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nikolettefries's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this one. Got me coming back for more a lot of times. Woke me up at night wanting to keep reading about the Laguna women. Also brought me back to the Isabel Allende type of writing, but with its own peculiar things. (Really had to look up if they weren't from the same country)
Overall the story tangles you in it. It does make you get lost sometimes, due to a bunch of references and stuff but that was exactly the thing that made me get more and more involved with it. I loved the way sometimes an story seemed unrelated and then you could see the connection with the actual events in the present, so it makes you get lost but brings you back to it again. Felt kinda repetitive though, like I was tangled again and again but I enjoyed the reading whatsoever.
Overall the story tangles you in it. It does make you get lost sometimes, due to a bunch of references and stuff but that was exactly the thing that made me get more and more involved with it. I loved the way sometimes an story seemed unrelated and then you could see the connection with the actual events in the present, so it makes you get lost but brings you back to it again. Felt kinda repetitive though, like I was tangled again and again but I enjoyed the reading whatsoever.
anotherprincess's review against another edition
5.0
Tropecé con este libro de casualidad, me lo empecé una tarde aburrida y me lo acabé del tirón. Personalmente, aunque pueda parecer repetitivo, me parece que ahí está parcialmente el qué de la historia.
Los toques de realismo mágico verdaderamente añaden a la historia, con la naturaleza siendo un personaje en sí misma.
Los toques de realismo mágico verdaderamente añaden a la historia, con la naturaleza siendo un personaje en sí misma.
zurpel's review against another edition
2.0
Auf den Frauen der Familie Laguna lastet ein Fluch, der es ihnen unmöglich macht in der Liebe glücklich zu werden. Vielmehr sind sie alle dazu verdammt wegen der Liebe zu leiden und nur uneheliche Mädchen zu gebähren, die den Fluch forttragen. Sollte ein Mann versuchen das Unglück der Frauen zu verhindern, so wird diesen ein tragisches Schicksal ereilen.
Mit dieser Geschichte ist Clara Laguna aufgewachsen. Sie ist dennoch davon überzeugt, dass sie trotz des Fluches mit ihrem Liebsten glücklich werden kann.
Die Geschichte folgt mehreren Generationen an Laguna-Frauen. Die Prämisse des Buches verheißt gute Unterhaltung und der Schreibsstil der Autorin lässt das Buch angenehm "fließen". Auch an der Sprecherin des deutschen Hörbuchs habe ich nichts auszusetzen.
Was mich jedoch bald zu stören angefangen hat, ist die Tatsache, dass so gut wie jede der Protagonistinen absolut unsympathisch war. Nun könnte man das natürlich damit erklären, dass die Damen einfach alle an einem schweren Schicksal zu hadern haben und ihr Charakter sich daraus erklären lässt. Allerdings hätte jede auch ein anderes Leben führen und so einen besseren Charakter entwickeln können. Insofern sind die Damen mir nicht auf eine verständliche, im Rahmen des Plots nachvollziehbare Art unangenehm aufgefallen.
Diese unangenehmen Charaktere haben mich mehrmals dazu verleitet das Hörbuch einfach aufzugeben. Davon hat mich allein die Tatsache abgehalten, dass ich eine noch größere Abneigung dagegen habe ein Buch nicht zu beenden.
Mit dieser Geschichte ist Clara Laguna aufgewachsen. Sie ist dennoch davon überzeugt, dass sie trotz des Fluches mit ihrem Liebsten glücklich werden kann.
Die Geschichte folgt mehreren Generationen an Laguna-Frauen. Die Prämisse des Buches verheißt gute Unterhaltung und der Schreibsstil der Autorin lässt das Buch angenehm "fließen". Auch an der Sprecherin des deutschen Hörbuchs habe ich nichts auszusetzen.
Was mich jedoch bald zu stören angefangen hat, ist die Tatsache, dass so gut wie jede der Protagonistinen absolut unsympathisch war. Nun könnte man das natürlich damit erklären, dass die Damen einfach alle an einem schweren Schicksal zu hadern haben und ihr Charakter sich daraus erklären lässt. Allerdings hätte jede auch ein anderes Leben führen und so einen besseren Charakter entwickeln können. Insofern sind die Damen mir nicht auf eine verständliche, im Rahmen des Plots nachvollziehbare Art unangenehm aufgefallen.
Diese unangenehmen Charaktere haben mich mehrmals dazu verleitet das Hörbuch einfach aufzugeben. Davon hat mich allein die Tatsache abgehalten, dass ich eine noch größere Abneigung dagegen habe ein Buch nicht zu beenden.
beastreader's review against another edition
2.0
Clara Laguna comes from a long line of strong women. However it is been said that the Laguna women are cursed. Every time a Laguna woman falls in love with a man, her heart is broken. Oh and did I mention that the women have only given birth to girls.
Clara falls for a rich man, who gets her pregnant and leaves her. Clara vows revenge. She gives birth to a daughter. As the years pass and generations are born, eventually a boy is born. So is the cursed broken?
I thought this book sounded intriguing. While the story was nice, it just seemed to stretch over the different time periods for a really long time. After a while, I got bored and found myself skimming over the second half of the book. The curse that the Laguna women had was sad. They were lovely women but the men who loved them were not good. In fact, I was happy when Clara’s guy left her. He was not good enough for her. However, he allowed the curse to scary him some. Plus he was only looking for a mistress.
The writing is beautiful but again just very long winded. As well as the fact that the Laguna women grew bitter as the time moved on. Which I can not blame them. Just that this can make for a depressing read. For this type of book I crave for the characters to move me with their story. This did not happen and for this reason, I can not get excited about this book.
debela2's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book from a goodreads giveaway recently. It's an interesting tale of several generations of women under a curse. I read it over several days on the beach and enjoyed the description of characters and the mysticism surrounding them.
ryannkm's review against another edition
3.0
NOTE: This is the first magical realism book I've ever read, so I cannot compare it to better known authors within the genre.
I enjoy 'legacy' books that tell the story of several generations within a family. However, in The House of Impossible Loves, I felt like some of the generations weren't fully fleshed out and as a result, I had no connection or understanding of their motivation.
As the author gets to the last few generations, the family becomes more fleshed out, but by then, I'd lost interest and just wanted to know if/ how the curse ended.
I enjoy 'legacy' books that tell the story of several generations within a family. However, in The House of Impossible Loves, I felt like some of the generations weren't fully fleshed out and as a result, I had no connection or understanding of their motivation.
As the author gets to the last few generations, the family becomes more fleshed out, but by then, I'd lost interest and just wanted to know if/ how the curse ended.
ccallan's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautifully written book full of evocative images - no, not just images, but tastes, smells, feelings, all the senses. I loved a story of powerful, weird women finding their way in the world. There are male characters, but with one exception they are foils for the women who determine what is to happen. The story of Latinx women across generations consistently reminded by of Isabel Allende's House of Spirits and some other Latin magical realist novels, though when I mentioned that to my wife we had the following dialogue:
Wife: So there's always a house that's a character in the novel.
Me: Yes, that's right, now that you mention it
Wife: And there are detailed descriptions of food, which plays a role in what happens
Me: Yeah, that's true too.
Wife: And plants grow where and when they shouldn't for no apparent reason.
Me: Actually that happens all the time in this book.
Which is all to say that while I loved the book, and was amazed at how deftly she wields language (and hats off the translator for making that come through in English), it's basically a romance novel that's far more interesting to read than something off the discount shelf.
I was also struck by how many times these women's (and one man's) lives were determined by decisions they made that they never considered undoing, whatever the consequences. The prose flows along so smoothly that you don't notice this until you put the book down and think about it for a moment. Of course a decision to turn your life to revenge can never be reversed, no matter how long you live....It reminded me of the wise words of that Hollywood philosopher Carrie Fisher who said "resentment is liking drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."
Wife: So there's always a house that's a character in the novel.
Me: Yes, that's right, now that you mention it
Wife: And there are detailed descriptions of food, which plays a role in what happens
Me: Yeah, that's true too.
Wife: And plants grow where and when they shouldn't for no apparent reason.
Me: Actually that happens all the time in this book.
Which is all to say that while I loved the book, and was amazed at how deftly she wields language (and hats off the translator for making that come through in English), it's basically a romance novel that's far more interesting to read than something off the discount shelf.
I was also struck by how many times these women's (and one man's) lives were determined by decisions they made that they never considered undoing, whatever the consequences. The prose flows along so smoothly that you don't notice this until you put the book down and think about it for a moment. Of course a decision to turn your life to revenge can never be reversed, no matter how long you live....It reminded me of the wise words of that Hollywood philosopher Carrie Fisher who said "resentment is liking drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."
lisa_berrones's review against another edition
3.0
This was one of those books where you keep waiting for the thing that's going to change everything. But it never comes. It builds and builds and then ends. And while it's not necessarily a bad experience, I finished and wasn't satisfied. Probably due to my high hopes to another author to offer me more magical realism but this just didn't quite get there.
bujobyfilo's review against another edition
1.0
Es la historia de una familia de locas pervertidas y con trastornos asquerosos varios, obsesionadas con vengarse las unas de las otras. Ya está. Ni hace falta spoiler ni nada, no va de nada más, no hay ninguna maldición, no hay misterio, no hay moraleja, no da nada que pensar. Eso sí, da bastante asco...