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chlorentine's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, Classism, Torture, Violence, War, Child abuse, and Abortion
Moderate: Car accident, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Police brutality
Minor: Ableism
perseffable's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, War, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Murder
kittykaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Grief, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Minor: Addiction, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Vomit
They use a LOT of slurs of all kinds, mostly racial onesleandrathetbrzero's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, and Rape
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Ableism, Misogyny, Incest, Excrement, and Drug abuse
evenstarwen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War
anna_banana99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
rieviolet's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I have to say that it's been a long time since I've despised a character as much as Esteban Trueba and I cannot emphasise enough how much I disliked the sections with him as a narrator. I listened to the audiobook and I think that I managed to finish the book only because I really liked the voice actress, otherwise I would have given up after the umpteenth of his capitalist rants or descriptions of his male prowess and insatiable desires, they made me want to scream.
I liked much better the final chapters that focused more on the social and political commentary and also the epilogue with Alba as narrator (honestly I would have preferred her as the main point of view).
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Antisemitism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, and Suicide
clarabooksit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Gun violence, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Antisemitism and Abandonment
kmaller's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Throughout the text, Allende presentsaa canny understanding of the corruption of the capitalist class and of the ways in which legitimately elected socialist governments are undermined (creating false scarcity, etc). The question of non-violent resistance is repeatedly raised, with varied answers which I respect.
I was surprised by the seeming nihilism of the epilogue compared to the tone of the rest of the book, but it also seems to reinforce one of the underlying threads of the book, that individual rage is ineffective without collective action.
Graphic: Rape, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence