This book, Allende’s first novel, follows the fictional Trueba family through four generations. Astute readers who know something of Chilean history will no doubt recognize that the family history echoes the 20th-century history of Chile, which Allende’s own family was part of. Her father’s cousin was Salvador Allende, the president of Chile who was overthrown by a coup d’état in 1973. In her novel about this period, Isabel Allende fictionalizes these events, using different names, which allows her to take some liberties with the story. A smart move, I think. Historical fiction writers who want to use real history as a jumping-off point without hewing to the known facts would do well to follow her example.

Allende’s fictional story tale is infused with magic, as the women of the family have visions and call on spirits. Although the spiritual is ever present, it is the political that drives much of the narrative. Characters are bound by class and conviction to behave in certain ways. There are no huge surprises in the plot; it follows the pattern of history.

Allende writes in long paragraphs of gorgeous prose that reminded me of Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s lush writing style, but it lacks some of the humor that I enjoyed so much in Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. Also, the story jumps from third person to first person, with the sometimes despicable patriarch Esteban Trueba acting as the first-person narrator. There’s a reason for this technique that is explained in the last chapter, but it was jarring, and I’m not convinced that it worked—especially without the information in the final chapter. This might be a case where a minor spoiler early on would make for a better reading experience.

Another barrier, common to many multigenerational narratives, is the fact that not every generation is equally interesting. Personally, I found each generation more interesting than the last, and my favorite parts were toward the end of the book, but that won’t be the case with every reader.

I had mixed feelings about the characters. Some felt like representations of particular types—the fiery woman, the passionate rebel, the vengeful sadist, and so on. But Allende does make a point of exploring why they are as they are, and in a story about the reoccurring patterns of history, the presence of archetypal characters might not be a bad thing.

See my complete review at my blog. ( )

A look into the life of a family in Chile. The story covers several generations of the Treuba family, through the highs and lows of finances, political struggle, and revolution. A hint of mysticism runs in the family in the form of speaking with spirits and glimpses of the future.

We see the coutry's stuggling political changes through the eyes of Esteban Trueba and the journals of his wife Clara, who took detailed journals of her life. We see the familly struggles as the times change and traditions are rewrittin in the eyes of the younger generation. There is discord and arguments and emotional undonditional forgiveness, there is love at first sight and grudge held through many years that see shocking conclusions.

The story of the Trueba family kept me captivated throughout the entire read. I will putting this book on my list of ones to read again in the future. ( )

3 generations of women are the leads in this story. At first I wondered what the point of this book was. Where was the author going with her magical realism ramblings and in-depth character development? Allende has a real way with creating characters. This book is amazing. It's deep on so many levels -- the 3 women and their relationships with the men in their life, their levels of independence, battles for equality, and civil war in their country. I first read it when I was 14 but had to do so once again. ( )

Another Allende classic with tales of family feuds set in a historic past fueling passion and drama. ( )

Sprookjesachtig met een bitter smaakje ( )