Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So it's not Marquez, but it's absorbing enough even when read in a language that is not my mother tongue. I'd say more than worth a read.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm still remembering beautiful images from this book. While there have been a lot of comparisons between this work of Isabel Allende and Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, they share only two similarities - magical realism and the tracing of a family's genealogy. I'm not sure Garcia Marquez can take credit for both, though I do love his writing as well.
I thought this book was refreshing and lovely. I had significant issues with the Trueba character as a feminist, but I also understand that what Isabel Allende was writing was a reflection of a time and a culture where this type of person (rapist, wife-beater, slumlord). It happened, it happens, and provided it is not glorified by an author I can accept that it this is a type of character she is building.
I loved seeing how the women in this family attained their freedom with each generation. I grieved when family members were lost to death or forced to leave Chile.
Having learned much of what I know about Chile's political history from a loved one descended from revolutionaries like Miguel and Alba, it was difficult to read the last part of the novel. I appreciated how the author did not exploit the rape and torture of Alba or the women she was held captive with. And I understand their was no need to - Chilean and Latin American readers will already know all they need to fill in the blanks, gringos can (and should) google it.
I will remember this book for a long while.
I thought this book was refreshing and lovely. I had significant issues with the Trueba character as a feminist, but I also understand that what Isabel Allende was writing was a reflection of a time and a culture where this type of person (rapist, wife-beater, slumlord). It happened, it happens, and provided it is not glorified by an author I can accept that it this is a type of character she is building.
I loved seeing how the women in this family attained their freedom with each generation. I grieved when family members were lost to death or forced to leave Chile.
Having learned much of what I know about Chile's political history from a loved one descended from revolutionaries like Miguel and Alba, it was difficult to read the last part of the novel. I appreciated how the author did not exploit the rape and torture of Alba or the women she was held captive with. And I understand their was no need to - Chilean and Latin American readers will already know all they need to fill in the blanks, gringos can (and should) google it.
I will remember this book for a long while.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TBH, this book was hard for me to read at first. The main character seemed to be unredeeming and cruel. I found it hard to read some of the parts and hard to care what happened with him. The women in his life are the redeemers of the story. They balance each other out with their eccentricities and stoicism throughout the story and add the true color within the family. Towards the end of the novel, I became more and more enthralled and wanted to learn more about the political nature of Chile. It is fascinating how Allende was able to entwine all aspects of the political turmoil of the time within this family and story. I loved the ending and how it all showed the circle of life.
At its lowest it's ok and at its highest it's really good, but never amazing.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced