The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The House of the Spirits
Book Review: Beautiful and Important
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is so beautiful and moving. She uses the perfect amount of humor and magic realism to color up a powerful and addictive book. I was quite taken aback when I finished it. It was one of those books that after finishing it I scoured the Internet for as much information as possible on the book and about the author. I found out that the book started out as a letter Allende was writing to her dying grandfather and it is loosely based on a few horrific historical events that she was very much a part of. This, to me, makes the book even more compelling and important.
The review on the front cover says "Spectacular!" How often is this superlative used to describe a book?
I have recommended it to all of my friends and I can't emphasize enough how great it is. I don't want to over hype the book, so I won't drag on about how much I love it, so please do yourself a favor and read it!!
Book Review: May be the Best Book I've Ever Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Be prepared for another reality, where skin is transparent and hair can be naturally green. This book will transport you there, and make you want to go back.
It's a tale of a family and a tale of politics, and a story of generations. Each character can exist in the new reality, along with the others, and I was transported there, too. Allende is the best of story weavers, for there's more than just telling a story going on. The author's vision is one of characters who develop, and live to the fullest of their individual capacity, including moving salt shakers and furniture. Read it once, and again.
Book Review: An amazingly rich and detailed world for a first novel!
Summary: 5 Stars
Long ago I had watched this movie and I was enthralled. It wasn't the best movie by any means (in fact I rented it and found that it matched the book closer than most movies do but it wasn't near as good as I remembered it), but the character invoked in each person was amazing. I wanted to read this book, and eventually stumbled on it used and took my chances that this was the same book as the movie I remembered.
It was. And then some. Allende does an absolutely wonderful job in bringing her characters to life and instilling such a deep sense of richness and fullness that you feel you know each character. Their actions are believable and real, even when they are doing something a bit out of the ordinary (Clara). You don't doubt that floating vases and seeing into the future actually happened. You just believe it.
The story is just as rich as we see an epic tale of a family and the interactions that they all have on one another, the dynamics of the main characters and especially the dynamics of the supporting characters. I couldn't wait to get back and continue reading Allende. She reminds me a lot of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in a very positive way.
And to think that this was her very first novel. Simply amazing and Allende has a fan in me. I cannot wait to read another by her. A recommend most definitely.
5 stars.
Book Review: Engrossing Spirits!
Summary: 5 Stars
Visually, it's difficult to imagine an author surpassing this effort--the people, places and circumstances all come to life. It unfolds like a movie. Important, too, is giving credit to the translation; it couldn't be better! The prose is simple and the telling of the story straight-forward and engrossing! Few writers capture such three-dimensional characters on the printed page. All of them are not only eccentric in their own and unique way but also 100% believable! Book Review: Generational storytelling at its finest.
Summary: 5 Stars
Allende's The House of The Spirits is a family story that is at once both fantastical and incredibly realistic. Allende weaves the story of three generations of the Trueba family. By telling the story of three generations of women, Allende is able to explore and illustrate the effects and consequences of abuse and anger, and inequality and also of love and reconciliation. It is an incredibly gritty and moving story, but Allende uses the mystical and the paranormal to weave the whole thing back together, all the little stories into one story; that is at times sad, but ultimately hopeful. Allende weaves the story of the Trueba family into a book that's impossible to put down.