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jgverrero's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.25
sonya2828's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
chupito's review against another edition
4.0
estoy triste porque tengo muchos sentimientos encontrados con este libro.
La primera mitad de la historia me parece maravillosa, me encanta Clara, los espiritus, Rosa, las aventuras de su tío, Barrabás, la Nana, Nívea, y hasta el nacimiento de Blanca. Me gusta la ambientación la magia y el misterio y la mundaneidad en las descripciones, las aventuras y las situaciones.
Pero conforme avanza la historia cuando van a las tres marías, se me empezó a hacer un poco bola. Resurgí con el nacimiento de Alba, y después de ahí, me fui completamente a la mierda.
Toda la trama del conflicto político se me hizo muy muy bola, y no me interesaba lo más mínimo. Quería que siguiera la magia, que contarán sus aventuras, verles vivir sus vidas cotidianas, y conocer más en profundidad a las mujeres de la historia, que me parecen los personajes más interesantes y originales del libro, y dejar de lado al flanders esteban trueba.
Me da mucha rabia la verdad, porque me encantaba leer las pequeñas anécdotas que le sucedía a la familia, y que a mitad libro esa parte se elimine por completo me ha dejado triste, necesito más de Clara, de la Nana, de Férula, de Alba, q tristeza... hasta de barrabás necesito más...
La primera mitad de la historia me parece maravillosa, me encanta Clara, los espiritus, Rosa, las aventuras de su tío, Barrabás, la Nana, Nívea, y hasta el nacimiento de Blanca. Me gusta la ambientación la magia y el misterio y la mundaneidad en las descripciones, las aventuras y las situaciones.
Pero conforme avanza la historia cuando van a las tres marías, se me empezó a hacer un poco bola. Resurgí con el nacimiento de Alba, y después de ahí, me fui completamente a la mierda.
Toda la trama del conflicto político se me hizo muy muy bola, y no me interesaba lo más mínimo. Quería que siguiera la magia, que contarán sus aventuras, verles vivir sus vidas cotidianas, y conocer más en profundidad a las mujeres de la historia, que me parecen los personajes más interesantes y originales del libro, y dejar de lado al flanders esteban trueba.
Me da mucha rabia la verdad, porque me encantaba leer las pequeñas anécdotas que le sucedía a la familia, y que a mitad libro esa parte se elimine por completo me ha dejado triste, necesito más de Clara, de la Nana, de Férula, de Alba, q tristeza... hasta de barrabás necesito más...
manuelamartinez's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
tamara_am's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
karekia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
justmees's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.75
tanishadesai's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i learned so much about chile‘s history from this book and honestly it’s such a shame that this isn’t taught to us in school
apart from that, stan all the women in this book but if i ever encountered any of the male characters trust me when i say they wouldn’t get away alive
also, i really enjoyed the magical realism aspect of this and i wish that had been explored a bit more
apart from that, stan all the women in this book but if i ever encountered any of the male characters trust me when i say they wouldn’t get away alive
also, i really enjoyed the magical realism aspect of this and i wish that had been explored a bit more
flowerwineandbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I expected and wanted to enjoy this more than I did... It's a family saga, and I can't tell what it did that makes it so widely beloved? It's made me question if I just don't like family sagas or it it was simply this book..
People praise the poetic descriptions in this novel, and maybe it's the fault of translation but I didn't find the prose all the beautiful. There were a few stunning lines, but these were more from Nivea, Clara, and Alba about the importance of justice and resilience of women.
<blockquote> "this is to assuage our conscience, darling," she would explain to Blanca. "but it doesn't help the poor. They don't need charity, they need justice." </blockquote>
<blockquote> It was then I understood that the days of [character name] and all those like him are numbered, because they have not been able to destroy the spirit of these women. </blockquote>
This book has virtually no plot, it's all characters. And that would be fine, except most of the characters were not ones I was able to root for very easily. Additionally, I HATED HATED HATED reading from Esteban's point of view. I think this is the sole reason it took me so long to finish this book. If one of the themes of the novel is the spirit of women, I don't think this writing choice was the best... I understand that he was necessary as the patriarch to counterbalance the narrative being told about the spirits of the women throughout the family, but I feel like just seeing his actions would have been enough for the same to have been accomplished.
The historical context in the last few chapters of the book I found to be the most intriguing! Since the passing of Clara, I struggled to maintain interest in the story with no more characters I really cared for. The wider story of Chilean politics was fascinating to me, and I came to care more for some of the younger characters FINALLY at this point. However, the big reveal/twist wasn't as shocking as I would have liked because of the overused and blatant amount of foreshadowing throughout the ENTIRETY of the novel from the first chapters. (Which I know is not a translation issue, because I've read some reviews from those who read it in Spanish and said similar things here)
People praise the poetic descriptions in this novel, and maybe it's the fault of translation but I didn't find the prose all the beautiful. There were a few stunning lines, but these were more from Nivea, Clara, and Alba about the importance of justice and resilience of women.
<blockquote> "this is to assuage our conscience, darling," she would explain to Blanca. "but it doesn't help the poor. They don't need charity, they need justice." </blockquote>
<blockquote> It was then I understood that the days of [character name] and all those like him are numbered, because they have not been able to destroy the spirit of these women. </blockquote>
This book has virtually no plot, it's all characters. And that would be fine, except most of the characters were not ones I was able to root for very easily. Additionally, I HATED HATED HATED reading from Esteban's point of view. I think this is the sole reason it took me so long to finish this book. If one of the themes of the novel is the spirit of women, I don't think this writing choice was the best... I understand that he was necessary as the patriarch to counterbalance the narrative being told about the spirits of the women throughout the family, but I feel like just seeing his actions would have been enough for the same to have been accomplished.
The historical context in the last few chapters of the book I found to be the most intriguing! Since the passing of Clara, I struggled to maintain interest in the story with no more characters I really cared for. The wider story of Chilean politics was fascinating to me, and I came to care more for some of the younger characters FINALLY at this point. However, the big reveal/twist wasn't as shocking as I would have liked because of the overused and blatant amount of foreshadowing throughout the ENTIRETY of the novel from the first chapters. (Which I know is not a translation issue, because I've read some reviews from those who read it in Spanish and said similar things here)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Rape, and Misogyny
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Animal death, and Ableism
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty