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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
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
A tragic, bittersweet with a tinge of hope and forgiveness in the intergenerational saga of del Valle and Trueba families as they struggle with the sociopolitical changes in Chile. It is a novel filled with the absorbing touch of magical realism and psychic phenomena; the storytelling approach is reminiscent to me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Well, in most parts it is, so let's unravel it.
The motivation of the story at first revolves around the marriage between the character of clairvoyant Clara and her temperamental partner, Esteban. Esteban promised to wed her sister, Rosa; however, due to some incident that caused the early demise of Rosa, Esteban fled and soon return to marry the youngest daughter, Clara.
From that, magical realism occurs dating to the eccentricities of Clara, which branches out equally to her children: Blanca as obsessed and possessed of her undying love for her childhood sweetheart, Pedro; Jaime who has the austerity of a member of the clergy and open selflessness for the poor; and Jaime, a flamboyant and fickle man who inherited his great uncle's flair for adventure. Not only that, even in Esteban's family, everyone has their own share of their peculiarity.
Well, the oddities of family members are well-marked and seem to be passed through from one generation to the other and seem to have ended in their granddaughter, Alba. It's the same with the Buendias with the peculiar family members, but unlike the ending on both last generations, this one turns out different.
We then go to the social context.
We lay witness to the changes of the capital from a sleepy and underdeveloped town to becoming a highly modernized city with all its necessities. In spite of its growth, we see the contrasting reality of the rich and the impoverished: their social realities and landscapes that are worlds apart as described in the story.
Then, developing the barren and almost inaccessible inherited land in Tres Marias, Esteban established his estate that would soon become the source of his wealth and influence. From that, we get to experience the typical dystopian realities and experiences of poor tenants and farmers as they get to be exploited by their landowning patrons -- a feudal society depicted in its heyday, then to its short-lived downfall.
Macondo is a fictional town found and developed by its patriarch Jose Arcadio Buendia. Same with Tres Marias, Macondo is isolated and underdeveloped until the Macondo family strived to make it livable for the generations of their inhabitants. After some time, it would finally be connected to the outside world and benefit from all the progress it has achieved. Unlike in Garcia's wherein the story focused on Macondo, Allende's story alternates from Tres Marias to the capital until it settles and abandons Tres Marias in the story later on.
At the crux of it all, we get to dig deeper into the conflict that soon to arise that would change everything: the gaining popularity of Communism to the poor and tenants in the provinces against the chagrin of the rich and landowning Conservatives.
Exploring the theme of magical realism as a tool to enhance the story by bending reality expounds the message of how we cope with the tragedy that befalls us. It's the same approach enriched in Marquez's novel to highlight the political landscape in Colombia: the Liberals and Conservatives.
The dark historical events of Chile inspire and relates to the story: the deposition/suicide of the then democratically elected Salvador Allende, and the US-backed coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. As a declared tyrant, he obliterated all his critics that are associated with communism. The military junta torture and kill anyone marked as the enemy.
From that, historical realities and the fictional depiction of the novel blur the line between reality and fantasy. However, it fuels the motivation to hope for something better. It is the same way Alba used to survive in the doghouse she was encased in during her torture-- to live in the stories she created in her mind.
Later, she will reclaim her past along with the others in the family, by documenting everything in its continuation: a witness to the lives, before and after; a testament that something existed before anything else in its present bleak condition.
Overall, I am not thoroughly impressed with the storytelling. It tends to be confusing and reiterated in some chapters and in some passages. The one where I found difficulty in figuring out is in whose perspective I am following. It's a mishmash of perspectives, and I felt quite lost in my footing as I read, though it's revealed in the end.
However, it's a good experiential immersion. I can say there are emotionally gripping moments that will pull you into the story; however, if I haven't read Marquez, yet, maybe my point of view in the entirety of the groundwork in this one will change.
In the end, themes throughout the novel share the trend of rising and decline over time: the family, the country, the system, and their beliefs. However, just like history, it goes on in its perpetual synthesis.
Well, in most parts it is, so let's unravel it.
The motivation of the story at first revolves around the marriage between the character of clairvoyant Clara and her temperamental partner, Esteban. Esteban promised to wed her sister, Rosa; however, due to some incident that caused the early demise of Rosa, Esteban fled and soon return to marry the youngest daughter, Clara.
From that, magical realism occurs dating to the eccentricities of Clara, which branches out equally to her children: Blanca as obsessed and possessed of her undying love for her childhood sweetheart, Pedro; Jaime who has the austerity of a member of the clergy and open selflessness for the poor; and Jaime, a flamboyant and fickle man who inherited his great uncle's flair for adventure. Not only that, even in Esteban's family, everyone has their own share of their peculiarity.
Well, the oddities of family members are well-marked and seem to be passed through from one generation to the other and seem to have ended in their granddaughter, Alba. It's the same with the Buendias with the peculiar family members, but unlike the ending on both last generations, this one turns out different.
We then go to the social context.
We lay witness to the changes of the capital from a sleepy and underdeveloped town to becoming a highly modernized city with all its necessities. In spite of its growth, we see the contrasting reality of the rich and the impoverished: their social realities and landscapes that are worlds apart as described in the story.
Then, developing the barren and almost inaccessible inherited land in Tres Marias, Esteban established his estate that would soon become the source of his wealth and influence. From that, we get to experience the typical dystopian realities and experiences of poor tenants and farmers as they get to be exploited by their landowning patrons -- a feudal society depicted in its heyday, then to its short-lived downfall.
Macondo is a fictional town found and developed by its patriarch Jose Arcadio Buendia. Same with Tres Marias, Macondo is isolated and underdeveloped until the Macondo family strived to make it livable for the generations of their inhabitants. After some time, it would finally be connected to the outside world and benefit from all the progress it has achieved. Unlike in Garcia's wherein the story focused on Macondo, Allende's story alternates from Tres Marias to the capital until it settles and abandons Tres Marias in the story later on.
At the crux of it all, we get to dig deeper into the conflict that soon to arise that would change everything: the gaining popularity of Communism to the poor and tenants in the provinces against the chagrin of the rich and landowning Conservatives.
Exploring the theme of magical realism as a tool to enhance the story by bending reality expounds the message of how we cope with the tragedy that befalls us. It's the same approach enriched in Marquez's novel to highlight the political landscape in Colombia: the Liberals and Conservatives.
The dark historical events of Chile inspire and relates to the story: the deposition/suicide of the then democratically elected Salvador Allende, and the US-backed coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. As a declared tyrant, he obliterated all his critics that are associated with communism. The military junta torture and kill anyone marked as the enemy.
From that, historical realities and the fictional depiction of the novel blur the line between reality and fantasy. However, it fuels the motivation to hope for something better. It is the same way Alba used to survive in the doghouse she was encased in during her torture-- to live in the stories she created in her mind.
Later, she will reclaim her past along with the others in the family, by documenting everything in its continuation: a witness to the lives, before and after; a testament that something existed before anything else in its present bleak condition.
Overall, I am not thoroughly impressed with the storytelling. It tends to be confusing and reiterated in some chapters and in some passages. The one where I found difficulty in figuring out is in whose perspective I am following. It's a mishmash of perspectives, and I felt quite lost in my footing as I read, though it's revealed in the end.
However, it's a good experiential immersion. I can say there are emotionally gripping moments that will pull you into the story; however, if I haven't read Marquez, yet, maybe my point of view in the entirety of the groundwork in this one will change.
In the end, themes throughout the novel share the trend of rising and decline over time: the family, the country, the system, and their beliefs. However, just like history, it goes on in its perpetual synthesis.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Torture, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault