lisa_berrones's review
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...
cxrmen's review against another edition
5.0
Magia que envuelve entre margaritas y olor a lluvia; podría jurar que he vivido en la casona roja. ❤️
rayn0n's review
5.0
repeat after me: Generational Trauma, the Novel
Seriously though, the imagery in here was absolutely gorgeous. Broke in the spine of my compendium of flower language through most od it - the food? The smells? The sea? I feel like I'll be living with a supernatural awareness of the romanticism of symbols in everyday life. I'll be looking for, haunted by, the echoes of the past just as the Lagunas were. For the way I suffered through most of the novel, I was expecting a much darker but equally complete ending. Also - this book was originally written in Spanish? This is the English translation? Heck yeah. Phenomenal.
Seriously though, the imagery in here was absolutely gorgeous. Broke in the spine of my compendium of flower language through most od it - the food? The smells? The sea? I feel like I'll be living with a supernatural awareness of the romanticism of symbols in everyday life. I'll be looking for, haunted by, the echoes of the past just as the Lagunas were. For the way I suffered through most of the novel, I was expecting a much darker but equally complete ending. Also - this book was originally written in Spanish? This is the English translation? Heck yeah. Phenomenal.
lenitkac's review
1.0
I really don't understand how I managed to read the whole book. It wasn't a magic realism for me, just very boring kitschy story - not because of the topic, that was pretty great, but because of style of writing and vague character descriptions.
juliemhowe's review
4.0
Fun little piece of magical realism. Quite superstitious, but foreshadowed well with lots of little details and clues repeated throughout. I enjoyed reading about this family of strong, unique, but cursed women.
hjmo's review
4.0
Covering 4 generations of the same "cursed" family this novel reminded me strongly of "One Hundred Years of Solitude". The narration was beautiful. I was totally entranced by the imagery of Scarlet Manor and the rise and fall of the crazy Laguna's. I loved the magical realism elements in the story, it just all fit together perfectly. I felt a lot of pity for the characters and their life choices but wasn't really emotionally invested. They weren't entirely real at times devolving into caricatures but I think that was part of the charm.
pronnnnch's review
4.0
It's crazy how invested I am in a good ending. This was one of those books where aaargh so much tragedy happens, but the conclusion makes it all worth it. The book was very sensual and reminded me of Like Water for Chocolate, but I found the idea of the "curse" more interesting. The book plays a lot on the idea of "loving" and explores the relationships of the Laguna Women through that. The imagery very sensual, warm, and nostalgic but that kind of tone disappears and reappears as the story progresses. I thought this would be like Practical Magic, it's not, but that's on me. (No minus points there) There are some events that I was like "oh what the fuck" that I think really put me off from finishing the book for like 10 minutes, I had to pause after reading.
I enjoyed this book and I'm surprised I didn't hear about it until now!
I enjoyed this book and I'm surprised I didn't hear about it until now!
saragrochowski's review
2.0
I was drawn to THE HOUSE OF IMPOSSIBLE LOVES by the compelling title and synopsis and, while the prose was gorgeous and the plot unique, I just wasn't hooked by this novel.
The story tells about multiple generations of women from a family that has been cursed. It is said that the women in this family will never experience happy love and will forever end up alone. Quickly, an issue arose that I found hard to overlook: I felt no connection - neither sympathy or anger - towards the women of the novel. This, an inability to connect with a novel's characters, generally signals the beginning of the end of my relationship with a book.
Additionally, there were many elements of this novel that made me feel... awkward. It wasn't any of the sexual elements, but rather the relationships. They were all so stilted and horrible. I mean, I'm fairly certain this was the author's goal, but really felt quite uncomfortable.
If you are drawn to this novel, I encourage you to pick it up, despite the fact that I did not enjoy it. It's very well-written and very different, but it just wasn't for me.
The story tells about multiple generations of women from a family that has been cursed. It is said that the women in this family will never experience happy love and will forever end up alone. Quickly, an issue arose that I found hard to overlook: I felt no connection - neither sympathy or anger - towards the women of the novel. This, an inability to connect with a novel's characters, generally signals the beginning of the end of my relationship with a book.
Additionally, there were many elements of this novel that made me feel... awkward. It wasn't any of the sexual elements, but rather the relationships. They were all so stilted and horrible. I mean, I'm fairly certain this was the author's goal, but really felt quite uncomfortable.
If you are drawn to this novel, I encourage you to pick it up, despite the fact that I did not enjoy it. It's very well-written and very different, but it just wasn't for me.
alliestewart517's review
3.0
Well written. Interesting characters. Not what I was expecting. Some parts seemed to drag on.