The House of the Spirits
A Novel
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4.3 • 381 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
This “spectacular… absorbing and distinguished work…is a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present, and future of Latin America” (The New York Times Book Review).
The House of the Spirits, which introduced Isabel Allende as one of the world’s most gifted storytellers, brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their daughter Blanca embarks on a forbidden love affair in defiance of her implacable father, the result is an unexpected gift to Esteban: his adored granddaughter Alba, a beautiful and strong-willed child who will lead her family and her country into a revolutionary future.
One of the most important novels of the twentieth century, The House of the Spirits is an enthralling epic that spans decades and lives, weaving the personal and the political into a universal story of love, magic, and fate.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Love, death, clairvoyants, horse-sized dogs, and flying uncles. Isabel Allende’s 1982 debut novel has them all, making it a great introduction to the bestselling author’s feminist brand of magic realism. This epic family drama follows three generations of the Trueba family as they weather natural disasters, class unrest, and changing cultural norms. Allende wrote this book while in exile after her uncle—Chilean president Salvador Allende—died during a coup, so there’s more than a hint of political reckoning in this story. But, as with many of our favorite Latin American novels, the message is wrapped up in layers of fantastically imaginative storytelling. The House of the Spirits is an engrossing read.
Customer Reviews
House of Heartbreak
In “The House of Spirits” Isabel Allende explores three generations of a family pulled through every imaginable situation and emotion. This is a heavy book with lots of dark topics and scenes. Don’t go looking for happy endings, but you will find lots of philosophical affirmations on the realities of life. Key events include political upheaval, finding love, heartbreak, death and rebirth. Circumstances, as portrayed in this book, that form a vicious cycle that leaves nothing but ashes in its wake.
Isabel Allende demonstrates a mastery of her craft with every chapter. She uses all her powers to deliver something wholly brilliant in its own right. Her writing and plot development made this tome read faster and more fluidly than its near 500 pages would indicate. She has made a name for herself in the Magical Realism genre on par with Marquez and his timeless “100 Years of Solitude.” For all the dark moments, Allende still manages to infuse the pages with a carnival of impressive characters. Along with moments that induce a deep belly laugh and joy.
That’s perhaps why I like this genre so much. It offers beautifully endearing madness at every corner. That crazy portrayal of life is also a medium to discuss various perspectives on religion, mysticism, politics, and class struggles. Explorations that almost always lead to the ideological dissolution of beliefs held too dear and not critiqued objectively. I highly recommend this book for those who love this genre. However, here is a helpful trigger warning if sexual and political violence are too painful to bear reading.
The Power of Women
The novel was assigned as a reading discussion and essay for a college English course. The interwoven themes of love and magical realism portrayed with the Trueba, del Valle, and Garcia ascendents and descendants showcased the realities of soci-political calamity and its perilous impact on society and families. The patriarch and the empowerment of women throughout the novel was a key factor to understanding the political dynamics and strife without the repressive narrative of the patriarch men. The House of the Spirits is a powerful novel that showcases the power of narratives to portray the true story of history and its perilous consequences.
Too much animal violence
I got only 20% finished and couldn’t take it anymore.