Reviews tagging 'War'

La casa degli spiriti by Isabel Allende

84 reviews

mhelmick28's review against another edition

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Rape

manasvini's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

An expansive story of violence, injustice, the pursuit of justice and its consequences. This story is as wide as it is deep, spanning decades with a multitude of characters and storylines, intertwined with a family and a nation's history of revolution. The density of the writing and the sheer amount of trauma described in these pages make it a challenging read, but a worthwhile one. I leave feeling both sorrow and hope simultaneously, with an immense appreciation for the importance of recording our histories.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Murder, Police brutality, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Grief, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Stalking, Classism, Child abuse, Colonisation, and War

lottiegasp's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? Yes

3.25

This novel follows 4 generations of the Del Valle and Trueba family, led by compassionate matriarch Clara the clairvoyant and brutal conservative patriarch Esteban. It explores the politics of the unspecified Latin American country in which it is set, including conservative rule, a blip of Socialism, followed by a military coup. I thought it was overall well-written but not in a way where I was taken in by the aesthetics of the writing. It was quite bleak in how it portrayed both conservative and Socialist governance, as well as the horrible behaviours of Trueba, which he could completely get away with as the patriarch. There was a feminist message throughout of showing the women as strong, compassionate characters, but I disliked how much they forgave Trueba - I guess this reflects reality that you still might love your family members who do shitty things, but I found that the effect of this was that it watered down the messages of what is right and wrong. I didn't totally engage with the characters, and for quite a lot of the book I didn't find the plot particularly engaging because it was so focussed on the minute details of the household and each member of the family. I don't really feel compelled to read more of Allende's works after finishing this one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Pedophilia, Police brutality, Violence, Incest, and War

mightyoscura's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Death of parent, Death, Car accident, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Body horror, Self harm, Violence, Torture, Misogyny, Medical content, Gaslighting, Deportation, Classism, Child death, Blood, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, War, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Colonisation, Abortion, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

skybluespines's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

I really enjoyed this book, but it is slow. I felt like I was in it for the long haul. There's quite a bit of violence (with intention). To some extent, I may just not have been in the right head space for this book at this time. (I've been reading a lot of Latino and magical realism books lately, and I think I just need to shift into a different genre for a bit and come back to it.)

This follows a family in their day-to-day lives and interactions over the course of 3 generations. It is beautiful and skillfully written, as Allende is a master of her craft. It was just too long for me—although I don't know that her message would have come across as clearly had it been shorter. I think the end especially brought everything together masterfully. I didn't realize it was semi-autobiographical... I want to learn more about Allendes life now!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, and Rape

Moderate: War

elliejane002's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Pregnancy, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Abortion, Colonisation, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, War, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual content

felkyo_grey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, War, Torture, Rape, and Child abuse

lorenag5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Classism, Sexual violence, Abortion, Blood, Car accident, Slavery, Torture, Rape, Sexism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, War, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Violence, Animal death, Colonisation, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

brieep2001's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, War, Violence, Torture, and Rape

Moderate: Animal death

ednareads's review against another edition

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Rape, War, and Sexism

Moderate: Incest and Torture

Minor: Homophobia