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jinmichae's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This one didn't pull me in nearly as much as the others I've read by the author. It feels more like a biography than something with an overarching plot.
It mostly explores the full lives and loves of the main two characters and how they were affected by the Spanish Civil War, what was done in Chile on September 11, 1973, and other instances closer to their family. I enjoyed it--the writing was beautiful as always, the subject interesting and giving voice to parts of history I haven't encountered before--but because it was many narratives coming together, it didn't have as much focus as I prefer.
It mostly explores the full lives and loves of the main two characters and how they were affected by the Spanish Civil War, what was done in Chile on September 11, 1973, and other instances closer to their family. I enjoyed it--the writing was beautiful as always, the subject interesting and giving voice to parts of history I haven't encountered before--but because it was many narratives coming together, it didn't have as much focus as I prefer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, and Classism
davidbythebay's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was my first Isabel Allende book. It was good. I find fault in the scope of the book, though. It feels too packed with characters that it gets a bit muddled. It’s like there were too many thoughts and not enough editing. I also too a long time (about 25% of the novel) to feel like something was happening. It was rather bland and slow until then. And then periodically got slow.
The summary on the book doesn’t fully encompass what this is about. Yes, there is a romance that forms. But this reads more like a political critique that comes across more like a propaganda tool to talk up a regime that was - I’ll word this mildly because my knowledge of Chilean history is not great - troubled as a brilliant rule the populace squandered and dismantled. Also, the political discussions are rather one note and brief. It seemed like it would be better as an inquiry into the nature of government and role of politics and the people. But this didn’t happen. It was slanted, like a certain spin on history. In fact the story sits in the 1930s-1940s then have a huge chapter long jump to the 1970s. So much happened and yet it was a lot of side characters and plots that just seemed to go nowhere but end.
I think I’ll give this author another chance, but I was not impressed with this piece (one of her latest novels). Unfortunately, the story didn’t grip me too much and I have to rate this 3 stars.
The summary on the book doesn’t fully encompass what this is about. Yes, there is a romance that forms. But this reads more like a political critique that comes across more like a propaganda tool to talk up a regime that was - I’ll word this mildly because my knowledge of Chilean history is not great - troubled as a brilliant rule the populace squandered and dismantled. Also, the political discussions are rather one note and brief. It seemed like it would be better as an inquiry into the nature of government and role of politics and the people. But this didn’t happen. It was slanted, like a certain spin on history. In fact the story sits in the 1930s-1940s then have a huge chapter long jump to the 1970s. So much happened and yet it was a lot of side characters and plots that just seemed to go nowhere but end.
I think I’ll give this author another chance, but I was not impressed with this piece (one of her latest novels). Unfortunately, the story didn’t grip me too much and I have to rate this 3 stars.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Abortion