Reviews with content warning for Torture - La Maison aux esprits

I didn't know the war was an important subjet in this story and certainly I wasn't expecting it. I hated Esteban Trueba since the first time he appeared until his death. Isabel's characters are so well writen. I'll always miss Clara.

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nobeans's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective tense 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

4.0

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denisesbookstory's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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fa_108's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

My reviews are made the second I finish the book, so it’s a little of thought-dump, bare with me.

Overall my biggest takeaway is seeing the patterns in history repeating themselves and just the ups and downs through a family’s time and throughout a person’s life. There’s some really raw, cruel and honestly intense parts, I wouldn’t say it’s always enjoyable because that’s not the point and that makes me enjoy it. Not gonna lie, left me a little nervous in terms of relating some of the things that happen in the book (specially in later chapters) with real life events. It’s definitely and emotional ride.

It’s also so beautifully written, and I absolutely loved the ending callback.

Giving it a 4.25 because I sometimes found it jarring the switch perspectives, not in a “I don’t understand what’s going on” way, more in a “huh” way, it fits the book, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not a huge fan of it, but I dont hate it. Plus some personal bias ( I don’t tend to like the use of local idioms, I like the feeling of atemporality). I took a long time to read the book (since January) because of course life got in the way, but sometimes it does feel long. But by the last chapters you really can’t put it down.

Overall, really good book, must read for people interested in literature and world events and things like that, but I wouldn’t say a must read for everyone. I liked it a lot, but it’s not a book that really sticks hard with me as some others have.

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erinwolf1997's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

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littlebluenaiad's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.0

Y’all idk what to say that was traumatizing and I hated the way they described the indigenous people but overall it was pretty intriguing

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lipsmovetheysay's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

3.5

i know it feels a bit sacrilegious but i juuuust feel like a lot of the classics could stand an editor/to lose 100 pages? the last 90 or so pages of this are breathtaking and incredibly impactful, but it felt like a slog at times to get there. but i also need to know myself and that sweeping family epics over generations are just not really my jam.

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