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jinmichae's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This one didn't pull me in nearly as much as the others I've read by the author. It feels more like a biography than something with an overarching plot.
It mostly explores the full lives and loves of the main two characters and how they were affected by the Spanish Civil War, what was done in Chile on September 11, 1973, and other instances closer to their family. I enjoyed it--the writing was beautiful as always, the subject interesting and giving voice to parts of history I haven't encountered before--but because it was many narratives coming together, it didn't have as much focus as I prefer.
It mostly explores the full lives and loves of the main two characters and how they were affected by the Spanish Civil War, what was done in Chile on September 11, 1973, and other instances closer to their family. I enjoyed it--the writing was beautiful as always, the subject interesting and giving voice to parts of history I haven't encountered before--but because it was many narratives coming together, it didn't have as much focus as I prefer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Deportation, Medical content, Pregnancy, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Xenophobia, Dementia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Torture, Gore, Terminal illness, and Genocide
Minor: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Rape, Cancer, Abortion, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Homophobia
grereads's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had to read this book for spanish class, as we were learning about the Spanish Civil War as well as the dictatorships in Chile and Argentina, making a wider discourse on the importance of historical memory. I had about a month to read this, but as a master procrastinator I ended up reading this on the last 2 days before the writing test about it. This definitely negatively affected my reading experience, as I couldn't fully appreciate the writing or sympathise with the characters because I was in a rush, and I ended up not liking this as much as the other Allende books I've read.
That being said, I really appreciate Allende's creativity, she comes up with really interesting and entertaining stories. The fact she managed to unite important parts of both of Spanish and of Latin American history was very cool. Also, Roser is a fantastic female character.
The ending kind of sucked in all honesty, and the book could have been shorter, but it's not a bad novel overall.
That being said, I really appreciate Allende's creativity, she comes up with really interesting and entertaining stories. The fact she managed to unite important parts of both of Spanish and of Latin American history was very cool. Also, Roser is a fantastic female character.
The ending kind of sucked in all honesty, and the book could have been shorter, but it's not a bad novel overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, and Dementia
Minor: Abortion, Antisemitism, Cancer, and Torture
davidbythebay's review
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was my first Isabel Allende book. It was good. I find fault in the scope of the book, though. It feels too packed with characters that it gets a bit muddled. It’s like there were too many thoughts and not enough editing. I also too a long time (about 25% of the novel) to feel like something was happening. It was rather bland and slow until then. And then periodically got slow.
The summary on the book doesn’t fully encompass what this is about. Yes, there is a romance that forms. But this reads more like a political critique that comes across more like a propaganda tool to talk up a regime that was - I’ll word this mildly because my knowledge of Chilean history is not great - troubled as a brilliant rule the populace squandered and dismantled. Also, the political discussions are rather one note and brief. It seemed like it would be better as an inquiry into the nature of government and role of politics and the people. But this didn’t happen. It was slanted, like a certain spin on history. In fact the story sits in the 1930s-1940s then have a huge chapter long jump to the 1970s. So much happened and yet it was a lot of side characters and plots that just seemed to go nowhere but end.
I think I’ll give this author another chance, but I was not impressed with this piece (one of her latest novels). Unfortunately, the story didn’t grip me too much and I have to rate this 3 stars.
The summary on the book doesn’t fully encompass what this is about. Yes, there is a romance that forms. But this reads more like a political critique that comes across more like a propaganda tool to talk up a regime that was - I’ll word this mildly because my knowledge of Chilean history is not great - troubled as a brilliant rule the populace squandered and dismantled. Also, the political discussions are rather one note and brief. It seemed like it would be better as an inquiry into the nature of government and role of politics and the people. But this didn’t happen. It was slanted, like a certain spin on history. In fact the story sits in the 1930s-1940s then have a huge chapter long jump to the 1970s. So much happened and yet it was a lot of side characters and plots that just seemed to go nowhere but end.
I think I’ll give this author another chance, but I was not impressed with this piece (one of her latest novels). Unfortunately, the story didn’t grip me too much and I have to rate this 3 stars.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness
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