Primera novela de Isabel Allende. La casa de los espíritus narra la saga de una poderosa familia de terratenientes latinoamericanos. El despótico patriarca Esteban Trueba ha construido, con mano de hierro, un imperio privado que empieza a tambalearse a raíz del paso del tiempo y de un entorno social explosivo. Finalmente, la decadencia personal del patriarca arrastrará a los Trueba a una dolorosa desintegración. Atrapados en unas dramáticas relaciones familiares, los personajes de esta portentosa novela encarnan las tensiones sociales y espirituales de una época que abarca gran parte de este siglo.
La casa de los espíritus ha sido adaptada al cine en una película protagonizada, entre otros, por Jerermy Irons, Meryl Streep y Antonio Banderas.Con ternura e impecable factura literaria, Isabel Allende perfila el destino de sus personajes como parte indisoluble del destino colectivo de un continente, marcado por el mestizaje, las injusticias sociales y la búsqueda de …
Primera novela de Isabel Allende. La casa de los espíritus narra la saga de una poderosa familia de terratenientes latinoamericanos. El despótico patriarca Esteban Trueba ha construido, con mano de hierro, un imperio privado que empieza a tambalearse a raíz del paso del tiempo y de un entorno social explosivo. Finalmente, la decadencia personal del patriarca arrastrará a los Trueba a una dolorosa desintegración. Atrapados en unas dramáticas relaciones familiares, los personajes de esta portentosa novela encarnan las tensiones sociales y espirituales de una época que abarca gran parte de este siglo.
La casa de los espíritus ha sido adaptada al cine en una película protagonizada, entre otros, por Jerermy Irons, Meryl Streep y Antonio Banderas.Con ternura e impecable factura literaria, Isabel Allende perfila el destino de sus personajes como parte indisoluble del destino colectivo de un continente, marcado por el mestizaje, las injusticias sociales y la búsqueda de la propia identidad. Este logrado universo narrativo es el resultado de una lúcida conciencia histórica y social, así como de una propuesta estética que constituye una singular expresión de realismo mágico.
Wenn ich nur ein Buch auf unsere Südamerika-Reise hätte mitnehmen können, es wäre das Geisterhaus gewesen.
Epischer Roman über Familie, Magie, Gewalt und Chiles politische Umbrüche im 20. Jahrhundert. Im Fokus stehen die starken Frauenfiguren der Familie Trueba. Auch wenn es eine fiktive Geschichte ist, ist alles voll mit Bezügen zu Chiles Geschichte und zu Persönlichkeiten wie Salvador Allende und Pablo Neruda. Habe ich direkt nach Márquez gelesen – die Parallelen im Erzählstil und ähnliche Motive sind unübersehbar. Während ich mich aber mit Marquez ziemlich schwer getan habe, fand ich das Geisterhaus grandios.
Review of 'The house of the spirits' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I don't think this is a bad book, I just think it's a bad book for me. This book and One Hundred Years of Solitude are held up as high points in the magical realism style, and I liked neither. I would be tempted to write off the genre altogether, if not for counterexamples like The Shadow of the Wind or Blindness which I quite enjoyed.
Who would have thought... there's more to a book than genre :).
I do love the idea of a story carrying through multiple generations, I just had a hard time being interested in the primary characters. Esteban in particular is so prominent and painful to read. Not in a "love to hate" way, but in a "I don't want to read any more about this guy" way. Hard to overcome that. And the odds are good that any break from his story is going …
I don't think this is a bad book, I just think it's a bad book for me. This book and One Hundred Years of Solitude are held up as high points in the magical realism style, and I liked neither. I would be tempted to write off the genre altogether, if not for counterexamples like The Shadow of the Wind or Blindness which I quite enjoyed.
Who would have thought... there's more to a book than genre :).
I do love the idea of a story carrying through multiple generations, I just had a hard time being interested in the primary characters. Esteban in particular is so prominent and painful to read. Not in a "love to hate" way, but in a "I don't want to read any more about this guy" way. Hard to overcome that. And the odds are good that any break from his story is going to contain rape and/or child abuse. Really not what I'm looking for in a book.
Review of 'The house of the spirits' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is a beautifully written family saga and a lovely example of magical realism. It spans three generations and depicts a country undergoing drastic political change. The patriarch is Esteban Trueba, a man with a violent, manic temper and rigid ideals, while the matriarch is Clara del Valle, who is a clairvoyant, kind, and gentle soul.
I admired many aspects of this story, especially the characters. I liked how the relationship between Garcia Tercero and Esteban Trueba evolved, near the end, and their last conversations. Esteban Trueba's granddaughter Alba was a richly drawn, strong woman who becomes wise with her experiences and shares some fascinating insights about love and fate. The author depicts the people in her story world with compassion, something that made everyone memorable and the storyline relevant forever.
Some traits of this story reminded me of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez book--for one thing, she never actually names …
This is a beautifully written family saga and a lovely example of magical realism. It spans three generations and depicts a country undergoing drastic political change. The patriarch is Esteban Trueba, a man with a violent, manic temper and rigid ideals, while the matriarch is Clara del Valle, who is a clairvoyant, kind, and gentle soul.
I admired many aspects of this story, especially the characters. I liked how the relationship between Garcia Tercero and Esteban Trueba evolved, near the end, and their last conversations. Esteban Trueba's granddaughter Alba was a richly drawn, strong woman who becomes wise with her experiences and shares some fascinating insights about love and fate. The author depicts the people in her story world with compassion, something that made everyone memorable and the storyline relevant forever.
Some traits of this story reminded me of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez book--for one thing, she never actually names the country we are reading about (it's Chile), The President, or The Poet. A few times, when Esteban Trueba starts ranting, he speaks for two or three pages without a full stop. I couldn't help but think of Autumn of the Patriarch. (That was hard.)
Too much happens in this riveting saga to summarize in a review, so I'll simply say that I recommend it highly.
