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A review by mayog
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
4.0
Allende's first novel, written in 1981 during the dictatorship of Pinochet while she lived in exile in Venezuela, traces the rise of that dictatorship from the feudal beginnings of colonial life to the rise of her uncle Salvador Allende (the President) and the coup that claimed his life.
She does this by telling a story about three women --Clara, Blanca, and Alba--and the men that drift through, drive, define, and intersect in alternatively amorous and violent ways with their lives. The principal of these men is Estaben Trueba, but he is accompanied by other very important men, including four Garcia men: Pedro Garcia, Pedro Segundo, Pedro Tercero (patterned after Victor Jara), and Esteban Garcia.
The book focuses on the white colonialist characters (the del Valle and Trueba families). Both of its narrators are from the colonialist class, and they write from that perspective. Despite the glimpse into the revolutionary left (through Jamie, Miguel, Pedro Tercero, Amanda, and others), rarely do we really her the voices of the "Indian" --that is, non-white, non-colonialist--characters. And when we seem them speaking to one another, it seems to be in acquiescence to the unjust colonial system.
By contrast, the women in this book are strong, even though their lives are deeply constrained by the men in the lives, particularly Esteban Trueba.
The book does pass the Bechdel test, but not gloriously. It barely passes Duvernay and Latif tests.
If you're looking for a feminist book or a book that elevates people of color, this is not that book. If you want an exile's magical examination and critique of the colonial class structure and the rise of Chilean fascism, this is definitely your book.
She does this by telling a story about three women --Clara, Blanca, and Alba--and the men that drift through, drive, define, and intersect in alternatively amorous and violent ways with their lives. The principal of these men is Estaben Trueba, but he is accompanied by other very important men, including four Garcia men: Pedro Garcia, Pedro Segundo, Pedro Tercero (patterned after Victor Jara), and Esteban Garcia.
The book focuses on the white colonialist characters (the del Valle and Trueba families). Both of its narrators are from the colonialist class, and they write from that perspective. Despite the glimpse into the revolutionary left (through Jamie, Miguel, Pedro Tercero, Amanda, and others), rarely do we really her the voices of the "Indian" --that is, non-white, non-colonialist--characters. And when we seem them speaking to one another, it seems to be in acquiescence to the unjust colonial system.
By contrast, the women in this book are strong, even though their lives are deeply constrained by the men in the lives, particularly Esteban Trueba.
The book does pass the Bechdel test, but not gloriously. It barely passes Duvernay and Latif tests.
If you're looking for a feminist book or a book that elevates people of color, this is not that book. If you want an exile's magical examination and critique of the colonial class structure and the rise of Chilean fascism, this is definitely your book.