Reviews

El Zorro: Comienza la leyenda by Isabel Allende

loverboylance's review against another edition

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An old friend of mine's fave book. He recommended it. Couldnt get past the first chapter or two. Very slow read; written in such a tedious, drawn out way. It felt like waiting for water to boil. Just not a fan of her writing style. Theres another book of hers I also didnt like. 

meganstreb's review against another edition

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4.0

Fairly escapist read, and I really enjoyed it.

indiana_appleseed's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this book... but then again I have always been a fan of those old black and white adventure movies. This book was pure escapism.

time_dabbler's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

nena_1's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

123flola's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

kabaum's review against another edition

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adventurous

3.75

misajane79's review against another edition

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2.0

I love the story of Zorro--there's something about a man and his sword. And this book got pretty good reviews, and I've enjoyed some of Allende's other work. But I've found that Allende can be uneven--for instance, I liked Daugher of Fortune, but thought it's sequel, Portrait in Sepia was only okay. Parts of Zorro as brilliant--beautifully written and powerful. And parts of it were ridiculous crap. She would do this thing where instead of writing dialog, she would summarize the conversation in a long paragraph, which both simplified the action and moved the story along too fast. Where was the nuance? Despite all this, it was still pretty readable, it just won't have a spot on my bookshelf.

oliviasymone's review against another edition

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2.0

Despite my initial interest in the book, by the end, I could not wait for it to be over. The book's plot is quite interesting; the author's execution of their idea is subpar. Isabel Allende spends too much of the book describing each setting and every character's back story. She also elaborates on a lot of unnecessary information irrelevant to the plot. Additionally, every likable protagonist has a quality that diminishes their character. For example, many characters throughout the book are racist, sexist, or egotistical. I did not finish the book. It was too unbearable.

shyleek's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Great story with well developed characters, just not something I'd pick up to read a second time. Very dense and time consuming.