED HATED reading from Esteban's point of view. I think this is the sole reason it took me so long to finish this book. If one of the themes of the novel is the spirit of women, I don't think this writing choice was the best... I understand that he was necessary as the patriarch to counterbalance the narrative being told about the spirits of the women throughout the family, but I feel like just seeing his actions would have been enough for the same to have been accomplished.
The historical context in the last few chapters of the book I found to be the most intriguing! Since the passing of Clara, I struggled to maintain interest in the story with no more characters I really cared for. The wider story of Chilean politics was fascinating to me, and I came to care more for some of the younger characters FINALLY at this point. However, the big reveal/twist wasn't as shocking as I would have liked because of the overused and blatant amount of foreshadowing throughout the ENTIRETY of the novel from the first chapters. (Which I know is not a translation issue, because I've read some reviews from those who read it in Spanish and said similar things here)
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Car accident, and Death of parent
lief_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Addiction and Incest