Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

44 reviews

chlorentine's review

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.5

I can say nothing about House of the Spirits that Latin American reviewers haven't said better. Although I was familiar with the basics of some history in South America, I learned an astonishing amount about Chilean 20th century history specifically. Socialism is inseparable from a history of Latinoamerica and the genre of magical realism itself.

That history is going on in the background of a simple family dynamic, but the writing and the rich imagery throughout keeps you engaged until the politics come into play in the final act. I think the Del Valle/Trueba family is best summarized in the moment Clara tells Alba that all families have at least one member infected with madness, meanwhile their family has the madness spread out evenly amongst them all. Every striking image from the first chapter returns by the end, and so much has happened between the first and last chapter that you feel nostalgia for kinder times alongside the characters. Truly haunting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, Classism, Torture, Violence, War, Child abuse, and Abortion

Moderate: Car accident, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Ableism

writingcaia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A story of a family that starts with rape and violence and will end the same way. There’re no spoilers here since it’s constantly reiterated by the narrator what to expect in the future. And, so be warned this is not for the faint of heart.
At the beginning I felt so disgusted and revolted with the rapes and violence of the man of the family, Esteban Trueba, I almost wanted to quit, but I didn’t because I soon realised this is mostly the story of the strong women of his family, the women that survived him and the evil that he festered with his deeds, and how they tended and healed and suffered. How in a family ruled by this conservative moralist patriot every family member was not, how they diverged, maybe because of their mother, the patriarchs wife, Clara, a clairvoyant, a mystic, a beautiful woman who brought even to the horribly tempered husband a light and hope he did not deserved. But, such is the story of this family that pays for the mistakes of the father, for their bravery, for their giving and romantic hearts, not made for a world like that of their patriarch, and worse even.
A family saga in Chile spanning almost a century, and ending during the violent fascist dictatorship. A hard historical fiction and magical realism tale, but so worth the read due to its writing, and the hope that is born of ashes and love.
I can’t believe this was the debut of one of my fave authors. She was destined to be great from the very beginning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and War

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

the house of the spirits is a sprawling and gripping family epic of the trueba family, whose triumphs and trials mirror those of their own nation. quite unbelievable that it's a debut work. it's filled to the brim w/ details of everyday life in both the household and the hacienda, of the characters' persona--and, consequently, their fears, desires, and motives behind their actions--of the city and the chilean countryside, all of which bring the characters and the story to remarkable life.

however, i do find certain details a bit too gory, too many details felt overwhelming and disjointed at times, and estreban has the honor of being one of most detested male literary characters ever--everyone but the stubborn old crone ends up paying for the consequences of his actions, blerggghhh. the political stuff can be both exciting and stressful, and i learned so much abt chilean history that i'll prolly go down a wiki rabbithole after this. this is what i love abt reading translated works: u learn so much abt other places and cultures. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Confinement, Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Car accident, Body horror, and Death of parent

kittykaz's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Grief, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Vomit

They use a LOT of slurs of all kinds, mostly racial ones

adrinthesky's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexism, Rape, and Police brutality

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

amandabcook's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Torture, War, and Violence

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War

virginwhocantdrive22's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Body horror, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Car accident, Torture, and Rape

menomica's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Car accident, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Stalking, Vomit, and Ableism

lanid's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs