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The House of the Spirits (Paperback)

by Isabel Allende (Author), Magda Bogin (Translator)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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Product details

  • Paperback: 490 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New edition edition (3 Feb 1994)
  • ISBN-10: 0552995886
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552995887
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,705 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #1 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > A > Allende, Isabel

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Product Description

Product Description
Spanning four generations, Isabel Allende's family saga is populated by a memorable, often eccentric, cast of characters. Together, men and women, spirits, the forces of nature and of history, converge in a brlliantly realised novel.

From the Back Cover
Spanning four generations, Isabel Allende's magnificent family saga is populated by a memorable, often eccentric cast of characters. Together, men and women, spirits, the forces of nature, and of history, converge in an unforgettable, wholly absorbing and brilliantly realised novel that is as richly entertaining as it is a masterpiece of modern literature.

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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a fantastic book!, 2 Feb 2004
A massive book bursting at the seams with magic and fantasy and also encompassing over half a century of Chilean history veiled under the disguise of metaphor. The story may run for 500 pages but they disappear so quickly that when you read the words 'The end', you flick back to page one and begin Allende's mystically real realm of spirits all over again.

The haunting truth of this book is its realism. One feels a part of the landscapes such as the cordillera or the vineyards, even though you are never told you are in Chile. However Allende, born in Lima and now US citizen yet Chilean through her parents (indeed a niece of ex-President Salvador Allende, who crops up as the candidate in the story), is attempting to reclaim the history of her country as well as suggesting hope for the future in the female lineage of her family.

One must remember the context in which this book was written. Allende had fled her country following the 1973 coup d'etat, and was living in Venezuela. The book despite its metaphorical disguise breaks the silence of dictatorship, and demonstrates how the barbarities of the despotic Pinochet have plunged her beautiful country into turmoil. Her haunting real descriptions broadcast her experiences and those of her countrymen to the outside world, and this seemingly magical yet sadly realistic literary world aligns this novel with that masterpiece of magical realism, One Hundred Years of Solitude, by the Nobel Prize winning Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Despite the easily readable accounts of her eccentric family and her marvellously painted 'country of catastrophes', Allende blends her lyrical magic with figures of historical importance, such as her Uncle, Pablo Neruda (the Poet) and Victor Jara (the guitarist, Pedro Tercero Garcia). This book could be read as a fictional account of Chile between 1910 and 1980, but I would recommend it more simply as a masterpiece of modern fiction and a classic to be enjoyed by lovers of fiction of all ages.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Magic turns sour, 19 May 2003
By Mr. Paul J. Bradshaw (Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This is a pretty incredible book from Allende - the only thing that stops me giving it five stars is a somewhat unnecessary occasional swap in narrative from third to first person.

This Peruvian author is very much in the Marquez tradition - a cast of bizarre characters telling a story that covers generations and includes psychic abilities, ghosts and bizarre accidents.

What makes this book special is how it takes your affection for this family from the unusual to the deeply serious, as revolution ravages the country. The final 150 pages or so are harrowing stuff, and deeply affect you.

The plot is compelling, the characters brilliantly drawn, and an amazing achievement for a first novel.

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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, 21 Aug 2000
By A Customer
Similar to Garcia Marquez's "100 years of solitude" this novel mixes magic, religion, love, realism, history, political ideology, etc to tell the story of 4 generations of family history. I just kept on reading and reading, seeing how the characters change as they grow up and age, and as they face achievements and disappointments.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read
I read my invented country and thought it was excellent as it described perfectly, and humouresly Chile and the Chilean people. Read more
Published 1 month ago by N. Peters

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvellous!
This is my first book I have read which is written by Isobel Allende, and it didnt disappoint! I was rivetted throughout the book, with the vivid images , so descriptively and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by H. Mattiazzi

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing read, like nothing else!
I loved it! It's supposed to be very similar to 100 Years of Solitude by Marquez, which I haven't read, so what I found it similar to was to Wuthering Heights, in the way it's a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Serena Seghedoni

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
I have never read a book where so many characters are delved into so deeply. Allende is a wonderful story teller, and the narrative being interspersed with individual character... Read more
Published 9 months ago by DJ Darroch-thompson

5.0 out of 5 stars Clara, Clearest Clairvoyant!! Magical visitations in Isabel Allende's House!
I can still remember reading Allende's opening lines in Liverpool's Bold Street Waterstones. 'Barrabas came to us by sea, the child Clara wrote in her delicate calligraphy. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. S. Lewison

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
I absolutely loved this book! It was colourful and political, about love and family, sadness and tragedy, all wrapped into one heart-warming story. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Kate Mattheys

5.0 out of 5 stars My first favourite book!
We can all remember that book that showed us how reading can be genuinely enjoyable. For me, The House of the Spirits was that book. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. F. Ghillani

4.0 out of 5 stars Magical...
Really magical book that follows a family through four generations. A strange mix of fantasy and reality. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Julian

3.0 out of 5 stars A difficult but worthwhile read
This book is very well-written with a fairly good story but I must admit I found the magic mixed with realism quite difficult and hard going.I was glad that I persevered though.
Published 20 months ago by love reading

1.0 out of 5 stars Dull, pretentious, patronizing garbage
For those of you who aren't aware, this book is now widely taught on the IB program's World Lit assignments. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2007 by M. E. Watson

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