- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; First Edition, Later Printing edition (21 Oct 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007146353
- ISBN-13: 978-0007146352
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 15 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,012,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Praise for Isabel Allende:
'A magical storyteller' Daily Mail
'Allende's writing is so vivid we hear the sounds, see the bright birds, smell and even taste the soft fruit.' The Times
'A wonderful, wide-ranging story, which moves back to Chile, and is told in a clever mix of first and third person. Allende's dramatic descriptions of hand-to-hand combat and bloody battle scenes are every bit as vivid and physical as her descriptions of wild passionate love-making. A compulsively readable, colourful, informative and entertaining novel.' Sunday Tribune
praise for Daughter of Fortune:
"A dazzling, sweeping story." MAIL ON SUNDAY
"Romance, passion and adventure fuel Allende's new novel. With an old-fashioned narrative drive and a warm-hearted heroine, it wins you over." SUNDAY EXPRESS
"Memory and imagination and myth weave their spells… Allende creates world upon world in dazzling descriptive prose." INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
"Within the lush sweep of this tale of the heart, there is a message that love is transient and illusory, that it is the beginning of a journey of self-discovery, not the end. Daughter of Fortune takes us from high-class soirees to brothels, revolutionary meetings and opium dens; it introduces a cast of colourful characters and the story remains fresh and original." TLS
Uncut
‘Adventure-stuffed page turner... Allende’s notorious, luminous gift for imaginative story-telling runs wild in the jungle’
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
ALEXANDER COLD AWAKENED at dawn, startled by a nightmare. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
ALEXANDER COLD AWAKENED at dawn, startled by a nightmare. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love Isabel Allende's writing and have read many of her books, she is a fantastic storyteller. This is different again though. It is a fairytale, pure escapist fiction that, if you have a good imagination and like to drift off into the realms of fantasy that a good book can evoke, captures you and carries you off into its amazing world. If, however, you prefer more "realist" fiction then it is probably not for you.
It reminded me of Jostein Gaardner's Sophie's World in its apparent childish simplicity and innocent beauty, but with a darker vein of social comment running underneath that you can pick up on & ponder or choose to ignore and read the story at face value- who are the real Beasts in this Amazonian jungle?
At the same time it is a fable, a mystery and a thought-provoking comment on society and what we have done to indigenous tribes everywhere. A great read.
It reminded me of Jostein Gaardner's Sophie's World in its apparent childish simplicity and innocent beauty, but with a darker vein of social comment running underneath that you can pick up on & ponder or choose to ignore and read the story at face value- who are the real Beasts in this Amazonian jungle?
At the same time it is a fable, a mystery and a thought-provoking comment on society and what we have done to indigenous tribes everywhere. A great read.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the strangest books I have ever read and also one of the most interesting. It's gripping, sinister, magical and sometimes very amusing. Always challenging your assumptions, there is a scientific explanation for every weird and wonderful thing that happens causing you to believe in it entirely and dragging you head first into the mysteries and beauty of the Amazon rain forest. A very original book and a rare find.
With his mother in hospital with cancer, Alex Cold is sent off to stay with his fierce, eccentric grandmother Kate. She is just about to set off on a journey to the far reaches of the Amazon rain forest with a group from 'International Geographic' magazine. The party is trying to hunt down a fearsome 'beast' that has been roaming the area and write a report on it. Rather than change her plans Kate simply takes Alex with her. On arrival in Manaus they meet with the rest of the expedition, led by Ludovic Le Blanc, an extremely arrogant, selfish, annoying, sexist, melodramatic and paranoid professor who is none too pleased to see an extra member of their group in the form of a 15 year old American schoolboy. When their guide, César Santos's daughter Nadia begs to come too he almost blows his top but as usual Kate gets her own way and Nadia joins the crew.
And so begins the start of a powerful friendship between Nadia and Alex and an out-of-this-world adventure full of murder, kidnap, shamans, ghosts, prehistoric creatures, lies, deceit and the mysterious and wonderful People of the Mist. Set in a place where scarlet butterflies flutter between the leaves and feed on soft succulent fruits, photographers are attacked by caimans, macaws screech in the tree tops and dolphins swim along side the boats, the colours, sounds, smells, sticky heat and incredible sights ooze out of this book's pages - it is an adventure not to be missed!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Firstly, this is a children's book but none the less appealing for adults. Fans of Allendes's 'adult' writing will be surprised at the terseness of the porose style - nothing is allowed to get in the way of the plot, which rips along at a breathtaking pace. However, there are interludes of pure magical invention which trip the reader up and invert all your pre-conceptions. The characters are vividly drawn and likeable; and with a clever twist at the end of the story, it's a perfect book to fill the gap for 14 - 16 year olds. Plus you can borrow it after them!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dire
How could this have been written by the author of wonderful Daughter of Fortune and Portrait in Sepia? Has poor translation resulted in the stilted dialogue and prosaic narrative? Read more
Published 2 days ago by JoTownhead
City of Beasts ~ Great Book
I bought the sequel to this book and wanted to buy the first book. It is a fascinating read for anyone who enjoys this genre.
Published 8 months ago by Barbara
Ideal for young readers
Having read House of the Spirits and Portrait in Sepia which I enjoyed very much, this book is quite different and obviously targeted at a younger audience which I had not... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2009 by Allende Fan
Maria-Sofia dice "Excelencia inolvidable"
De parte de mi hija, Maria-Sofia, disfruto muchisimo del nuevo mundo de Las Amazonas. La riqueza del lenguaje, la serie de imagenes inspira un mundo alcanzable. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2008 by Dr. SIMON AB BUDGEN
Fantastic
I thought that Harry Potter was the ultimate stretch of the imagination, and it depressed me to not be able to think of another 'world' so full of magic and impossible dreams... Read more
Published on 24 Dec 2006 by Nadia Al Hazmi
amazing book
this book is amazing with all the adventure that has happends.
Published on 8 Mar 2006 by miqui
Read this!!!!!!!
This is my favourite book ever, and I've read thousands. I read this a few years ago when I was 13 and nothing has topped it since, except maybe its sequels. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2005 by "sunflowergoddess"
City of the Beasts
I didn't particularly like the opening of this book and was tempted to stop reading but I'm glad I persevered as it improved dramatically after the first couple of chapters. Read more
Published on 4 April 2005 by highlanddancer7
Undescribable
You cannot put this book down! Origonal, exiting, magical, wondrous, and a pinch of humor, and you have the recipe for the perfect book. Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2005 by Siavahda
Exquisite
This is an excellent book! I got it out of the library by mistake-it was a bad day-don't ask!-and was thrilled to find how wonderful it was. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2004
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