Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

La casa de los espĂ­ritus by Isabel Allende

22 reviews

kimberlybetweenstanzas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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amallard's review against another edition

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dark funny informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I find it difficult to enjoy a book if I can't connect with a prominent character, and unfortunately that happened here - my favourite literally arrived on page 12 dead. While many of the others were mystical, funny, absurd, they weren't capitalised on. Few had agency. When Allende raised her characters so lovingly, it became frustrating to see them become instruments in a plot that ultimately followed Esteban Trueba. A scorner of magic, an epitome of toxic masculinity...I don't think most of us picked up the book to read about him.

I understand that, in a way, it had to happen. The androcentric culture of the time created natural limitations for Allende's women. Setting aside their magical influences for the ugly, political landscape was deliberate. But I wanted. I wanted strong women, even if their spheres of influence must be small. I wanted to see the magic do something.
The magic! Did nothing here! It moves the furniture, adds a charm to descriptions, but Clara never uses it. She spends half her time consulting with spirits, yet they don't affect the plot at all.


I didn't hate the book, though. The scale tips in favour of like over dislike. It was incredibly readable, the lines slipping away under the eye; I could put away a hundred pages in one sitting. It was fascinating to read such a well-informed depiction of Chilean culture and heritage. There were some really funny scenes. But I'm disappointed my affection for it couldn't grow into love, when it had such potential.

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