cclift1114 's review for:

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Yes

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This book may not have been the most fun to read, but I found it to be so good and so important that I would liken it to taking your vitamins—something that we should all do because it is important. The writing, the plot, the characterization, the hints of what was to come, everything was so well done. Seeing the epic scope of covering the lives of the various family members being the principal focus, but then also including the Chilean politics in the background that eventually builds to taking over the characters’ lives was the work of a master storyteller. I will admit to it being very troublesome to read about all the decisions that led to the coup and then to read about what happened afterwards, because given the current political climate, it all felt scarily relevant now.