Reviews with content warning for Rape - Das Geisterhaus

The point was not to die, since death came anyways, but to survive, which would be a miracle

And that fox escaped with his tail between his legs, with all the hens chasing him

4/5⭐

This is my second Isabel Allende book, after "Violeta" and I've always wanted to read this book before reading any of her other books, but I'm glad to have found some time to read this book finally. I love reading stories that details a family's history through multiple generations, highlighting each family member's eccentricities in a country that's on a path towards a military coup.

I didn't enjoy the the frequent shifts in perspective throughout the book and sometimes within a chapter, which made it difficult for me to follow the story at times. Even though Clara's idea of arranging the story based on events instead of chronological order sounded good as an idea, it was frustrating at times to read some chapters without having any clear idea on when a particular event happened, especially in this story, where there are so many interesting characters, who are all related to each other. Also, I felt the story lost some of its charm once Clara was out of the picture.

The magical realism in the book added a layer of wonder, which blended with Allende's elegant prose drew me and made reading this book an absolute joy.

Content Warnings

bellebeaumont95's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

eve_kadou's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

all_things_olivia's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

sam_h's review against another edition

Go to review page

I chose this book to fulfill the Chile prompt for the StoryGraph Reading Around the World challenge, and because I haven't read any of Allende's work yet. I stopped at 14% after a vile man goes on and on about being wildly horny years after being cheated out of marrying the gorgeous girl he coveted due to her early death. Then he violently rapes a 15-year-old girl. Multiple times. Apparently I should have checked the content warnings before picking up this book.

Content Warnings