Product Description

Here, in an astonishing debut by a gifted storyteller, is the magnificent saga of proud and passionate men and women and the turbulent times through which they suffer and triumph. They are the Truebas. And theirs is a world you will not want to leave, and one you will not forget.

Esteban -- The patriarch, a volatile and proud man whose lust for land is legendary and who is haunted by his tyrannical passion for the wife he can never completely possess.

Clara -- The matriarch, elusive and mysterious, who foretells family tragedy and shapes the fortunes of the house of the Truebas.

Blanca -- Their daughter, soft-spoken yet rebellious, whose shocking love for the son of her father's foreman fuels Esteban's everlasting contempt... even as it produces the grandchild he adores.

Alba -- The fruit of Blanca's forbidden love, a luminous bearty, a fiery and willful woman... the family's break with the past and link to the future.


From the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18569 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-30
• Released on: 2005-08-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 433 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553383805
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Many children fly like birds, guess other people's dreams, and speak with ghosts, but ... they all outgrow it when they lose their innocence." The House of Spirits is a book about magic, politics, families, dreams, passion, obsession, and reconciliation. It is a book about almost everything, yet the relationship between innocence and natural/supernatural power is at the heart of all of these themes. Clara, the matriarch of the Trueba family, is blessed and cursed with a childhood clairvoyance that follows her into adulthood. Her capacity to foretell tragedy and truth casts an extraordinary light on the personal and political epic of her family, but hers is only one of the many stories within the larger story. Isabel Allende does not limit herself to any single perspective, so the fantastic events in The House of Spirits are shown from different angles, in different lights. Though reality is relentless, it is not absolute: the miraculous pervades the most petty and commonplace circumstances, the most morbid and terrible events. At the same time, spectacular occasions and divine moments are marked by the vulgar demands of the body or the crude interference of fate. This is storytelling on a grand scale, yet each detail is touched with intimacy and authenticity. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Kirsten Backstrom

Review
"Extraordinary... Powerful... Sharply observant, witty and eloquent." -- Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

"Mesmerizing... A novel of force and charm." -- The Washington Post

"That rarest of successes -- a book about one family and one country that is a book about the world and becomes the world in a book." -- Cosmopolitan

"Nothing short of astonishing... In The House Of The Spirits Isabelle Allende has indeed shown us the relationships between past and present, family and nation, city and country, spiritual and political values. She has done so with enormous imagination, sensitivity, and compassion." -- Jane Futcher, San Francisco Chronicle


From the Paperback edition.

Language Notes
Text: English, Spanish (translation)

Customer Reviews

POLITICAL, HISTORIC, ROMANTIC BLEND THAT READS EASILY
The House of Spirits is probably Allende's most famous and important book. In it, she chronicles the life of a family, as the patriarch grows from a child to an elder, with the world changing all around him while he tries to keep it the same. Through the lenses of the Trueba family, we follow the portion of Chilean history that eventually leads to the 1973 coup. Of course, the author is niece of Salvador Allende, the socialist president democratically elected that was removed from power and killed by Pinochet.

The book is based on clashes; old versus young, communists vs conservatives, landlords vs tenants. As the story unfolds, we view the extremist positions that each side takes: landlords attacking tenants, conservatives attacking communists, and vice versa. From the polarization of positions emerges a military dictatorship that no one wanted, but that was a product of the system setup by polarization.

In the end, the distinctions that originally separated young from old, conservatives from communists, are removed, as both sides realize the futility of their disputes in the face on an authoritarian regime.

The Adventure of a Lifetime
I watched a young student the other day on the subway reading the House of the Spirits. He slowly rose from his seat when he reached his destination and almost walked into the subway doors as they were closing. I then followed him as he walked down the platfom bumping into people all the way. He could not take his eyes from the pages, even as he walked. I was excited for him because I knew he was in for the ride of his life but I was also jealous because he was experiencing for the first time one of the most dynamic and complex books I have ever read. The incredible Ms. Allende created some of the most remarklable relationships between people in any book; husband and wife, brother and sister, mentor and student -- but the most beautiful and complete relationships are among the phenomenal women in this breathtaking novel. As soon as I finished the novel, I gave a copy to everyone I know who cares about literature. I then read everything that Allende has put between two covers and called a book. I have never been disappointed.

Now I understand
"The House of the Spirits" gives the reader an extraordinary view of 20th century Chilean history. Through the Trueba family and the myriad characters that drift in and out of their lives, we see so many of the elements of the political and class struggle that continues until this day. Beginning with the landowner vs. tenant worker conflict and culminating with the left-wing vs. right-wing political/social conflict, we are given a glimpse into the inner workings of a country in turmoil. We see the horror of the Conservatives when a Marxist government is democratically elected, and their terror when the coup they so finely crafted becomes a dictatorship as terrible as they expected the Communists to be. Neither the left nor the right were winners--only the military.

I lived for several years in Chile during the 1990's. Even though Chile is emerging as a stable, fairly democratic economy, the political struggle remains. I could never grasp the true essence of my Chilean friends' passionate hatred for or passionate support of the Pinochet regime until I read this book. I always marveled that there was no middle ground. Now I understand why.