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brookepriestas's review against another edition
3.0
Really 3.5 stars because I could not settle on 3 or 4. The plot was decent but there is no doubt that Isabel Allende’s writing is some of the most beautiful I have ever read.
mdevlin923's review against another edition
3.25
Eliza Sommers is lovestruck and pregnant when the Gold Rush begins in California. She smuggles aboard a ship bound to California to follow her lover...but California is not at all what she expected. Through friendship and adventure, Eliza learns more about the world and herself.
Definitely a book for someone who wants to know the backstory of every character. It took me a long time to get into this book because of that.
Definitely a book for someone who wants to know the backstory of every character. It took me a long time to get into this book because of that.
sandranir's review against another edition
5.0
Of all of Allende's books I've read so far, this one is the most unforgettable. Perhaps because it finds an echo in my personal history?
An awesome read! Thank you Ms. Allende!
An awesome read! Thank you Ms. Allende!
stephashryver's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ecdereus's review against another edition
3.0
Goed verhaal over de jonge Chileense Elena die als verstekeling aan boord gaat van een zeilschip naar Californië, op zoek naar haar grote liefde die daar tijdens de Goldrush zijn fortuin hoopt te maken. Uitgebreid wordt de geschiedenis beschreven van het ontstaan en de ontwikkeling van San Francisco en omgeving gedurende de eerste jaren vanaf 1848, toen vele duizenden migranten - gelokt door de goudkoorts - vanuit de rest van de Verenigde Staten maar ook vanuit Mexico en Zuid-Amerika in het gehucht aan de Golden Gate baai aan de westkust neerstreken.
3½ ster.
3½ ster.
bohoautumn's review against another edition
3.0
Allende gave me a sensual feast of sights and sounds, and most of all of smell and touch. The smells of the kitchen and sea port, the feel of lost virginity and itinerant beds, the sights of burgeoning towns and a lover's letters.
While it's a romance-adventure, the descriptions of love and sex left me a little cold.
What makes the novel successful in my eyes is that Allende offers readers the notion that even the most captive of us is capable of breaking free.... with the right motivation. Tradition, etiquette, claustrophobic classes, social norms, are all crushed underfoot. I like that.
I enjoyed seeing Eliza's initial romantic motivation for leaving her homeland dissolve into a quest to emerge her whole self.
I don't see Allende as brilliant as many tout her to be, but she knows how to express a woman's heart and to deliver it in a good tale.
While it's a romance-adventure, the descriptions of love and sex left me a little cold.
What makes the novel successful in my eyes is that Allende offers readers the notion that even the most captive of us is capable of breaking free.... with the right motivation. Tradition, etiquette, claustrophobic classes, social norms, are all crushed underfoot. I like that.
I enjoyed seeing Eliza's initial romantic motivation for leaving her homeland dissolve into a quest to emerge her whole self.
I don't see Allende as brilliant as many tout her to be, but she knows how to express a woman's heart and to deliver it in a good tale.
teraesia's review against another edition
5.0
Nadšená od prvej strany. Zatiaľ asi najlepšia od Allende ktoré som mala česť prečítať.
nckathyb55's review against another edition
2.0
It wasn't difficult to get through, I just didn't care for it. I don't know what lesson I was suppose to get from it. I feel there were some loose ends that I would have liked cleared up at the end. Some blood and gore and sexual situations were necessary, but others seemed to be added for sensationalism. Just didn't care for it.