Review: The house of the spirits
Redaktioneller Bericht - Kirkus ReviewsA strong, absorbing Chilean family chronicle, plushly upholstered--with mystical undercurrents (psychic phenomena) and a measure of leftward political commitment. (The author is a cousin of ex-Pres. Salvador Allende, an ill-fated socialist.) The Truebas are estate-owners of independent wealth, of whom only one--the eventual patriarch, Esteban--fully plays his class role. Headstrong and conservative, Esteban is a piggish youth, mistreating his peons and casually raping his girl servants . . . until he falls under the spell of young Clara DelValle: mute for nine years after witnessing the gruesome autopsy of her equally delicate sister, Clara is capable of telekinesis and soothsaying; she's a pure creature of the upper realms who has somehow dropped into crude daily life. So, with opposites attracting, the marriage of Esteban and Clara is inevitable--as is the succession of Clara-influenced children and grandchildren. Daughter Blanca ignores Class barriers to fall in love with--and bear a child by--the foreman's son, who will later become a famous leftwing troubadour (on the model of Victor Jara). Twin boys Jaime and Nicholas head off in different directions--one growing up to become a committed physician, the other a mystic/entrepreneur. And Alba, the last clairvoyant female of the lineage, will end the novel in a concentration camp of the Pinochet regime. Allende handles the theosophical elements here matter-of-factly: the paranormal powers of the Trueba women have to be taken more or less on faith. (Veteran readers of Latin American fiction have come to expect mysticism as part of the territory.) And the political sweep sometimes seems excessively insistent or obtrusive: even old Esteban recants from his reactionary ways at the end, when they seem to destroy his family. (""Thus the months went by, and it became clear to everyone, even Senator Trueba, that the military had seized power to keep it for themselves and not hand the country over to the politicians of the right who made the coup possible."") But there's a comfortable, appealing professionalism to Allende's narration, slowly turning the years through the Truebas' passions and secrets and fidelities. She doesn't rush; the characters are clear and sharp; there's style here but nothing self-conscious or pretentious. So, even if this saga isn't really much deeper than the Belva Plain variety, it's uncommonly satisfying--with sturdy, old-fashioned storytelling and a fine array of exotic, historical shadings.
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - H - GoodreadsIsabel Allende's novel The House of the Spirits begins in Chile at the turn of the century, and follows the women of the Trueba family through three generations. The book is a good example of magical ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - Francesca Wilson - GoodreadsGoodreads: I would rate La Casa de Espíritus with a score of 5/5. I think that Allende does a wonderful job of exploring a multiplicity of difficult yet relevant and interesting themes. In my response ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - Mrs. Robinson - GoodreadsA challenge. That's how I would describe "The House of the Spirits". Do you know those three-hours-long films that you watch once in a while? You know they're real masterpieces, but after two hours ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - Ensiform - GoodreadsTranslated by Magda Bogin. Four generations of an aristocratic and extremely eccentric Chilean family, tied together by the patriarch, Esteban Truebe, a hardworking conservative who marries Clara and ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - Aubrey - Goodreads4.5/5 Esteban, Trueba, how does your childhood grow? With fear and guilt and such hard work and a love that leaves you low. In thoughts of grief and thoughts of rage, and a slump of of broken land ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - Johan Garcia - GoodreadsThe House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende is a powerful read. From the beginning to the end, we are taken to and fro the capital in Chile to a remote village known as Las Tres Marías as we see an ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - GoodreadsFirst and foremost, I thought this novel was a great story. While it certainly has meaning and purpose, I really just enjoyed reading it. I thought the Allende's use of magical realism in this novel ...
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - Elizabeth - GoodreadsI really enjoyed reading this book, and found it even better than I anticipated. This was a book that my sister was reading in her English class, and through all the discussion of it I decided to mark ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
Review: The House of the Spirits (Tripartite #3)
Nutzerbericht - Jen - GoodreadsI was surprised by the amount of humor in the first half of this novel. It gradually gives way to social and personal tragedy that doesn't allow for humor. I'm not much into family sagas and this made ... Vollständige Rezension lesen
