Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Henkien talo by Isabel Allende

35 reviews

lottiegasp's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This novel follows 4 generations of the Del Valle and Trueba family, led by compassionate matriarch Clara the clairvoyant and brutal conservative patriarch Esteban. It explores the politics of the unspecified Latin American country in which it is set, including conservative rule, a blip of Socialism, followed by a military coup. I thought it was overall well-written but not in a way where I was taken in by the aesthetics of the writing. It was quite bleak in how it portrayed both conservative and Socialist governance, as well as the horrible behaviours of Trueba, which he could completely get away with as the patriarch. There was a feminist message throughout of showing the women as strong, compassionate characters, but I disliked how much they forgave Trueba - I guess this reflects reality that you still might love your family members who do shitty things, but I found that the effect of this was that it watered down the messages of what is right and wrong. I didn't totally engage with the characters, and for quite a lot of the book I didn't find the plot particularly engaging because it was so focussed on the minute details of the household and each member of the family. I don't really feel compelled to read more of Allende's works after finishing this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Rape

Moderate: War, Violence, Incest, Police brutality, and Pedophilia

literarycath's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Rape, and Sexual violence

mclaravlm's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Rape, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

angelaf's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The House of the Spirits was an experience. I am glad I read it, but it was a lot. I loved the magical realism, but more telling than showing and the lack of dialogue made it drag. However, it did pique my interest in reading more South American authors and learning more about South American history. Read if you enjoy: magical realism, multi-generational sagas, women in translation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Animal cruelty

mandamae's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Animal death, Sexual assault, Rape, and Animal cruelty

lorenag5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Classism, Sexual violence, Abortion, Blood, Car accident, Slavery, Torture, Rape, Sexism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, War, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Violence, Animal death, Colonisation, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

george_tte's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Un clásico con toda razón. Es un libro que no teme hablar de cosas horribles, pero sigue contándote y no te queda de otra que continuar leyendo. Isabel Allende tiene un don para crear personajes que se sienten reales y sinceros. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Abortion, Violence, Rape, and Confinement

oanac's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, and Rape

katiereuter3's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, and Animal cruelty

fatoodles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I am so torn about this book... It took me forever to read but always stayed with me.

I fell in love with Clara and loved her so deeply and in contrast I hated Estaban sooooo much but always hoped that he would change and be a better man. 
Otherwise I had a hard time connecting to many of the other characters as the choices they made... Made so little sense. 

I was really bothered by all the casual rape in this book. As well as the other traumatic situations that just felt dumped down into the story. I didn't look into what the book was about prior to starting and so I was surprised at the direction the story took. That being said politics was mentioned all throughout the story and so I'm not sure why I was so surprised. I also know the history and so I knew we would be talking about the civil war... I just thought it'd be lighter. 

I loved the prose and I appreciated my time with this family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death