- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (1 May 1993)
- ISBN-10: 006017028X
- ISBN-13: 978-0060170288
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 3.6 cm
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Product Description
Product Description
Charles Reeves is a preacher, mystic and formulator of the Infinite Plan - his philosophy of life. The Reeves settle in a Mexican barrio outside Los Angeles, awaiting Charles death. His son, Greg, is left to explore the truth of the "Plan". By the author of "Eva Luna" and "Of Love and Shadows".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of nine novels, including Inès of My Soul,Daughter of Fortune, and Portrait in Sepia. She has also written a collection of stories, four memoirs, and a trilogy of children's novels. Her books have been translated into more than twenty-seven languages and have become bestsellers across four continents. In 2004 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Isabel Allende lives in California.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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They traveled the roads and byways of the West, unhurriedly and with no set itinerary, changing their route according to the whim of the moment, the premonitory sign of a flock of birds, the lure of an unknown name. Read the first page
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They traveled the roads and byways of the West, unhurriedly and with no set itinerary, changing their route according to the whim of the moment, the premonitory sign of a flock of birds, the lure of an unknown name. Read the first page
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21 reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Better in final execution than others, if not content
28 Dec 2001
Format:Paperback
There I am devouring Allende like a large meal, going from book to book, thought to thought, era to era without any regard to continuity or subject. I almost left The Infinite Plan for last but it was next on the pile so I picked it up and as weird as this sounds, enjoyed it more so than all the other novels that kept going on and on in their spinnings through history and drama and characters and relationships.
Gregory is a real protagonist, I wasnt even sure if I liked him though I knew for sure that he didnt even like himself. He seems to meander through life with aims that are less focused than an Allende plot. But this time the meandering works, the sense of simply walking with a character and them telling you there life is really used to its fullest here. Again m review is as a comparison to other Allende books and yet this style, the masculine voice/perception really seemed to come across. What I particularly found provocative, worth the price of admission, if you will was the root of Gregorys problems, essentially accepting the company of unhealthy, needy people in his life. He even has an associate in the law firm he owns who regularly tries to commit suicide in the bathroom. Thinking about the characters and their spiraling lives made me think that there is a marked ear for humor, a comedy lost within Allendes work. It all becomes this heavy historical missive and borders sometimes on a historical romance novel that is laborious and in love with its own language. To read her in Spanish must be a real treat, an added attraction to her work because I can see how the crossing of historical tapestry can become tiresome.
This time though, she strikes the mark in the final analysis of a character and his problems. Not perfect but it comes closer than the others do in fully executing a character. I agree with a previous reviewer that the Vietnam scenes are a little awkward but the awkwardness now strikes me as waiting to be funny, hilarious even but Allendes characters tend to be so somber that their laughter is suspect or predatory for something that is about to bring more sorrow.
I dont recommend this at full price nor do I suggest it as the only Allende novel to be read but it is a nice distraction from her main body of Latin American historical/romance work. It comes as a pleasant off-shoot to the present world and a strong experiment in a writer changing from a feminine focus to masculine.
Gregory is a real protagonist, I wasnt even sure if I liked him though I knew for sure that he didnt even like himself. He seems to meander through life with aims that are less focused than an Allende plot. But this time the meandering works, the sense of simply walking with a character and them telling you there life is really used to its fullest here. Again m review is as a comparison to other Allende books and yet this style, the masculine voice/perception really seemed to come across. What I particularly found provocative, worth the price of admission, if you will was the root of Gregorys problems, essentially accepting the company of unhealthy, needy people in his life. He even has an associate in the law firm he owns who regularly tries to commit suicide in the bathroom. Thinking about the characters and their spiraling lives made me think that there is a marked ear for humor, a comedy lost within Allendes work. It all becomes this heavy historical missive and borders sometimes on a historical romance novel that is laborious and in love with its own language. To read her in Spanish must be a real treat, an added attraction to her work because I can see how the crossing of historical tapestry can become tiresome.
This time though, she strikes the mark in the final analysis of a character and his problems. Not perfect but it comes closer than the others do in fully executing a character. I agree with a previous reviewer that the Vietnam scenes are a little awkward but the awkwardness now strikes me as waiting to be funny, hilarious even but Allendes characters tend to be so somber that their laughter is suspect or predatory for something that is about to bring more sorrow.
I dont recommend this at full price nor do I suggest it as the only Allende novel to be read but it is a nice distraction from her main body of Latin American historical/romance work. It comes as a pleasant off-shoot to the present world and a strong experiment in a writer changing from a feminine focus to masculine.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Isabel will tell you yourself...
30 July 2002
Format:Paperback
Isabel would be able to tell every story, to put a reason in the life of every person. In reading the life of Gregory Reeves, I had the impression that the dreams, hopes and hidden reasons of my life were becoming clear to myself. Reading her books is like telling her your story, and waiting for her to give it a reason and, at the same time, to put poetry in it, to make it worth to be told.
In her narration, also the feelings, the pains, the irrational of an existence are put in a rational light. But nonetheless her writing does not loose the poetry of the irrational that she shares with other South-American writers, like Marquez or Amado.
I'd say that the secret of her books is really this merging of rational and irrational, the sense and order of feelings and the mysterious poetry of what seems rational.
In her narration, also the feelings, the pains, the irrational of an existence are put in a rational light. But nonetheless her writing does not loose the poetry of the irrational that she shares with other South-American writers, like Marquez or Amado.
I'd say that the secret of her books is really this merging of rational and irrational, the sense and order of feelings and the mysterious poetry of what seems rational.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Allende's weakest offering
16 Aug 2000
Format:Paperback
Usually when I read a book by Isabelle Allende I am mesmerized and eagerly turning pages waiting for another revelation. In this book I was just bored and disappointed.
The main character is the child of a minister whose "Infinite Plan" sounds more like New Age speculation than revival preaching. He is raised in the Barrio where almost every character confirms to the whole Latin Men are sexy but sexist stereotype and when he grows up to be a lawyer, he's a complete creep.
I can see that Allende's purpose is to take a likeable character, transform him into a jerk (as he warns you on about page 100 or so) and then slowly bring him back to humanity (there is one line about how he thought he was moving in circles but he was actually moving in spirals - I still remember that one.) but by the time he gets to his resolution, you still don't like him that much. He's been such a self-absorbed yuppie that you want to smack him upside the head a few more times.
The rest of the characters are either awful or poorly drawn charactitures. There is the daughter who becomes a drug addict (and the main character realizes that its not his fault that his kid is such a screwup but then again, it kinda is his fault) and there's his best friend from the Barrio who has some strength and you really wish that she was in another book and not hanging out with these losers. There's the father who's mysterious and the sister that's constantly angry. There's also te best friend that is loud and abrasive.
Now, this is still an Isabelle Allende book and as an Isabelle Allende book it has some great emotional highs and lows and some memorable scenes. It just isn't as sustained as her masterworks like House of Spirits or Eva Luna.
A common complaint among women readers is that men who try to write women characters usually get them wrong. They are either window dressing or so obviously stereotypical as to be surreal. This book seems to be Allende's attempt to write a book from the male perspective. It's a failure, but it's an interesting failure. A better portrayal of the emotional lives of men would either be Fight CLub or High Fidelity (either the movies or the books are great)
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