Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

10 reviews

manasvini's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

An expansive story of violence, injustice, the pursuit of justice and its consequences. This story is as wide as it is deep, spanning decades with a multitude of characters and storylines, intertwined with a family and a nation's history of revolution. The density of the writing and the sheer amount of trauma described in these pages make it a challenging read, but a worthwhile one. I leave feeling both sorrow and hope simultaneously, with an immense appreciation for the importance of recording our histories.

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mightyoscura's review against another edition

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

4.5


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deniseh's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I loved the narrative style and the weaving of different perspectives. I also appreciate the threads of events that all tie together by the end. However, though I do like magical realism and the fantastic, I had a hard time stomaching all the violence (mostly domestic and sexual with some torture) that is thrown in nonchalantly. Also, although the violence comes back to wreak havoc on the next generation it is almost always the women or the good who pay for the mistakes of the men (or more "manly" men in their lives. I might have more to say later, but for now those are my thoughts. 

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kittykaz's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This is probably what young kids have in mind when they think about adult fiction books. A lot of political talk, lots of classism and talk about rules and the consequences of ones actions. Definitely not a light read, and meant to make you think about the bigger picture and put your problems into perspective. 
I took a gamble with this - just randomly pulled it out of my parents’ bookshelf - and I think I might have to do that more often. Though I do recommend you try and inform yourself about it before reading this book, so you won’t get blindsided by all the rapeing and violence that is going on. It might take a certain type of person to enjoy this, is all i’ll say. 

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anna_banana99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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menomica's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Aunque es un libro muy largo y muy denso, a mí me ha gustado el linaje familiar y como los eventos y sucesos tienen se influencian entre sí. Está lleno de trigger warnings, pero si lo puedes aguantar, y si tienes mucho tiempo que perder, y eres fan del drama y historias largas y enrevesadas, te recomiendo este libro (no lo digo como insulto: como ya he dicho, me ha gustado el libro bastante).

PS: El peor personaje de todo este libro es sin duda, Esteban Trueba. La mejor fue Clara Del Valle
y ADIVINAD QUIÉN MUERE PRIMERO

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rieviolet's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I cannot say bad things about Isabel Allende's writing style but I had to trudge a bit to get through the book. Personally, it was hard for me to feel much connected to the characters and also to digest some of the crudest passages. 

I have to say that it's been a long time since I've despised a character as much as Esteban Trueba and I cannot emphasise enough how much I disliked the sections with him as a narrator. I listened to the audiobook and I think that I managed to finish the book only because I really liked the voice actress, otherwise I would have given up after the umpteenth of his capitalist rants or descriptions of his male prowess and insatiable desires, they made me want to scream.

I liked much better the final chapters that focused more on the social and political commentary and also the  epilogue with Alba as narrator (honestly I would have preferred her as the main point of view).

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veronicachp's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.75

I appreciate the author's dedication and talent and will probably try some of her other works, but this one was just not really for me. I skimmed the last 3 or 4 chapters, but didn't really properly read them because I figured if I wasn't engaged with and invested in the characters by the climax of the story I never would be. I haven't read much magical realism, but turns out I prefer my books more on the magical side, less on the realism. I definitely can see where she was inspired by Marquez' A Hundred Years of Solitude, but I found the family in this book harder to read about. 

The male lead, Esteban, is revealed to be a /bad/ man within the first 100 pages and a shallow summary of this book is him doing /bad/ things for almost 500 pages while everyone else just kind of shrugs and lets him get away with it. And I understand that it's meant to be a broad overarching story about him digging his own grave, but even in the climax, it's not Esteban who truly faces the consequences of his actions, but his poor granddaughter, Alba. His taking what happens to her so personally is just another way he assumes ownership of every single other character in the novel, particularly the female ones. They're reduced to hollow, often infantilized shells of people who float along seemingly indifferent to all the bad things he's done, silently bearing whatever punishment he chooses to award. I struggle to real stories where people could leave their abusive relatives and decaying homes but choose not to for reasons that are never really explained, and this story falls pretty solidly into those margins. 

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timna's review

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is weird, because you spend 90% of the time you're reading it hating it. It's the story of three women over three generations, and with each generation it gains a little more pace and a little more tension as the plot leads gradually to
the Chilean military coup
, which does mean that the first and part of the second generations are a little lagging--so about half the book. But by the end, the love between between people and families, and even more so, Allende's love for her country, becomes so clear that you can't help but love the book.

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