Reviews with content warning for Ableism - The House of the Spirits

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This was just a strange, flavorful, and at times horrifying read that I wasn't expecting at all. The characters are all so interesting in their own way and the generational saga worked extremely well for me. It was funny, it was sad, it was horrifying, and it was super weird and it's definitely a book I'll be thinking about a lot more in the future.

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chlorentine's review against another edition

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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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albac63's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

What a rollercoaster. Felt like I lived 3 lives. Never read SO MUCH PLOT in one book. Nice to read about Latin America. Nice to finally meet my namesake as well. The first 3/4 is ahh what a quirky family the last 1/4 is

the horrors of war.

~~Sort of like Encanto but super fucked up.~~ Will read it again in 20 yrs.

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leandrathetbrzero's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

In an unnamed country in South America, each generation of the Trueba family grows up surrounded by passion and conflict, spirits and magic, and ever-rising political unrest. Their story begins with Clara, a young child whose premonitions inevitably cause her loss of innocence when she prophesizes the death of her own sister. We follow Clara as she marries, raises three children with a tyrannical husband, and protects those she loves with her magical abilities whenever she can. As the Trueba family grows, bringing with it stronger, and more independent matriarchs, the country’s political climate becomes evermore dangerous and on the brink of revolution. A multigenerational narrative with beautiful imagery and moving characters.

My favorite characters to follow were the story’s original matriarch, Clara del Valle, and her granddaughter, Alba. These women captivated me in very different ways. Clara’s clairvoyance, her reading of the tarot cards, and her constant connection to the spirits that roam her halls fascinated me to death, especially when she would experience one of her premonitions. Oppositely, her granddaughter is fiercely defiant and grounded in her reality at least until she falls in love with Miguel, a young man whose call for a violent revolution prevents her family from ever accepting him as a suitable match. While I thoroughly enjoyed following these women’s lives, there was another character who I despised. The man I speak of is Esteban Trueba, Clara’s husband. Early in the narrative, prior to their marriage, he commits horrible acts of violence, including but not limited to numerous acts of explicit sexual assault and violence toward animals. I was disgusted by these moments, particularly because Esteban acts as the novel’s narrator at times when the story is not being described in a third-person omniscient voice. As much as I enjoyed the narrative, I just could not get over the atrocities he committed that other characters seem to forgive or disregard. [Hence why it is not a 5-star read]

With that said, this first experience with Allende's writing was beyond impressive. I admire her ability to interweave the stories of multiple family members are once. She also foreshadows certain events without ruining the tension or giving too much away. I cried at the death of Barrabas, Clara's faithful dog companion, I felt shock and horror many times, and I experienced the destruction of a nation as if it were my own. I appreciated the authenticity of the volatile political climate that becomes more pressing and dangerous with each generation. The tension in the air is palpable, and I was on the edge of my seat even as Allende prepared me many times for the violence and deaths that were to come when the country’s government finally fell. A turbulent story of family and country, of love and survival, Allende's first novel of many is an epic that rivals The Odyssey.

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