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Trilogía Involuntaria #3
The House of the Spirits
La casa de los espíritus narra la saga familiar de los Trueba, desde principios de siglo hasta el presente. Magistralmente ambientada en algún lugar de América Latina, la novela sigue paso a paso el dramático y extravagante destino de unos personajes atrapados en un entorno sorprendente y exótico.
469 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1982
About the author
Isabel Allende
170 books41k followersIsabel Allende Llona is a Chilean-American novelist. Allende, who writes in the "magic realism" tradition, is considered one of the first successful women novelists in Latin America. She has written novels based in part on her own experiences, often focusing on the experiences of women, weaving myth and realism together. She has lectured and done extensive book tours and has taught literature at several US colleges. She currently resides in California with her husband. Allende adopted U.S. citizenship in 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 16,509 reviews
May 5, 2017
House of the Spirits started my love affair with Isabel Allende's writing twenty years ago. I remember how the first line "Barrabas came to us from the sea" left me captivated and eager to read on. In college, I was fortunate that La Casa de los Espiritus was required reading for one of my classes, so I read the prose a second time in Spanish. Allende's writing is exceptional in both languages.
Recently, I completed Allende's memoir The Sum of Our Days. She reveals that Clara represents her own grandmother: she also had the gift of being clairvoyant and communicating with all the spirits that entered her home by way of a three-legged table and tarot cards. Handed down this gift, Allende admits that she has had a number of meaningful dreams over the years that have influenced both her writing and family life.
La Casa de Los Espiritus is a sweeping epic that spans three generations of Chilean women- Clara, Blanca, and Alba Del Valle Trueba- from post World War I up until the Pinochet coup which overthrew the Allende government (Isabel's uncle) in 1973. The opus detailed their family saga in both good times and bad, reflecting on how the same mistakes repeated themselves through the generations. This is most evident as Allende uses the same name over again for all four women in the family: Nivea, Clara, Blanca, Alba. Each woman attempted to be as independent as her era allowed, yet falling for the society mores expected of an upper crust Chilean family. As the years pass, however, adhering to the higher class norms becomes harder as both family and society crumble around the Del Valle/Trueba clan.
Allende may be known for her feminist leanings, but she creates a strong, memorable male lead in Esteban Trueba. Reaching the ripe old age of ninety and telling this story alongside his grand-daughter Alba, Senator Trueba sees Chile rise, fall, and rise again. The country's hardships and successes mirror those of his own family as the Senator remains staunchly conservative even as the younger generations of his family opt for more liberal values. Trueba in his role as patriarch sees how the world has changed and holds his family together as Chile crashes around them.
Isabel fled Chile with her family and her writing has undergone changes since, depending on where she is on her life journey. This saga remains my measuring stick against which all of her other books are rated. As long as she maintains her high level of Latina magical realism, I have no difficulties rating all of her books at least 4.5 stars. Knowing that Daughter of Fortune and Portrait of Sepia make up a trilogy leading up to Los Espiritus, whenever I reread these books every few years or so, they will have to be read in succession, creating an epic family saga spanning nearly 200 years. House of the Spirits through its highs and lows will always keep its place as one of my favorite books read.
Post script:
I just re-read House of the Spirits for the fourth time as part of a group read for catching up with classics in September 2016. What I can take away from this reread of Allende's contemporary classic, is that her writing is as captivating as ever, even twenty years later. Having read her memoirs and current novel, by returning to her House of the Spirits, it is hard to tell if Alba Trueba is speaking or Allende herself, as this book appears to be a fictionalized autobiography of her family. Culling through the 90 years of Esteban Trueba's life, Chile has seen her share of hardships. Yet, by writing down memories as both Clara and Alba do, one is able to break the chain of torment, so that history is no longer doomed to repeat itself. As I have the other times I have read this masterpiece, I rate House of the Spirits 5 shining stars for Allende's outstanding prose and magical realism.
Recently, I completed Allende's memoir The Sum of Our Days. She reveals that Clara represents her own grandmother: she also had the gift of being clairvoyant and communicating with all the spirits that entered her home by way of a three-legged table and tarot cards. Handed down this gift, Allende admits that she has had a number of meaningful dreams over the years that have influenced both her writing and family life.
La Casa de Los Espiritus is a sweeping epic that spans three generations of Chilean women- Clara, Blanca, and Alba Del Valle Trueba- from post World War I up until the Pinochet coup which overthrew the Allende government (Isabel's uncle) in 1973. The opus detailed their family saga in both good times and bad, reflecting on how the same mistakes repeated themselves through the generations. This is most evident as Allende uses the same name over again for all four women in the family: Nivea, Clara, Blanca, Alba. Each woman attempted to be as independent as her era allowed, yet falling for the society mores expected of an upper crust Chilean family. As the years pass, however, adhering to the higher class norms becomes harder as both family and society crumble around the Del Valle/Trueba clan.
Allende may be known for her feminist leanings, but she creates a strong, memorable male lead in Esteban Trueba. Reaching the ripe old age of ninety and telling this story alongside his grand-daughter Alba, Senator Trueba sees Chile rise, fall, and rise again. The country's hardships and successes mirror those of his own family as the Senator remains staunchly conservative even as the younger generations of his family opt for more liberal values. Trueba in his role as patriarch sees how the world has changed and holds his family together as Chile crashes around them.
Isabel fled Chile with her family and her writing has undergone changes since, depending on where she is on her life journey. This saga remains my measuring stick against which all of her other books are rated. As long as she maintains her high level of Latina magical realism, I have no difficulties rating all of her books at least 4.5 stars. Knowing that Daughter of Fortune and Portrait of Sepia make up a trilogy leading up to Los Espiritus, whenever I reread these books every few years or so, they will have to be read in succession, creating an epic family saga spanning nearly 200 years. House of the Spirits through its highs and lows will always keep its place as one of my favorite books read.
Post script:
I just re-read House of the Spirits for the fourth time as part of a group read for catching up with classics in September 2016. What I can take away from this reread of Allende's contemporary classic, is that her writing is as captivating as ever, even twenty years later. Having read her memoirs and current novel, by returning to her House of the Spirits, it is hard to tell if Alba Trueba is speaking or Allende herself, as this book appears to be a fictionalized autobiography of her family. Culling through the 90 years of Esteban Trueba's life, Chile has seen her share of hardships. Yet, by writing down memories as both Clara and Alba do, one is able to break the chain of torment, so that history is no longer doomed to repeat itself. As I have the other times I have read this masterpiece, I rate House of the Spirits 5 shining stars for Allende's outstanding prose and magical realism.
December 27, 2023
i honestly don't know how anyone considers themselves well-read. there is just so much to read.
this one was on my mental tbr for years, and i still don't feel any closer to well-read for having picked it up. but i do feel glad i did.
the depiction of family, love, bloodlines, sorrow, magic, mortality, hatred, bigotry, politics, uprising, poverty, wealth, power here...wow!
there were moments where this lost me, but it almost immediately won me back every time. this was poetic and somehow measured even in its dramatics.
what will stay with me especially is the way that this conveyed how you can love those you don't understand, and in that way understand them...how gorgeous. if more people were able to see past the worst parts of each other it'd be a better world.
bottom line: a book you better yourself by reading.
this one was on my mental tbr for years, and i still don't feel any closer to well-read for having picked it up. but i do feel glad i did.
the depiction of family, love, bloodlines, sorrow, magic, mortality, hatred, bigotry, politics, uprising, poverty, wealth, power here...wow!
there were moments where this lost me, but it almost immediately won me back every time. this was poetic and somehow measured even in its dramatics.
what will stay with me especially is the way that this conveyed how you can love those you don't understand, and in that way understand them...how gorgeous. if more people were able to see past the worst parts of each other it'd be a better world.
bottom line: a book you better yourself by reading.
July 9, 2008
Gabriel Garcia Marquez comparisons aside, it's hard to review this book without references to the magical realism and the narrative styles of Latin America.
I truly believe that anyone not familiar with the above mentioned, would likely be a bit thrown, even put off by these influences. Still, this is a brilliantly written story, epic in its truest sense. Covering four generations of women (with a man as the common thread between them), it races through the simplicity of the old world into the complexity of an increasingly global existance and the insistance that this country enter into the morphing global economy and political stage.
The true classics know how to do one particular thing very well: They are able to capture the reader with the emotive ties to the characters in a microcosm while placing them in a grander milestone setting, historically. Many stories have attempted this balance and fall short in one aspect or another. Either the personal attachment is emphasized at the expense of the historical detail, or the historical events are diluted to platform the characters. In this case, both are developed successfully because we are introduced and weaned on to the family first and then become involved in their plight as gradually as they do. Political upheaval grew into their lives the way it grew into the narration.
It's also important to mention that by definition, this won't be a political struggle that most of the captalist population will be familiar with. Some background knowledge of the history of Chile does come in handy, especially when references are thrown in enigmatically. "The Poet" is mentioned sporadically at first, then his existance becomes poignant for a moment. The reference to Neruda, his real life exile, his political position... all of these are only subtly mentioned throughout the plot, and he is never referred to by name. So it's interesting that Allende refers to censorship by censoring herself. Clearly a conscious decision on her part, to seperate this historical novel from being a direct documentation of the history of Chile. The same holds true for the events leading up to and after the military coup and the Pinochet situation.
This story shows us what it "might" have looked like behind the scenes. What the papers were not reporting. What the news programing was cleaning up on orders of the heads of state.
This is what this story is about. In Latin America, these kinds of events are innumerable. They are part of the history, but they can not be told for the very censorship that this story speaks of. So they are told in novels and are thinly veiled as magical and exaggerated so as to hide behind such protection. But they are real, and to this day, there is a weekly procession in one of the plazas in Santiago, Chile, of people who "lost" family members to the military government. 40 years later, there are still hundreds who have not been accounted for.
With this story, Allende hooks us, reels us in, and binds us to these characters. They are funny, ecentric, tempermental, ideal, strong, weak and so much more. Their dimensionality begs us to invest in them, emotionally, so that when their lives become shaken by their setting, we are as invested in how they will deal with the challenge.
I truly believe that anyone not familiar with the above mentioned, would likely be a bit thrown, even put off by these influences. Still, this is a brilliantly written story, epic in its truest sense. Covering four generations of women (with a man as the common thread between them), it races through the simplicity of the old world into the complexity of an increasingly global existance and the insistance that this country enter into the morphing global economy and political stage.
The true classics know how to do one particular thing very well: They are able to capture the reader with the emotive ties to the characters in a microcosm while placing them in a grander milestone setting, historically. Many stories have attempted this balance and fall short in one aspect or another. Either the personal attachment is emphasized at the expense of the historical detail, or the historical events are diluted to platform the characters. In this case, both are developed successfully because we are introduced and weaned on to the family first and then become involved in their plight as gradually as they do. Political upheaval grew into their lives the way it grew into the narration.
It's also important to mention that by definition, this won't be a political struggle that most of the captalist population will be familiar with. Some background knowledge of the history of Chile does come in handy, especially when references are thrown in enigmatically. "The Poet" is mentioned sporadically at first, then his existance becomes poignant for a moment. The reference to Neruda, his real life exile, his political position... all of these are only subtly mentioned throughout the plot, and he is never referred to by name. So it's interesting that Allende refers to censorship by censoring herself. Clearly a conscious decision on her part, to seperate this historical novel from being a direct documentation of the history of Chile. The same holds true for the events leading up to and after the military coup and the Pinochet situation.
This story shows us what it "might" have looked like behind the scenes. What the papers were not reporting. What the news programing was cleaning up on orders of the heads of state.
This is what this story is about. In Latin America, these kinds of events are innumerable. They are part of the history, but they can not be told for the very censorship that this story speaks of. So they are told in novels and are thinly veiled as magical and exaggerated so as to hide behind such protection. But they are real, and to this day, there is a weekly procession in one of the plazas in Santiago, Chile, of people who "lost" family members to the military government. 40 years later, there are still hundreds who have not been accounted for.
With this story, Allende hooks us, reels us in, and binds us to these characters. They are funny, ecentric, tempermental, ideal, strong, weak and so much more. Their dimensionality begs us to invest in them, emotionally, so that when their lives become shaken by their setting, we are as invested in how they will deal with the challenge.
February 18, 2023
"If this world is going to be a better place for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, it will be women who make it so."
—Isabel Allende.
Phewee!
The House of the Spirits is a tumultuous epic which chronicles four generations of two extraordinary families.
The eponymous house is large: it boasts three courtyards and a Chiléan version of the Addams Family.
Imagine too, if you will, Barrabás, the somewhat unnatural domesticated dog/horse, who was ill-advisedly fed olive oil until he covered the house from top to bottom with diarrhoea. Blurrgh!
Following in the giant footsteps of Gabriel García Márquez, Allende lets rip with her own brand of el realismo mágico.
Strong female roles abound in this captivating story, from Rosa (who has the maritime grace of a mermaid), to Clara the soothsayer (whose apocalyptic visions include exploding horses and cows that are hurled into the sea), and Tránsito Soto (the entrepreneurial prostitute who symbolises success in the face of adversity).
A mainstay of magical realism is that characters are expected to be beautifully realised, and Allende doesn't disappoint. Not for one bit. Her lead goes to reluctant altruist, Esteban Trueba, whose expectations of grandeur befit his pedigree, but not his habitude.
Trueba, wishing to mine for gold, takes control of a lawless chunk of godforsaken land.
Despite improving the social conditions of the peasants under his patronage, he becomes the most hated and feared scumbag in the entire region.
When done with kicking hens, throwing tantrums and raping village girls, he expects his subordinates to show him some gratitude. Seriously, what a complete arse!
Dichotomies abound: good and evil; triumph and tragedy; pride and ignominy. And the unjustified pomposity of Trueba sets him up for a hubristic turn of events.
I LOVED this novel. I am a latecomer to Allende and, with this one story, she has propelled herself onto my top tier of writers.
That said, the magical start to the story gradually capitulates to a more realismo style and does become something of a slog at times. Despite this, the craftsmanship of her writing never diminishes. The sex is fleshy and sweaty and the book is awash with anarchists, prostitutes and tables that move just by the power of thought.
¡Ay, caramba! There's even a bazooka-wielding president! As if that could ever happen! *stifles a snigger*
The House of the Spirits is stormy, dramatic and beautifully-written.
I even missed it when I was away from it!
A self-indulgent afterthought...
So skilful was Allende's writing that she turns Trueba's toxic Latino machismo on its head. Most surprisingly, you might even end up feeling sorry for the misogynistic bastard.
Those of you old enough to remember the excellent cop drama NYPD Blue might have experienced the same volte-face in respect of Detective Andy Sipowicz, the corrupt, racist, homophobic, alcoholic sleazeball who slowly begins to question the values he was raised with, and thereafter begins to win our hearts and minds. In my view, an unbelievably gifted piece of TV character writing that is rarely bettered.
—Isabel Allende.
Phewee!
The House of the Spirits is a tumultuous epic which chronicles four generations of two extraordinary families.
The eponymous house is large: it boasts three courtyards and a Chiléan version of the Addams Family.
Imagine too, if you will, Barrabás, the somewhat unnatural domesticated dog/horse, who was ill-advisedly fed olive oil until he covered the house from top to bottom with diarrhoea. Blurrgh!
Following in the giant footsteps of Gabriel García Márquez, Allende lets rip with her own brand of el realismo mágico.
Strong female roles abound in this captivating story, from Rosa (who has the maritime grace of a mermaid), to Clara the soothsayer (whose apocalyptic visions include exploding horses and cows that are hurled into the sea), and Tránsito Soto (the entrepreneurial prostitute who symbolises success in the face of adversity).
A mainstay of magical realism is that characters are expected to be beautifully realised, and Allende doesn't disappoint. Not for one bit. Her lead goes to reluctant altruist, Esteban Trueba, whose expectations of grandeur befit his pedigree, but not his habitude.
Trueba, wishing to mine for gold, takes control of a lawless chunk of godforsaken land.
Despite improving the social conditions of the peasants under his patronage, he becomes the most hated and feared scumbag in the entire region.
When done with kicking hens, throwing tantrums and raping village girls, he expects his subordinates to show him some gratitude. Seriously, what a complete arse!
Dichotomies abound: good and evil; triumph and tragedy; pride and ignominy. And the unjustified pomposity of Trueba sets him up for a hubristic turn of events.
I LOVED this novel. I am a latecomer to Allende and, with this one story, she has propelled herself onto my top tier of writers.
That said, the magical start to the story gradually capitulates to a more realismo style and does become something of a slog at times. Despite this, the craftsmanship of her writing never diminishes. The sex is fleshy and sweaty and the book is awash with anarchists, prostitutes and tables that move just by the power of thought.
¡Ay, caramba! There's even a bazooka-wielding president! As if that could ever happen! *stifles a snigger*
The House of the Spirits is stormy, dramatic and beautifully-written.
I even missed it when I was away from it!
A self-indulgent afterthought...
So skilful was Allende's writing that she turns Trueba's toxic Latino machismo on its head. Most surprisingly, you might even end up feeling sorry for the misogynistic bastard.
Those of you old enough to remember the excellent cop drama NYPD Blue might have experienced the same volte-face in respect of Detective Andy Sipowicz, the corrupt, racist, homophobic, alcoholic sleazeball who slowly begins to question the values he was raised with, and thereafter begins to win our hearts and minds. In my view, an unbelievably gifted piece of TV character writing that is rarely bettered.
June 26, 2014
When I was a kid, me and my brother used to spend most weekends at our grandparents house. And most of those weekends we would watch one of the same two movies on the good ol' VCR: Steel Magnolias and The House of the Spirits. No one seems to know the latter movie when I mention it, but it starred a bunch of impressive names: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Antonio Banderas and Winona Ryder. My memory might be painting a better picture than the truth, but me and my brother LOVED the movie.
So it really kinda amazes me that it took so long for me to get my hands on the book and finally read it. It's everything I can't help but love. A rich family saga filled with drama, hardship, love, violence and a touch of magical realism. The characters that once fascinated me in the movie have reemerged in a far more complex and fleshed out depiction. It is such an interesting story, spanning multiple generations and looking at the intricate relationships between the characters whilst the background features the post-colonial political struggles of Chile.
I love the beautiful and wild South American setting. I love the subtly woven aspects of magical realism. I love (and sometimes hate) the characters. I am fascinated by even the politics of the novel and the huge disparities between the women who campaigned for gender equality and those who believed a husband ruled over his wife. This book has everything: family, politics, love, magic... I always enjoy it when a novel can bring in many different elements that we love and get the balance right.
My favourite character has always been Ferula (played by Glenn Close in the movie). I find her the most tragic character and the one most buried beneath layers of complexity, even though she isn't ever really the novel's main focus:
She was one of those people who are born for the greatness of a single love, for exaggerated hatred, for apocalyptic vengeance, and for the most sublime forms of heroism, but she was unable to shape her fate to the dimensions of her amorous vocation, so it was lived out as something flat and grey that was trapped between her mother's sickroom walls, wretched tenements, and the tortured confessions with which this large, opulent, hot-blooded woman - made for maternity, abundance, action, and ardor - was consuming herself.
Ferula is my favourite, but she is one in a sea of very different and interesting individuals. There is, of course, Esteban Trueba. He is violent, selfish and earns very little sympathy from me over the course of the novel; that's not to say he isn't of interest, because he certainly is. And there's his wife - Clara - a woman prone to bouts of clairvoyance that have dictated the direction of her life; a direction she has accepted without complaint. Then there's Blanca, Esteban and Clara's daughter, who falls in love with Pedro Tercero against her father's wishes and constantly defies him by pursuing the relationship.
Despite the pretty cover, this book isn't without its graphic descriptions of violence and some rape scenes. It isn't a nice book, but I suppose many of the best books aren't "nice". It is, however, a wonderful portrait of a family, spread over several generations, and it is as moving and beautiful as I'd hoped.
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So it really kinda amazes me that it took so long for me to get my hands on the book and finally read it. It's everything I can't help but love. A rich family saga filled with drama, hardship, love, violence and a touch of magical realism. The characters that once fascinated me in the movie have reemerged in a far more complex and fleshed out depiction. It is such an interesting story, spanning multiple generations and looking at the intricate relationships between the characters whilst the background features the post-colonial political struggles of Chile.
I love the beautiful and wild South American setting. I love the subtly woven aspects of magical realism. I love (and sometimes hate) the characters. I am fascinated by even the politics of the novel and the huge disparities between the women who campaigned for gender equality and those who believed a husband ruled over his wife. This book has everything: family, politics, love, magic... I always enjoy it when a novel can bring in many different elements that we love and get the balance right.
My favourite character has always been Ferula (played by Glenn Close in the movie). I find her the most tragic character and the one most buried beneath layers of complexity, even though she isn't ever really the novel's main focus:
She was one of those people who are born for the greatness of a single love, for exaggerated hatred, for apocalyptic vengeance, and for the most sublime forms of heroism, but she was unable to shape her fate to the dimensions of her amorous vocation, so it was lived out as something flat and grey that was trapped between her mother's sickroom walls, wretched tenements, and the tortured confessions with which this large, opulent, hot-blooded woman - made for maternity, abundance, action, and ardor - was consuming herself.
Ferula is my favourite, but she is one in a sea of very different and interesting individuals. There is, of course, Esteban Trueba. He is violent, selfish and earns very little sympathy from me over the course of the novel; that's not to say he isn't of interest, because he certainly is. And there's his wife - Clara - a woman prone to bouts of clairvoyance that have dictated the direction of her life; a direction she has accepted without complaint. Then there's Blanca, Esteban and Clara's daughter, who falls in love with Pedro Tercero against her father's wishes and constantly defies him by pursuing the relationship.
Despite the pretty cover, this book isn't without its graphic descriptions of violence and some rape scenes. It isn't a nice book, but I suppose many of the best books aren't "nice". It is, however, a wonderful portrait of a family, spread over several generations, and it is as moving and beautiful as I'd hoped.
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January 12, 2021
جولة لا تُنسى في بيت الأرواح
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
هذه رواية تنطق بقداسة الأنثى
تمجد السحر الأنثوي البراق
تحكي تاريخ الدولة الأنثى
أو الأنثى الدولة
تشيــلي
أرض الجنيات والساحرات وعرائس البحر
هذه رواية السنوات البحرية المحفوظة في ذاكرة وراثية لا تضيع أبدا
بل تنزلق بلطف عبر الأجيال النسوية الرحبة الصدور والطيبة كعجينة تراب من رحم الأرض خصبة وشغوفة
والشغف يكاد يصرخ متخطيا حدود العقل فيما سطرت إيزابيل بتاريخ عرق عائلتها النصف مخبولة والمعجونة بالسحر
أو فلنقل
تاريخ إنساني سطرته الأرواح الشفافة
وهي من ذلك النوع من الرويات
تلك التي تندمج بذراتك كلما توغلت في القراءة
التي تصنع من نفسها ذكرى
تتعدى انبهارك بقطعة أدب
تحفر عميقا في داخلك
ولا تتركك إلا ملهَما مصابا بدوار نشوة قد يصل به الأمر لإخافتك
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
روزا :جنية البحر والحلم المقتول في مهده
روزا هي السمكة الأرضية التي ولدت بقدمين
هي الملاك الميثولوجي الذي يتمخطر بين البشر فواحا برائحة أعشابٍ بحرية
وهي البسيطة كنسمة هواء لا تدري شيئا عن سحرها القاتل والتي تنسج على قماشها مخلوقات لا أرضية تحاكيها غرابة وتؤكد كونها ليست من هذا العالم
حتى قررت إيزابيل محوها بحرة قلم من الرواية مؤكدة الشائعة الطريفة التي تقول
بأنها تغار من بطلاتها المبهرات الجمال
فتميتهنّ مبكرا
وقد سكنت روزا بهدوء على طاولة التشريح
كاملة كما لم تكن من قبل
بشعرها كشلال
لامعا كنبتة بحرية وبلون المحيط
وأكثر جمالا مما كانت في أي مرة
وظلت بهية في قبرها الأرضي
حتى تناثرت ذرات مع أول لفحة هواء طالتها
لتبقى روحها في أعماق المحيط حيث تنتمي
لقد بقى تأثيرها ممتدًا طوال الرواية
ليس فقط من خلال شعرها الأخضر
الذي ورّثته لابنة أختها
أو مخلوقاتها الخرافية المنسوجة
التي انتقلت بأشكال أخرى من الفن لعبر أجيال جديدة
بل عبر روحها البحرية
وصوت الموج المحيط بالبطلات
يهسهس مع الأرواح الشفافة
التي تتبع كلارا برقة
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
كلارا :روح شفافة تطفو فوق بحر هادئ من حريرأزرق
حين أعدتُ قراءة أجزاء من بــاولا
بغية البحث بتوسع عن عائلة إيزابيل ومقارنتها بالرواية
قرأتُ شيئا أشعرني بنوع ساذج من السعادة
لقد ذكرت إيزابيل عرضا أن كلارا تبقى الأحب والأقرب إلى قلبها
من بين شخصياتها الروائية
و هكذا صفقت بيدي مثل طفلة ساذجة
:P :$
لقد خبلتْ كلارا لُبِّي بلا أي مبالغة
و بقوة نافستْ
سليمة غرناطة
حتى غلبَتها واحتلت الصدارة في قلبي بلا منازع
كأحب شخصية أدبية تعرفت عليها في حياتي
أحببت كلارا التي كانت تجعل المملحة تطوف حول الرؤوس على مائدة الطعام وهي بعد طفلة
والتي ترقص كراسي البيت كله في حضورها
والتي تعزف شوبان والبيانو مغلق
والتي تحضر الأرواح مع صديقاتها الأخوات الثلاث اسبوعيا بلا كلل أو إخفاق
والتي كانت تعرف يقينا أن لغة الأرواح لا تتعدى الإسبرانتو والإسبانية
وأن الإنجليزية بلا طائل :D
والتي تمضي في المنزل هائمة بنصف عقل خلفها الأشباح وأوراق التبوء في يدها والمناضد تهتز تحية لها
والتي ألصقت ابنتها بها كدودة لتحقق نوع عجيب يناسبها من التواصل والتخاطر
والتي حولت البيت لمتاهة مجنونة من الغرف تناسبها تماما
كانت كلارا بعيدة عن كل ما هو مادي
تطفو كروح أثيرية
فلا يترك في نفسها خاتم ألماس ثمين هدية من زوجها
أثرا أكبر من مشاهدة عصفورا يطير
أو كوب أعشاب دافئ
أو حوض استحمام معطر
كلارا المغرية أبدا بتتبعها
ضحكتها البهلوانية كطفلة شقية عابثة
جلبابها الكتاني الأبيض الفضفاض كثوب مجانين
دفتر ملاحظاتها عن الحياة الذي بقى يحكي قصة أجيال مصابة بنصف لوثة وخبل لا نهائي
سريرها الذي تلقبه بحر هادئ من حرير أزرق
صورتها في المتحف
والتي تظهر فيها على كرسي يطفو فوق سطح الأرض
مع بعض الفازات المنزلية الطائرة في الهواء جوارها
يحسبها من يراها إبداع غرائبي من الفنان لا حقيقة كلارا المجردة
بكل جنونها،، طفولتها ،، حنانها ،،مشاريعها الخيرية ،،وأصدقائها التخاطريين وصناع المطر
كلارا الهتماء التي تحمل أسنانها الخزفية بخيط في عنقها كمشرد ينتمي إلى الهيبيز
كانت كلارا شبحا آدميا وقعت في غرامه
وتشربت تفاصيله
وبات وسيظل جزءا نابضا في داخلي
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منذ ذلك الحين
وعشقي يداخله عُرف الخشب
ويستحيل خشبا
كل ما تمسه كفاي
ــــــــــــــــ
إيستيبان وفيرولا :أخ وأخت من الجحيم
!
إيستيبان
هذا الإقطاعي المغتصب
هاتك الأعراض القاسي المتفجر غضبا
والمسكين العاشق حتى النخاع
لم أملك إلا أن أقع في حبه في نهاية المطاف
وأنا أراه عجوزا وحيدا متهالك العظام
يبكي أخطاءه وشراسته وقراراته الغبية
ويحاول في ندم انقاذ ما يمكن انقاذه
أما فيرولا فهي العانس المسكينة التي تملّكها الحرمان والتي كانت أسيرة شعور مستمر بالذنب
تحاول التكفير عنه بكل الطرق المتاحة
كما تحاول أن تنقل هذا الشعور لأخيها
الذي جمعتها به علاقة حب وكراهية
امتدت لآخر نفس من حياتهما
لقد أوجعت فيرولا قلبي
وأنا أرى مأساتها مع أخيها وزوجته
وكدت أتجمد حزنا
وشبحها الأبيض يقترب من كلارا في الثامنة مساءا ليطبع على جبينها قبلة الوداع
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بدأتْ هذه الرواية برسالة
تبعثها إيزابيل إلى جدها المحتضر المناهز مئة عام وانتهت قطعة مبهرة من الأدب
لا أكاد أصدق أنها عمل إيزابيل الأول
والذي بقى الأشهر والأكثر إذهالا
عاشت إيزابيل هذه الرواية قبل أن تكتبها فالشخصيات حقيقية من لحم ودم
وأبهاهم كلارا التي ببساطة خبلت لبي
والتي استمدتها إيزابيل من جدتها الأثيرية صديقة الأرواح
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لقد تمنيتُ أن أجد الرواية بترجمة صالح علماني
فقراءة إيزابيل بنكهته
كانت لتكون تجربة مثيرة مجددا
كان صالح علماني ليجعل من هذه الرواية جنة
ترى الجنيات فيها نحيفات شفافات
يطرن من حولك بأجنحة ذهبية
كان ليجعل الأرواح تهيم بلون الفضة
وأنت جوارها تتنشق زهور كلارا
وتسمع قرقرة القطط السعيدة اللطيفة
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من عجائبيات وطرائف بيت الأرواح البحري
رموز عجيبة و أنصاف مخبولين
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القبعة الجلدية وعلبتها التي قبعت سنوات في القبو حاملة رأس نيفيا فاليه والذي وجدته كلارا بقوة الإلهام وحدها بعد أن فشل الجميع في العثور عليه
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مذكرات الخال ماركوس عن البحر والتي دون فيها مغامراته وحكايا الجنيات والتي سكنت أحلام سلالته جيلا بعد جيل
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المخلوقات الخرافية في نسيج روزا التي انتقلت إلى صلصال بلانكا ثم إلى رسوم ألبا الملونة على حائط غرفتها
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طاولة خشب السنديان العجيبة
والتي تحملت عَتَه العائلة عبر قرن
تم تشريح روزا عليها
كما عرفت أقدام جيم جيدا
وهو يرقص عليها الفلامنكو كالمخبول
واستضافت بلا كلل جلسات تحضير الأرواح
وهي ترقص بنفسها هذه المرة وتهتز بلا توقف :D
بالاضافة إلى كونها طاولة طعام
مستعملة من قبل العائلة دوما!
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عندما أصيبت كلارا بالخرس حاولت النانا أو المربية بقلب أم
أن تردها عن خرسها
فعمدت إلى إثارة رعبها وفزعها لمدد طويلة
وللمفارقة ماتت النانا في زلزال
ليس تحت الأنقاض ،،، ولكن من الرعب!
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من الغريب أن إيزابيل لم تذكر اسم سلفادور ألليندي أو بابلو نيرودا
صراحة في الرواية
وكان نيرودا في الرواية رمزا حلو ومرا
لتشيلي التي تنزف
:
:
:
أطلّ إنسانٌ على الدنيا
وسط كثيرين
ممن اجتازوا المخاض
خاض غمار الحياة، وسط فيض من البشر
ممن ضربوا مثله في شعابها
ليس ذلك وحده بالتاريخ التليد
مثلما الأرض ذاتها
قلب تشيلي حيث
ترخي الكروم ضفائرها الخضراء
وتقتات الأعناب من النور
يولد النبيذ، من أقدام الناس
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ملحوظة أخيرة
::::::::::::
لا تقرأ ترجمة دار الجندي
الترجمة فيها سم قاتل
الترجمة فيها سم قاتل
وإن اشتريت ترجمة صالح علماني فأتمنى أن تبدأ في تصويرها
هذه الترجمة المنتظرة تستحق ونستحق أن تتاح لنا جميعا
August 15, 2022
ارواحنا لا مكان لها بهذا العالم و لو سكنا بيوت من ألف غرفة؛
نظل نركض بجنون خلف الحرية و الحب..المال والجمال؛العدل �� السلطة؛السيادة و الاستقلال
عبر 75 عام و ثلاث اسر تاخذنا الليندى لنلهث خلف السراب و نتهاوى تحت خيبات الامل في بيت قديم فتح لايزابيل ابواب الادب
..ننهض لنعاني العزلة و القسوة و الاغتراب ليهزمنا الموت فنفقد الاحبة و تفترسنا ارواح هائمة تبغى عدلا لم تراه في دنيانا
لأول مرة ارغب في كتابة مراجعة بشكل ما و اتراجع ☆
لانها لن تجلب الا المشاكل فلنقنع بما هو متاح ☆ا
هناك انواع كثيرة من الحياة تجعلك تتعجل الموت تتمناه تستعذبه
و لكن ليس هناك ما هو اسوأ من خوفنا من الخوف و روايتنا عن الموت و الصراع الابدى ضده
ثلاث عائلات من ثلاث اعراق سنرى كيف ستتصاهر
لتشكل مسخا يسمى: المجتمع التشيلي الحديث رغما عن انف الجميع:
عائلة ديل باييه الإسبانية؛ و عائلة تروبي�� القشتالية-العربية ؛و عائلة جارسيا الهندية اللاتينية و لأول مرة تمنح ايزابيل الصدارة لبطل و ليس بطلة و ان كان الزمن هنا هو البطل المطلق بدائرته و تكرارها الابدي
'''' ♡ البيضاوات الاربع
نيفيا- كلارا-بلانكا- ألبا : من الجدة الي ابنة الحفيدة كلهن تقاسمن اسماء معناها : البياض و النصاعة و الكشف..و بالفعل لم تكن احداهن تضمر عكس ما تظهر بل كن واضحات دوما؛ تقاسمن البساطة و عدم التكلف و احيانا" العبط" ..نيفيا الجدة "النسوية"وضعتهن على طريق الاستقلال والعطاء و فعل الخير و مشاركة الاخرين الامهم ؛
منهن من وظفت جهودها لاهداف انسانية/سياسية مثل نيفيا و البا
اما كلارا و بلانكا كانا اكثر عطاء للبسطاء مباشرة
مفتاحهن : الحب
تمنيت ان اكون كلارا نافذة البصيرة المقتبسة من شخصية جدة ايزابيل الليندى ؛ و لكن للاسف اقربهم لشخصيتى : بلانكا
☆ ☆ روسا
اجمل مخلوقة ولدت على ظهر الارض منذ ازمنة الخطيئة " كما صرخت القابلة لدى رؤية جمالها المبهر ..حورية الثلاثية و تمثل السعادة المستحيلة و الاحلام المجهضة ؛ و كل ما هو ليس مسموحا لنا بامتلاكه على الارض..جمالها البحري الطابع يؤكد ان الخلاص دوما يكون بعيدا عن التراب و اقرب للماء بطهارته
💣 ايستبان تروبيا
انه الرجل الذي تذبل النباتات عند.دخوله
الاسد الغضوب؛ العصامي الفاشي؛الدكتاتور الساخط الاقطاعي الابدي
سليل العائلة المالكة في بيرو و الذي تدفا في طفولته بورق الصحف و مشي اميال لانه لا يملك اجر الترام فصار عزيز قوم ذل ..سكنه الغضب من ابيه و من خسارته الفادحة لروسا في يوم انتصاره على الفقر ؛و اخرج مرارته قيحا و صديدا عنيفا على كل من يجده اقل منه و تجلي في رحلات اصطياده لفتيات ضيعته الذين كان يراهن ملك يمينه كعادة اقطاعي القرون الغابرة؛ حتى احب كلارا ..و من الذي لا يحب كلارا؟
أعطته الدنيا السلطة و المال باليمين واخذت منه بالشمال حرمته الرؤية العادلة و حب زوجته و ابناؤه؛ و حرمه طبعه السيء من حب معظم من قابله حتى تضاءل عند تاكده من أخطائه متأخرا و انا من المؤمنين بمبدأ باريتو 80/20 و هو كان يمنح العشرين % الطيبة منه لروسا و كلارا و البا فقط و الباقين لا يستحقون منه الا :طبعه السيء
مفتاح شخصيته : الكبر
¤¤¤¤ فيوريلا تروبيا
عندما يفوت القطار تختل القرارات و الأولويات و قد يدهسنا
هي و اخيها كانا ضحية دم فاسد ورثاه من ابيهما المستهتر الذي كان له اثرا مدمرا على تلك الاسرة الاكثر تعقيدا عبر الادب و تجلى فساد الاصل بكل قسوة في شخصية الحفيد السادى ايستبان جارسيا /تروبيا
* بيدرو غارسيا
- * ميغيل
*الشاعر= نيرودا
الثائر الهتيف المخلص لمبادئه الذى ينادى بحقوق مهدرة فيهدر حياته هو و من حوله ..فقط لكي يفهم الاغبياء ابسط حقوقهم
مفتاحهم : العدل
-خايمي
-سلفادور الليندى
كانت شخصية الطبيب المتفاني الاشتراكي :خايمي تروبيا انعكاس لرئيس تشيللي المغتال سلفادور الليندى الطبيب الجراح الذي صار اول رئيس يساري منتخب في امريكا اللاتينية و كان الربع الاخير من الرواية مكرسا لخطوات الانقلاب العسكري عليه والذي راح ضحيته ربع مليون من بلد تعداده 2 مليون فقط
و بعد فوات الأوان فهم الكل انهم في سفينة وطن واحدة و سيدفعون الثمن معا ..و ندم من شاركوا فيه اجمعين فيما بعد
و قد اعادت ايزابيل تفصيل هذا النمط في نموذج الطبيب: تاو شين في صورة عتيقة لتؤكد ان الخير كان و سيبقى و سيستمر
و بكثافة لا تصدق في السرد قد تخنق البعض ؛ و بجراة الليندى في عرض ما هو مسكوت عنه بلغة اخاذة و اسرة في مطلع الثمانينات؛ مهدت الطريق لادب متكامل نفتقده
لتؤكد ان "الرواية" واحدة من أكبر التعويضات الممتعة التي استطاع الإنسان ابتكارها حتى الآن..
شاركت الثلاثية مع صحبة رائعة من الجوودريدز و الاجمل انها ازدادت عددا بمرور الاجزاء فزادت القراءة متعة على متعة
اشكركم ♡
نظل نركض بجنون خلف الحرية و الحب..المال والجمال؛العدل �� السلطة؛السيادة و الاستقلال
عبر 75 عام و ثلاث اسر تاخذنا الليندى لنلهث خلف السراب و نتهاوى تحت خيبات الامل في بيت قديم فتح لايزابيل ابواب الادب
..ننهض لنعاني العزلة و القسوة و الاغتراب ليهزمنا الموت فنفقد الاحبة و تفترسنا ارواح هائمة تبغى عدلا لم تراه في دنيانا
لأول مرة ارغب في كتابة مراجعة بشكل ما و اتراجع ☆
لانها لن تجلب الا المشاكل فلنقنع بما هو متاح ☆ا
هناك انواع كثيرة من الحياة تجعلك تتعجل الموت تتمناه تستعذبه
و لكن ليس هناك ما هو اسوأ من خوفنا من الخوف و روايتنا عن الموت و الصراع الابدى ضده
ثلاث عائلات من ثلاث اعراق سنرى كيف ستتصاهر
لتشكل مسخا يسمى: المجتمع التشيلي الحديث رغما عن انف الجميع:
عائلة ديل باييه الإسبانية؛ و عائلة تروبي�� القشتالية-العربية ؛و عائلة جارسيا الهندية اللاتينية و لأول مرة تمنح ايزابيل الصدارة لبطل و ليس بطلة و ان كان الزمن هنا هو البطل المطلق بدائرته و تكرارها الابدي
'''' ♡ البيضاوات الاربع
نيفيا- كلارا-بلانكا- ألبا : من الجدة الي ابنة الحفيدة كلهن تقاسمن اسماء معناها : البياض و النصاعة و الكشف..و بالفعل لم تكن احداهن تضمر عكس ما تظهر بل كن واضحات دوما؛ تقاسمن البساطة و عدم التكلف و احيانا" العبط" ..نيفيا الجدة "النسوية"وضعتهن على طريق الاستقلال والعطاء و فعل الخير و مشاركة الاخرين الامهم ؛
منهن من وظفت جهودها لاهداف انسانية/سياسية مثل نيفيا و البا
اما كلارا و بلانكا كانا اكثر عطاء للبسطاء مباشرة
مفتاحهن : الحب
تمنيت ان اكون كلارا نافذة البصيرة المقتبسة من شخصية جدة ايزابيل الليندى ؛ و لكن للاسف اقربهم لشخصيتى : بلانكا
☆ ☆ روسا
اجمل مخلوقة ولدت على ظهر الارض منذ ازمنة الخطيئة " كما صرخت القابلة لدى رؤية جمالها المبهر ..حورية الثلاثية و تمثل السعادة المستحيلة و الاحلام المجهضة ؛ و كل ما هو ليس مسموحا لنا بامتلاكه على الارض..جمالها البحري الطابع يؤكد ان الخلاص دوما يكون بعيدا عن التراب و اقرب للماء بطهارته
💣 ايستبان تروبيا
انه الرجل الذي تذبل النباتات عند.دخوله
الاسد الغضوب؛ العصامي الفاشي؛الدكتاتور الساخط الاقطاعي الابدي
سليل العائلة المالكة في بيرو و الذي تدفا في طفولته بورق الصحف و مشي اميال لانه لا يملك اجر الترام فصار عزيز قوم ذل ..سكنه الغضب من ابيه و من خسارته الفادحة لروسا في يوم انتصاره على الفقر ؛و اخرج مرارته قيحا و صديدا عنيفا على كل من يجده اقل منه و تجلي في رحلات اصطياده لفتيات ضيعته الذين كان يراهن ملك يمينه كعادة اقطاعي القرون الغابرة؛ حتى احب كلارا ..و من الذي لا يحب كلارا؟
أعطته الدنيا السلطة و المال باليمين واخذت منه بالشمال حرمته الرؤية العادلة و حب زوجته و ابناؤه؛ و حرمه طبعه السيء من حب معظم من قابله حتى تضاءل عند تاكده من أخطائه متأخرا و انا من المؤمنين بمبدأ باريتو 80/20 و هو كان يمنح العشرين % الطيبة منه لروسا و كلارا و البا فقط و الباقين لا يستحقون منه الا :طبعه السيء
مفتاح شخصيته : الكبر
¤¤¤¤ فيوريلا تروبيا
عندما يفوت القطار تختل القرارات و الأولويات و قد يدهسنا
هي و اخيها كانا ضحية دم فاسد ورثاه من ابيهما المستهتر الذي كان له اثرا مدمرا على تلك الاسرة الاكثر تعقيدا عبر الادب و تجلى فساد الاصل بكل قسوة في شخصية الحفيد السادى ايستبان جارسيا /تروبيا
* بيدرو غارسيا
- * ميغيل
*الشاعر= نيرودا
الثائر الهتيف المخلص لمبادئه الذى ينادى بحقوق مهدرة فيهدر حياته هو و من حوله ..فقط لكي يفهم الاغبياء ابسط حقوقهم
مفتاحهم : العدل
-خايمي
-سلفادور الليندى
كانت شخصية الطبيب المتفاني الاشتراكي :خايمي تروبيا انعكاس لرئيس تشيللي المغتال سلفادور الليندى الطبيب الجراح الذي صار اول رئيس يساري منتخب في امريكا اللاتينية و كان الربع الاخير من الرواية مكرسا لخطوات الانقلاب العسكري عليه والذي راح ضحيته ربع مليون من بلد تعداده 2 مليون فقط
و بعد فوات الأوان فهم الكل انهم في سفينة وطن واحدة و سيدفعون الثمن معا ..و ندم من شاركوا فيه اجمعين فيما بعد
و قد اعادت ايزابيل تفصيل هذا النمط في نموذج الطبيب: تاو شين في صورة عتيقة لتؤكد ان الخير كان و سيبقى و سيستمر
و بكثافة لا تصدق في السرد قد تخنق البعض ؛ و بجراة الليندى في عرض ما هو مسكوت عنه بلغة اخاذة و اسرة في مطلع الثمانينات؛ مهدت الطريق لادب متكامل نفتقده
لتؤكد ان "الرواية" واحدة من أكبر التعويضات الممتعة التي استطاع الإنسان ابتكارها حتى الآن..
شاركت الثلاثية مع صحبة رائعة من الجوودريدز و الاجمل انها ازدادت عددا بمرور الاجزاء فزادت القراءة متعة على متعة
اشكركم ♡
December 22, 2021
(Book 276 from 1001 books) - La Casa De Los Espíritus = The House of The Spirits, Isabel Allende
The House of the Spirits, is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best seller, was critically acclaimed, and catapulted Allende to literary stardom. The novel was named Best Novel of the Year in Chile in 1982, and Allende received the country's Panorama Literario award. The House of the Spirits has been translated into over 37 languages.
The story details the life of the Trueba family, spanning four generations, and tracing the post-colonial social and political upheavals of Chile – though the country's name, and the names of figures closely paralleling historical ones, such as "the President" or "the Poet", are never explicitly given. The story is told mainly from the perspective of two protagonists (Esteban and Alba) and incorporates elements of magical realism.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «خانه ارواح»؛ «خانه اشباح»؛ نویسنده: ایزابل آلنده؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و چهارم ماه آگوست سال2009میلادی
عنوان: خانه ارواح؛ نویسنده: ایزابل آلنده؛ مترجم: حشمت کامرانی؛ تهران، نشر قطره، سال1368، در656ص؛ شابک9643410218؛ چاپ دوم سال1377؛ چاپ سوم سال1379؛ چاپ ششم سال1385؛ شابک9789643410216؛ چاپ هفتم سال1395، در580ص؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان شیلی به زبان اسپانیا - سده20م؛
عنوان: خانه اشباح؛ نویسنده: ایزابل آلنده؛ مترجم: عبدالرحمن صدریه؛ تهران، نشر فردوس، سال1377؛ در515ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، دادار، شابک ایکس-964729414؛
ایزابل آلنده، برادرزاده ی «سالوادور آلنده»، رئیس جمهور درگذشته ی «شیلی»، در سال1942میلادی زاده شدند؛ پس از کودتای نظامی در «شیلی»، ایشان کشور را ترک کردند، و پس از یک سلسله مبارزات مردم، علیه دیکتاتوری «پینوشه»، و برکناری او، همراه بسیاری دیگر از مبارزان، و هنرمندان، به «شیلی» بازگشتند؛ «خانه ی ارواح» مهمترین، و نامداررین رمان ایشانست، که یکی از آثار مهم ادبیات «آمریکای لاتین» به شمار میرود، و تاکنون به زبانهای بسیاری ترجمه شده است
نقل از متن: (خانه ارواح: «نانا» همچنان برجای ایستاده بود، و دستهای چلیپا شده اش، شالش را بر سینه نگه داشته بود، «سورو» به نیمکت اشاره کرد، و «نانا» شرمگینانه جلو آمد، و کنارش نشست؛ از زمانیکه «نانا»، در خانه ی «سورو» زیسته بود، این اولین بار بود که اینهمه به اربابش نزدیک میشد؛ «سورو» برای خود و او، دو لیوان باده ریخت، و جام خویش را لاجرعه سر کشید؛ سر را میان دو دست گرفت، موهایش را چنگ میزد و با دندانهای به هم فشرده، دعایی غریب را زمزمه میکرد؛ «نانا» که شق ورق بر لبه ی نیمکت نشسته بود، وقتی گریه ی وی را دید، راحت نشست، و دست زمخت و پر ترکش را، دراز کرد، و با همان لطفی که بچه های وی را، در طول بیست سال گذشته، تر و خشک کرده بود، با یک حرکت خود به خودی موهای «سورو» را مرتب کرد؛ «سورو» سر برداشت، و وقتی به این چهره ی جوان نما و استخوانهای گونه ی سرخ پوستی، و گیسوی گره شده، و دامان پهناورش نگریست، که همه ی زاد و رودش روی آن آروغ زده، جنبیده و به خواب رفته اند؛ احساس کرد این زن که به اندازه خود زمین، گرم و بخشایشگر است، میتواند او را تسلی دهد؛ پیشانیش را بر دامن او نهاد، و بوی خوش پیشبند آهاردارش را بویید، و چون پسرکی به هق هق افتاد، و همه ی اشکهایی را که در مقام یک مرد، در طول زندگیش نگه دا��ته بود، سرازیر کرد؛ «نانا» پشت وی را خاراند، و آرام تپ تپ به پشتش زد، و با زبانی که بچه های کوچک را میخواباند، با او حرف زد، و ترانه ای روستایی برایش خواند، تا آرام شد؛ همچنان در کنار هم نشسته بودند، و باده مینوشیدند و گهگاه که روزهای خوشی را، به یاد میآوردند، میگریستند؛ روزهای خوشی که «رزا» درون باغ میدوید، و پروانه ها را، از زیباییش، که تنها از ژرفای دریا میتوانست مایه گرفته باشد، میترساند؛ دکتر «کوئواس» و دستیارش در آشپزخانه، آلات و ادوات خوفناک، و کوزه های بدبو را آماده کردند؛ پیش بندهای لاستیکی پوشیدند، و آستینهایشان را بالا زدند، و پنهانیترین قسمتهای بدن «رزا» را زیرورو کردند، تا آنکه بدون کمترین تردیدی ثابت کردند، که دختر مقدار زیادی مرگ موش خورده است، دکتر ضمن شستن دستهایش در ظرفشویی، چنین نتیجه گیری کرد: ـ «قرار بوده زهر را سورو بخورد.»؛ دستیار که از زیبایی دختر جوان بیطاقت شده بود، نمیتوانست به رها کردن دختر، در آنحالت، که مثل نیم تنه ای دوخته شده مینمود، تن در دهد، و به دکتر پیشنهاد کرد، اندکی آن را مرتب کنند؛ آن دو مرد، برای حفظ جسد از تباهی، به کار روغن زدن و مالیدن خمیر مخصوص کفن و دفن پرداختند، و تا ساعت چهار صبح کار کردند، تا آنکه دکتر «کوئواس» گفت، آنقدر خسته و غمگین است، که نمیتواند کار را ادامه دهد؛ از آشپزخانه بیرون رفت، و «رزا» زیر دست دستیار باقی ماند؛ و او لکه های خون روی پوستش را، با اسفنج پاک کرد، لباس خواب گلدوزی شده اش را، روی سینه اش گذاشت، تا بریدگی از گلوگاه، تا عضو مادینگی اش را بپوشاند، و موهایش را مرتب کرد؛ سپس به جمع و جور کردن درهم برهمیهایی، که خودش و دکتر، به وجود آورده بودند، پرداخت؛ دکتر «کوئواس» وارد اتاق نشیمن شد، و «سورو» و «نانا» را دید، که از گریه و باده نیمه مست شده اند، و گفت: «ـ حاضر است؛ تا اندازه ای مرتبش کرده ایم، طوری که مادرش میتواند برود تو و نگاهش کند.»؛ دکتر به «سورو» گفت که تردیدهایش به جا بوده است، و در معده ی دختر همان ماده ی کشنده ای را یافته است، که در عرق پیشکشی موجود بوده است؛ آنوقت بود که «سورو» به یاد پیشگویی «کلارا» افتاد، و همه ی آرامش باقیمانده اش را از دست داد، زیرا نمیتوانست فکر کند که دخترش به جای او مرده است؛ خود را بر کف اتاق افکند، و نالید، که به خاطر جاه طلبی، و لاف و گزافهایش گناهکار است، هیچکس به وی نگفته وارد سیاست شود، در مقام یک حقوقدان معمولی، و مرد خانه، وضع بسیار خوبی داشته، و از این پس کاندیداتوری شومش را رها میکند، و از حزب لیبرال و فعالیتهای اجتماعی دست میکشد، و امیدوار است هیچ یک از فرزندانش هرگز وارد سیاست نشوند، که کاری است لایق قصابان، و دزدان سرگردنه؛ تا آنکه دل دکتر «کوئواس»، به رحم آمد و لطف کرد و او را مست کرد؛ مشروب از درد و رنج و گناهش قویتر بود؛ «نانا» و دکتر او را به بالا، به اتاقش خوابش بردند و لباسهایش را کندند، و توی رختخوابش خواباندند؛ سپس به آشپزخانه برگشتند، که دستیار آخرین دستکاریها را بر جسد «رزا» انجام میداد؛ «نیوآ» و «سورو» دل واله فردا صبح دیر بیدار شدند؛ خویشاوندان نشانه های عزا به خانه آویخته بودند؛ پرده ها را کشیده، و نوارهای درشت سیاه به آن زده بودند؛ دیوارها پر شده بود از دسته گلهایی که بوی خوش بیمارکننده شان، راهروها را آکنده بود؛ در اتاق ناهارخوری، نمازخانه ی کوچکی، برای مراسم تشییع برپا کرده بودند؛ در آنجا روی میز بزرگ، که پارچه ای سیاه با حاشیه های طلایی آن را پوشانده بود، تابوت سفید «رزا» با گل میخهای نقره ای قرار داشت؛ دوازده شمع زرد در شمعدانیهای مفرغی نوری کدر بر دختر میافکند؛ لباس عروسی تنش کرده بودند، و با تاجی مومی، به شکل گل بهارنارنج، که برای روز عروسیش کنار گذاشته بودند، موهایش را آراسته بودند)؛ پایان نقل از متن کتاب
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 30/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 30/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
The House of the Spirits, is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best seller, was critically acclaimed, and catapulted Allende to literary stardom. The novel was named Best Novel of the Year in Chile in 1982, and Allende received the country's Panorama Literario award. The House of the Spirits has been translated into over 37 languages.
The story details the life of the Trueba family, spanning four generations, and tracing the post-colonial social and political upheavals of Chile – though the country's name, and the names of figures closely paralleling historical ones, such as "the President" or "the Poet", are never explicitly given. The story is told mainly from the perspective of two protagonists (Esteban and Alba) and incorporates elements of magical realism.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «خانه ارواح»؛ «خانه اشباح»؛ نویسنده: ایزابل آلنده؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و چهارم ماه آگوست سال2009میلادی
عنوان: خانه ارواح؛ نویسنده: ایزابل آلنده؛ مترجم: حشمت کامرانی؛ تهران، نشر قطره، سال1368، در656ص؛ شابک9643410218؛ چاپ دوم سال1377؛ چاپ سوم سال1379؛ چاپ ششم سال1385؛ شابک9789643410216؛ چاپ هفتم سال1395، در580ص؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان شیلی به زبان اسپانیا - سده20م؛
عنوان: خانه اشباح؛ نویسنده: ایزابل آلنده؛ مترجم: عبدالرحمن صدریه؛ تهران، نشر فردوس، سال1377؛ در515ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، دادار، شابک ایکس-964729414؛
ایزابل آلنده، برادرزاده ی «سالوادور آلنده»، رئیس جمهور درگذشته ی «شیلی»، در سال1942میلادی زاده شدند؛ پس از کودتای نظامی در «شیلی»، ایشان کشور را ترک کردند، و پس از یک سلسله مبارزات مردم، علیه دیکتاتوری «پینوشه»، و برکناری او، همراه بسیاری دیگر از مبارزان، و هنرمندان، به «شیلی» بازگشتند؛ «خانه ی ارواح» مهمترین، و نامداررین رمان ایشانست، که یکی از آثار مهم ادبیات «آمریکای لاتین» به شمار میرود، و تاکنون به زبانهای بسیاری ترجمه شده است
نقل از متن: (خانه ارواح: «نانا» همچنان برجای ایستاده بود، و دستهای چلیپا شده اش، شالش را بر سینه نگه داشته بود، «سورو» به نیمکت اشاره کرد، و «نانا» شرمگینانه جلو آمد، و کنارش نشست؛ از زمانیکه «نانا»، در خانه ی «سورو» زیسته بود، این اولین بار بود که اینهمه به اربابش نزدیک میشد؛ «سورو» برای خود و او، دو لیوان باده ریخت، و جام خویش را لاجرعه سر کشید؛ سر را میان دو دست گرفت، موهایش را چنگ میزد و با دندانهای به هم فشرده، دعایی غریب را زمزمه میکرد؛ «نانا» که شق ورق بر لبه ی نیمکت نشسته بود، وقتی گریه ی وی را دید، راحت نشست، و دست زمخت و پر ترکش را، دراز کرد، و با همان لطفی که بچه های وی را، در طول بیست سال گذشته، تر و خشک کرده بود، با یک حرکت خود به خودی موهای «سورو» را مرتب کرد؛ «سورو» سر برداشت، و وقتی به این چهره ی جوان نما و استخوانهای گونه ی سرخ پوستی، و گیسوی گره شده، و دامان پهناورش نگریست، که همه ی زاد و رودش روی آن آروغ زده، جنبیده و به خواب رفته اند؛ احساس کرد این زن که به اندازه خود زمین، گرم و بخشایشگر است، میتواند او را تسلی دهد؛ پیشانیش را بر دامن او نهاد، و بوی خوش پیشبند آهاردارش را بویید، و چون پسرکی به هق هق افتاد، و همه ی اشکهایی را که در مقام یک مرد، در طول زندگیش نگه دا��ته بود، سرازیر کرد؛ «نانا» پشت وی را خاراند، و آرام تپ تپ به پشتش زد، و با زبانی که بچه های کوچک را میخواباند، با او حرف زد، و ترانه ای روستایی برایش خواند، تا آرام شد؛ همچنان در کنار هم نشسته بودند، و باده مینوشیدند و گهگاه که روزهای خوشی را، به یاد میآوردند، میگریستند؛ روزهای خوشی که «رزا» درون باغ میدوید، و پروانه ها را، از زیباییش، که تنها از ژرفای دریا میتوانست مایه گرفته باشد، میترساند؛ دکتر «کوئواس» و دستیارش در آشپزخانه، آلات و ادوات خوفناک، و کوزه های بدبو را آماده کردند؛ پیش بندهای لاستیکی پوشیدند، و آستینهایشان را بالا زدند، و پنهانیترین قسمتهای بدن «رزا» را زیرورو کردند، تا آنکه بدون کمترین تردیدی ثابت کردند، که دختر مقدار زیادی مرگ موش خورده است، دکتر ضمن شستن دستهایش در ظرفشویی، چنین نتیجه گیری کرد: ـ «قرار بوده زهر را سورو بخورد.»؛ دستیار که از زیبایی دختر جوان بیطاقت شده بود، نمیتوانست به رها کردن دختر، در آنحالت، که مثل نیم تنه ای دوخته شده مینمود، تن در دهد، و به دکتر پیشنهاد کرد، اندکی آن را مرتب کنند؛ آن دو مرد، برای حفظ جسد از تباهی، به کار روغن زدن و مالیدن خمیر مخصوص کفن و دفن پرداختند، و تا ساعت چهار صبح کار کردند، تا آنکه دکتر «کوئواس» گفت، آنقدر خسته و غمگین است، که نمیتواند کار را ادامه دهد؛ از آشپزخانه بیرون رفت، و «رزا» زیر دست دستیار باقی ماند؛ و او لکه های خون روی پوستش را، با اسفنج پاک کرد، لباس خواب گلدوزی شده اش را، روی سینه اش گذاشت، تا بریدگی از گلوگاه، تا عضو مادینگی اش را بپوشاند، و موهایش را مرتب کرد؛ سپس به جمع و جور کردن درهم برهمیهایی، که خودش و دکتر، به وجود آورده بودند، پرداخت؛ دکتر «کوئواس» وارد اتاق نشیمن شد، و «سورو» و «نانا» را دید، که از گریه و باده نیمه مست شده اند، و گفت: «ـ حاضر است؛ تا اندازه ای مرتبش کرده ایم، طوری که مادرش میتواند برود تو و نگاهش کند.»؛ دکتر به «سورو» گفت که تردیدهایش به جا بوده است، و در معده ی دختر همان ماده ی کشنده ای را یافته است، که در عرق پیشکشی موجود بوده است؛ آنوقت بود که «سورو» به یاد پیشگویی «کلارا» افتاد، و همه ی آرامش باقیمانده اش را از دست داد، زیرا نمیتوانست فکر کند که دخترش به جای او مرده است؛ خود را بر کف اتاق افکند، و نالید، که به خاطر جاه طلبی، و لاف و گزافهایش گناهکار است، هیچکس به وی نگفته وارد سیاست شود، در مقام یک حقوقدان معمولی، و مرد خانه، وضع بسیار خوبی داشته، و از این پس کاندیداتوری شومش را رها میکند، و از حزب لیبرال و فعالیتهای اجتماعی دست میکشد، و امیدوار است هیچ یک از فرزندانش هرگز وارد سیاست نشوند، که کاری است لایق قصابان، و دزدان سرگردنه؛ تا آنکه دل دکتر «کوئواس»، به رحم آمد و لطف کرد و او را مست کرد؛ مشروب از درد و رنج و گناهش قویتر بود؛ «نانا» و دکتر او را به بالا، به اتاقش خوابش بردند و لباسهایش را کندند، و توی رختخوابش خواباندند؛ سپس به آشپزخانه برگشتند، که دستیار آخرین دستکاریها را بر جسد «رزا» انجام میداد؛ «نیوآ» و «سورو» دل واله فردا صبح دیر بیدار شدند؛ خویشاوندان نشانه های عزا به خانه آویخته بودند؛ پرده ها را کشیده، و نوارهای درشت سیاه به آن زده بودند؛ دیوارها پر شده بود از دسته گلهایی که بوی خوش بیمارکننده شان، راهروها را آکنده بود؛ در اتاق ناهارخوری، نمازخانه ی کوچکی، برای مراسم تشییع برپا کرده بودند؛ در آنجا روی میز بزرگ، که پارچه ای سیاه با حاشیه های طلایی آن را پوشانده بود، تابوت سفید «رزا» با گل میخهای نقره ای قرار داشت؛ دوازده شمع زرد در شمعدانیهای مفرغی نوری کدر بر دختر میافکند؛ لباس عروسی تنش کرده بودند، و با تاجی مومی، به شکل گل بهارنارنج، که برای روز عروسیش کنار گذاشته بودند، موهایش را آراسته بودند)؛ پایان نقل از متن کتاب
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 30/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 30/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
August 17, 2024
☀️ The novel is relentless and brutal, moving us on in a breakneck kind of way. The author takes few breaths herself and we hurtle with little air through the dark tunnels of her tale. If you are able to bear the weight of her words, and the beauty, pain and savagery that afflicts every character, you will find a redemptive element at the very end where and when you least expect it. Just remember her family history, for I set that aside as I read, so that the final 100 pages hit me as if the sky had fallen in.
Not for everyone. Those who can bear up under its fierce agonies and ecstasies will, I hope, see what they need to see and find what they need to find.
☀️The author is 80 now. Soon I will pick up Paula, which is her story of her life, for it has remained waiting on my bookshelf a number of years, aware there would be a right moment.
Not for everyone. Those who can bear up under its fierce agonies and ecstasies will, I hope, see what they need to see and find what they need to find.
☀️The author is 80 now. Soon I will pick up Paula, which is her story of her life, for it has remained waiting on my bookshelf a number of years, aware there would be a right moment.
December 28, 2009
2.5 stars, actually. (Still waiting for Goodreads to give me that half-star option.) Let's be honest, Isabel Allende is chick lit that you're not embarrassed to read on the Metro. It's got just enough faux-Garcia-Marquez, magical-realism-lite charm to fool people into thinking it's moderately intellectual. I don't have a big problem with that (as long as people realize what's going on) because Allende is a fine storyteller. This novel, her first and most famous, is a fairly traditional family saga following three generations of an upper-class Chilean family from the early 20th century to the Pinochet era. The writing is lovely throughout, with vivid descriptions particularly of places and characters' physical surroundings.
The book's weak spot, however, is characterization. For a genre that depends so much on having the reader care deeply about the characters, Allende does a pretty poor job accomplishing that. I think her main problem is that she hadn't quite yet mastered the "show, don't tell" rule of writing. Instead of revealing Esteban Trueba's stubbornness and pride through his actions, she'd just tell us, "Esteban Trueba was stubborn and proud." It was mostly unconvincing and made many of the characters seem flat and two-dimensional, and you never really got that important sense of who they were as people.
Other problems: Allende has always been an author who writes about strong women, but the women in this book, not so much. I mean, when one male character beats his wife until her teeth fall out, her response (depicted as brave by the narrator) is to not talk to him for a couple years. Silence is the author's idea of female empowerment and resistance - huh? Anyway, on top of that, the only sections of first-person narration in the novel are from the point of view of the patriarch. So, yeah, problematic on that level. And just a nitpick, but she way overuses foreshadowing. Dramatically hinting at what's going to happen a few chapters on is effective once or twice, but not over and over.
Well, I realize it sounds like I hated the book, but as a story it was pretty enjoyable. At least the first half. The second half, which tracks Chilean politics and real-life events through Salvador Allende's election and Pinochet's military coup, is uninteresting and unsurprising to anyone who knows anything about 20th century Chilean history. But the first half, which is more of a romantic love story, is pretty good. I'm keeping this at 3 stars for the soft spot I have for Allende's later books, which tell stories that are (I think) more unique and compelling.
P.S. Sorry for the long review, but I spent a full month reading this book in Spanish so I feel like I've got to get my money's worth, so to speak.
The book's weak spot, however, is characterization. For a genre that depends so much on having the reader care deeply about the characters, Allende does a pretty poor job accomplishing that. I think her main problem is that she hadn't quite yet mastered the "show, don't tell" rule of writing. Instead of revealing Esteban Trueba's stubbornness and pride through his actions, she'd just tell us, "Esteban Trueba was stubborn and proud." It was mostly unconvincing and made many of the characters seem flat and two-dimensional, and you never really got that important sense of who they were as people.
Other problems: Allende has always been an author who writes about strong women, but the women in this book, not so much. I mean, when one male character beats his wife until her teeth fall out, her response (depicted as brave by the narrator) is to not talk to him for a couple years. Silence is the author's idea of female empowerment and resistance - huh? Anyway, on top of that, the only sections of first-person narration in the novel are from the point of view of the patriarch. So, yeah, problematic on that level. And just a nitpick, but she way overuses foreshadowing. Dramatically hinting at what's going to happen a few chapters on is effective once or twice, but not over and over.
Well, I realize it sounds like I hated the book, but as a story it was pretty enjoyable. At least the first half. The second half, which tracks Chilean politics and real-life events through Salvador Allende's election and Pinochet's military coup, is uninteresting and unsurprising to anyone who knows anything about 20th century Chilean history. But the first half, which is more of a romantic love story, is pretty good. I'm keeping this at 3 stars for the soft spot I have for Allende's later books, which tell stories that are (I think) more unique and compelling.
P.S. Sorry for the long review, but I spent a full month reading this book in Spanish so I feel like I've got to get my money's worth, so to speak.
January 14, 2023
Why I chose to read this book:
1. I love Isabel Allende's writing style; and,
2. since February 2022 is my self-appointed "Classics Month", Allende's debut novel must be included!
How does one write a review for an epic book such as this that others haven't already said? I will try by sharing my humble personal thoughts.
Positives:
1. Allende's unique gift of telling the saga of one Chilean family, combining magical realism with authenticity, is incredibly awe-inspiring in its look into humanity. For the first two-thirds of the book, Allende builds the domestic history of her characters and then expertly weaves them into the frightening political upheaval of their homeland in the final third;
2. Allende believably makes destiny and karma a huge part with her strong characters, especially with, in my opinion, the despicable Estaban Trueba. Her depiction of this patriarch shows that no matter how powerful you are, how horrific you act, events and actions from your past can still bring you to your knees; and,
3. I felt like I was living through Allende's vivid descriptions of Chile's political history from the 1930s to the 1970s, the land, both in the city and in the country, and the homes and lives of her characters.
Personally, this book, especially the final chapters, really hit me hard. Although it took me several days to read it, I will be remembering this story for a long time.
A new favorite by Allende!
1. I love Isabel Allende's writing style; and,
2. since February 2022 is my self-appointed "Classics Month", Allende's debut novel must be included!
How does one write a review for an epic book such as this that others haven't already said? I will try by sharing my humble personal thoughts.
Positives:
1. Allende's unique gift of telling the saga of one Chilean family, combining magical realism with authenticity, is incredibly awe-inspiring in its look into humanity. For the first two-thirds of the book, Allende builds the domestic history of her characters and then expertly weaves them into the frightening political upheaval of their homeland in the final third;
2. Allende believably makes destiny and karma a huge part with her strong characters, especially with, in my opinion, the despicable Estaban Trueba. Her depiction of this patriarch shows that no matter how powerful you are, how horrific you act, events and actions from your past can still bring you to your knees; and,
3. I felt like I was living through Allende's vivid descriptions of Chile's political history from the 1930s to the 1970s, the land, both in the city and in the country, and the homes and lives of her characters.
Personally, this book, especially the final chapters, really hit me hard. Although it took me several days to read it, I will be remembering this story for a long time.
A new favorite by Allende!
April 21, 2024
It is a historical and fantastic novel; I admit that it left me perplexed and that I started reading this intrigued, not sure if I liked it. Well, I won! This mix of genres, coupled with Isabel Allende's talents as a storyteller, takes us to a South American country (Chile is never named) from the beginning of the 20th century to the dictatorship. We discussed many subjects, and the characters are very complex; the magic is present without heaviness. An interesting and pleasant reading!
May 2, 2023
"In almost every family there’s a fool or a crazy person."
—Isabel Allende
The House of the Spirits is set in the capital of an unnamed Latin American country during the twentieth century, and that is where I first met the del Valles.
Patriarch, Severo del Valle, has lofty political aspirations, but his magical, out-of-control family doesn’t quite conform to his ideals, leading to conflicts that are both laughable and tragic. Unworldly Rosa del Valle, the oldest daughter, is graced with a splendor unmatched by any other, setting one young man on a quest to make her his own. Esteban Trueba is an unlikely beau for Rosa the Beautiful, and their coming together is a stone thrown into the glassy surface of a mystical pond, whose ripples will radiate through generations.
"I don’t generally spend my time thinking about women," mused Trueba, "but only a fool could have failed to spot that apparition, who caused a stir wherever she went, and tied up traffic, with her incredible green hair, which framed her face like a fantastic hat, her fairy-tale manner, and her special way of moving as if she were flying."
Soon, the hopeful paramour finds the path to love is hard-won, and when heaven proves to be too far away, Trueba turns his eye toward more-earthly acquisitions.
In his quest for riches, he paves a six-lane highway straight to the gates of Hades. Hearts in turmoil are invariably a bloody affair, whether this represents the heart of a country on the cusp of a Coup d'état or a love that can never be realized.
"She felt that everything was made of glass, as fragile as a sigh, and that the machine-gun fire and bombs of that unforgettable Tuesday had destroyed most of what she knew, and that all the rest had been smashed to pieces and spattered with blood."
Though the story is awash with strong women having to survive misogyny and adversity, Allende has a gift of tempering tragedy with just enough comedy to keep the storyline electrifying. Emotional, raw, and spirited, this magical realism book was just my cup of tea.
Thank you, Kevin! Your fabulous review convinced me to read this marvelous tale.
—Isabel Allende
The House of the Spirits is set in the capital of an unnamed Latin American country during the twentieth century, and that is where I first met the del Valles.
Patriarch, Severo del Valle, has lofty political aspirations, but his magical, out-of-control family doesn’t quite conform to his ideals, leading to conflicts that are both laughable and tragic. Unworldly Rosa del Valle, the oldest daughter, is graced with a splendor unmatched by any other, setting one young man on a quest to make her his own. Esteban Trueba is an unlikely beau for Rosa the Beautiful, and their coming together is a stone thrown into the glassy surface of a mystical pond, whose ripples will radiate through generations.
"I don’t generally spend my time thinking about women," mused Trueba, "but only a fool could have failed to spot that apparition, who caused a stir wherever she went, and tied up traffic, with her incredible green hair, which framed her face like a fantastic hat, her fairy-tale manner, and her special way of moving as if she were flying."
Soon, the hopeful paramour finds the path to love is hard-won, and when heaven proves to be too far away, Trueba turns his eye toward more-earthly acquisitions.
In his quest for riches, he paves a six-lane highway straight to the gates of Hades. Hearts in turmoil are invariably a bloody affair, whether this represents the heart of a country on the cusp of a Coup d'état or a love that can never be realized.
"She felt that everything was made of glass, as fragile as a sigh, and that the machine-gun fire and bombs of that unforgettable Tuesday had destroyed most of what she knew, and that all the rest had been smashed to pieces and spattered with blood."
Though the story is awash with strong women having to survive misogyny and adversity, Allende has a gift of tempering tragedy with just enough comedy to keep the storyline electrifying. Emotional, raw, and spirited, this magical realism book was just my cup of tea.
Thank you, Kevin! Your fabulous review convinced me to read this marvelous tale.
June 10, 2023
The house of Spirits by Isabel Allende, is a sweeping and epic story which chronicles the lives, fortunes, torment and rise and fall of three generations of the Trueba-del Valle family, in Latin America.
The early part of the book focuses on Rosa the beautiful and Clara the clairvoyant and their lives in a simple but stable home. In parallel, the story of Esteban Trueba begins, the central male character, whose brutality and cruelty are brought into sharp focus through his treatment of his land tenants. Esteban is a man who lacks principles has conquered a lot of women and fathered several children through force but sets himself up as the perfect landlord who has rebuilt the local community and provided stability for its people.
After predicting the death of her sister Rosa, Clare remains silent for 9 years, only speaking again to announce her marriage to Esteban Trueba. Despite giving birth to a daughter Blanca and twin sons Jaime and Nicolas, Clara too suffers at the hands of this fierce and brutish man. However, it is only after a violent confrontation with Blanca’s lover, Pedro Tercero, that the relationship with Esteban breaks down and Clara leaves vowing to not speak with him again. Whilst they are together the relationship never recovers.
The family relocate to the city and move into the Trueba's 'House on the Corner' but the conflict within the family continues with Esteban's arrogance taking him into conservative politics and Alba following the path of the revolutionaries and Miguel, the leader. The story of this family echoes the change in ideologies and turbulence that shaped Latin America, but tragedy is never far away and this is where the story comes to a climax and ends. “…The sins of the father are passed to the children” an underlying theme that plays brilliantly in this book.
Favourite quotes
“This is to assuage our conscience, darling" she would explain to Blanca. "But it doesn't help the poor. They don't need charity; they need justice”
“But why give a man something that is so hard to earn? In that respect women are really thick. They are daughters of rigidity…. They forgive him everything because he is a man”
“You can find someone who doesn’t want to be found”.
Review and Comments
The House of Spirits is the ultimate story of good versus evil, where aberration meets normality, cruelty is overshadowed by inner strength and resolve, and where brutality, pride, self love and egotism in many of the men is contrasted to the resilience, courage and endurance of many of the women in this very patriarchal society.
There is an array of powerful characters, multiple plots and stories, a mix of tragedy, love, conflict, and survival that grabs at the readers heart and is written by a superb author making this a true 20th Century classic for me.
A very unapologetic feminist story which is daring for the extent to which the author is prepared to shine a light on the oppression of women. Superb for the themes, the timeframe over three decades which is difficult to accomplish, the writing is stunning and the messaging from the book which for me is highly’spirited’.
I love this authors work and this among many of her other books are for everyone who just enjoys a fabulous story.
Epic!!!
The early part of the book focuses on Rosa the beautiful and Clara the clairvoyant and their lives in a simple but stable home. In parallel, the story of Esteban Trueba begins, the central male character, whose brutality and cruelty are brought into sharp focus through his treatment of his land tenants. Esteban is a man who lacks principles has conquered a lot of women and fathered several children through force but sets himself up as the perfect landlord who has rebuilt the local community and provided stability for its people.
After predicting the death of her sister Rosa, Clare remains silent for 9 years, only speaking again to announce her marriage to Esteban Trueba. Despite giving birth to a daughter Blanca and twin sons Jaime and Nicolas, Clara too suffers at the hands of this fierce and brutish man. However, it is only after a violent confrontation with Blanca’s lover, Pedro Tercero, that the relationship with Esteban breaks down and Clara leaves vowing to not speak with him again. Whilst they are together the relationship never recovers.
The family relocate to the city and move into the Trueba's 'House on the Corner' but the conflict within the family continues with Esteban's arrogance taking him into conservative politics and Alba following the path of the revolutionaries and Miguel, the leader. The story of this family echoes the change in ideologies and turbulence that shaped Latin America, but tragedy is never far away and this is where the story comes to a climax and ends. “…The sins of the father are passed to the children” an underlying theme that plays brilliantly in this book.
Favourite quotes
“This is to assuage our conscience, darling" she would explain to Blanca. "But it doesn't help the poor. They don't need charity; they need justice”
“But why give a man something that is so hard to earn? In that respect women are really thick. They are daughters of rigidity…. They forgive him everything because he is a man”
“You can find someone who doesn’t want to be found”.
Review and Comments
The House of Spirits is the ultimate story of good versus evil, where aberration meets normality, cruelty is overshadowed by inner strength and resolve, and where brutality, pride, self love and egotism in many of the men is contrasted to the resilience, courage and endurance of many of the women in this very patriarchal society.
There is an array of powerful characters, multiple plots and stories, a mix of tragedy, love, conflict, and survival that grabs at the readers heart and is written by a superb author making this a true 20th Century classic for me.
A very unapologetic feminist story which is daring for the extent to which the author is prepared to shine a light on the oppression of women. Superb for the themes, the timeframe over three decades which is difficult to accomplish, the writing is stunning and the messaging from the book which for me is highly’spirited’.
I love this authors work and this among many of her other books are for everyone who just enjoys a fabulous story.
Epic!!!
December 17, 2015
4.5/5
Esteban, Trueba,
how does your childhood grow?
With fear and guilt and such hard work
and a love that leaves you low.
In thoughts of grief and thoughts of rage,
and a slump of of broken land,
you will rape your heart out, Esteban,
set life to your demand.
Clara, Clara, clairvoyant,
how does your marriage keep?
With magic silent and so near,
to where your children sleep.
When tragedy has struck your home,
and the bull is in the shop,
reality will find you there,
your disengagement stop.
Humans, humans, high and low,
what does your life move toward?
To riches spun in paradise,
And poor ones marching forward.
When man must strain for food and work,
and women for their life,
the wealth grows lazy in its keep,
and tensions run in strife.
Politics, politics,
what are your true names?
The search for living fair and true,
the beasts of power games.
When fear drives sides to action,
and both believe in might,
lands will burn in suffering;
no one escapes the light.
Esteban, Trueba,
you've lived a life of pride,
planted seeds of cruel revenge,
and harvested in stride.
You are old now, Esteban,
what has your life earned?
A ghost, a house, a granddaughter;
all are scorched and burned.
Esteban, Trueba,
how does your country grow?
With driving out the communists,
or dictators and woe?
When tragedy has snuffed your pride,
and your path is lost in fear,
you'll find your guidance, Esteban;
redemption gathers here.
Reader, reader, reading here,
what is this story read?
A tale of individuals,
Small strainings birthed for dead?
It is one and it is all,
growing evermore,
family framed society;
history at its core.
Reader, reader, what is life,
how does one tell it true?
With torture, fear, and oftentimes,
death of all you knew.
And yet life keeps, and yet life goes,
and strength is found in you,
men of hope, women strong,
love and laughter too.
Esteban, Trueba,
how does your childhood grow?
With fear and guilt and such hard work
and a love that leaves you low.
In thoughts of grief and thoughts of rage,
and a slump of of broken land,
you will rape your heart out, Esteban,
set life to your demand.
Clara, Clara, clairvoyant,
how does your marriage keep?
With magic silent and so near,
to where your children sleep.
When tragedy has struck your home,
and the bull is in the shop,
reality will find you there,
your disengagement stop.
Humans, humans, high and low,
what does your life move toward?
To riches spun in paradise,
And poor ones marching forward.
When man must strain for food and work,
and women for their life,
the wealth grows lazy in its keep,
and tensions run in strife.
Politics, politics,
what are your true names?
The search for living fair and true,
the beasts of power games.
When fear drives sides to action,
and both believe in might,
lands will burn in suffering;
no one escapes the light.
Esteban, Trueba,
you've lived a life of pride,
planted seeds of cruel revenge,
and harvested in stride.
You are old now, Esteban,
what has your life earned?
A ghost, a house, a granddaughter;
all are scorched and burned.
Esteban, Trueba,
how does your country grow?
With driving out the communists,
or dictators and woe?
When tragedy has snuffed your pride,
and your path is lost in fear,
you'll find your guidance, Esteban;
redemption gathers here.
Reader, reader, reading here,
what is this story read?
A tale of individuals,
Small strainings birthed for dead?
It is one and it is all,
growing evermore,
family framed society;
history at its core.
Reader, reader, what is life,
how does one tell it true?
With torture, fear, and oftentimes,
death of all you knew.
And yet life keeps, and yet life goes,
and strength is found in you,
men of hope, women strong,
love and laughter too.
November 15, 2022
5/5 ... 5 estrellas merecidísimas
En tanto preparo una reseña más acorde, y sé que se me están amontonando, haré, al menos, algunos comentarios generales, mientras digiero el poso que me ha dejado el sublime final de la novela.
"Sospecho que todo lo ocurrido no es fortuito, sino que corresponde a un destino dibujado antes de mi nacimiento ... pero ninguna pincelada es inútil" (Alba Satigny Trueba)
"La casa de los espíritus" es una epopeya, que cuenta la historia de la familia sudamericana Trueba-del Valle (claramente chilena, aunque la obra no lo dice en ningún momento), a lo largo de 4 generaciones, siempre pivotando sobre la figura de Clara del Valle (clarísima y clarividente en acertada descripción de su esposo Esteban Trueba), que se superpone a la propia historia del país a lo largo de la mayor parte del siglo XX. Y todo esto contado de una manera magistral por Isabel Allende, que mantiene al lector embelesado durante toda la obra.
Particularmente sublime me ha parecido el final, en el que la autora cierra la novela volviendo al principio de la historia, de una manera natural y nada forzada, dando una sensación de plenitud al lector. Se dice que esta es la obra principal de Isabel Allende, y que no pierde ocasión para revisitar los personajes de esta novela en otras obras. Esto no lo sé pues es la primera obra que le leo, aunque no será la última.
Así que esta semana tendré que buscar tiempo además para ver la película que se rodó sobre la novela, con un elenco de actores de primera magnitud, encabezados por Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Antonio Banderas y Wynona Ryder (ahí es nada), aunque con el inconveniente de sus 2 horas y media de duración.
Me ha parecido una obra totalmente recomendable, con una variedad de géneros que no aburrirá al lector.
En tanto preparo una reseña más acorde, y sé que se me están amontonando, haré, al menos, algunos comentarios generales, mientras digiero el poso que me ha dejado el sublime final de la novela.
"Sospecho que todo lo ocurrido no es fortuito, sino que corresponde a un destino dibujado antes de mi nacimiento ... pero ninguna pincelada es inútil" (Alba Satigny Trueba)
"La casa de los espíritus" es una epopeya, que cuenta la historia de la familia sudamericana Trueba-del Valle (claramente chilena, aunque la obra no lo dice en ningún momento), a lo largo de 4 generaciones, siempre pivotando sobre la figura de Clara del Valle (clarísima y clarividente en acertada descripción de su esposo Esteban Trueba), que se superpone a la propia historia del país a lo largo de la mayor parte del siglo XX. Y todo esto contado de una manera magistral por Isabel Allende, que mantiene al lector embelesado durante toda la obra.
Particularmente sublime me ha parecido el final, en el que la autora cierra la novela volviendo al principio de la historia, de una manera natural y nada forzada, dando una sensación de plenitud al lector. Se dice que esta es la obra principal de Isabel Allende, y que no pierde ocasión para revisitar los personajes de esta novela en otras obras. Esto no lo sé pues es la primera obra que le leo, aunque no será la última.
Así que esta semana tendré que buscar tiempo además para ver la película que se rodó sobre la novela, con un elenco de actores de primera magnitud, encabezados por Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Antonio Banderas y Wynona Ryder (ahí es nada), aunque con el inconveniente de sus 2 horas y media de duración.
Me ha parecido una obra totalmente recomendable, con una variedad de géneros que no aburrirá al lector.
August 2, 2017
رواية رائعة لعائلة على مدى ثلاثة اجيال وتصرفات وأعمال أفراد العائلة حسب تغير الظروف والتقدم الثقافي والاجتماعي في البلاد.
لم تذكر إيزابيل الليندي اسم البلد او المدينة التي تدور فيها الأحداث ولكن هي تشيلي في أمريكا الجنوبية التي حدث بها الزلزال الذي دمر البلاد وحدث بها انقلاب عسكري وحشي.
تبدأ الرواية في زمن الإقطاع وبقايا الاستعمار حيث المالك والفلاحين الذين يقيمون بأرضه ويعملون عنده بالسخرة فقط للقمة العيش والحب بين ابنته واحد الفلاحين لديه .
ثم بداية الديمقراطية التي كان يسيطر عليها الأغنياء ولفترة طويلة سادت بها على الحكم مع بداية المد الاشتراكي والشيوعي وبداية تحرر الشعب من العبودية.
ومرورا بالزلزال والاحداث وتلمصائب التي حلت في البلاد.
وأخيرا انتصار الاشتراكيين بعد الانتخابات وتآمر الأغنياء على هذه الانتخابات واللجوء الى الجيش لعمل الانقلاب وكالعادة عندما يسيطر العسكر فلن تسمع صوتا اخر . والتعذيب والمقاومة كل هذا بأسلوب شيق يجعلك اتباع الأحداث بتشوق لذيذ.
عندما بدأت قراءة الرواية لم أكن اعلم انها الجزء الأخير من ثلاثيته الرائعة كما أفادني بعض الأصدقاء مما شوقني الى قراءة الأجزاء الاخرى وبشوق كبير.
من اروع الروايات وأصبحت إيزابيل الليندي من المفضلات لدي.
لم تذكر إيزابيل الليندي اسم البلد او المدينة التي تدور فيها الأحداث ولكن هي تشيلي في أمريكا الجنوبية التي حدث بها الزلزال الذي دمر البلاد وحدث بها انقلاب عسكري وحشي.
تبدأ الرواية في زمن الإقطاع وبقايا الاستعمار حيث المالك والفلاحين الذين يقيمون بأرضه ويعملون عنده بالسخرة فقط للقمة العيش والحب بين ابنته واحد الفلاحين لديه .
ثم بداية الديمقراطية التي كان يسيطر عليها الأغنياء ولفترة طويلة سادت بها على الحكم مع بداية المد الاشتراكي والشيوعي وبداية تحرر الشعب من العبودية.
ومرورا بالزلزال والاحداث وتلمصائب التي حلت في البلاد.
وأخيرا انتصار الاشتراكيين بعد الانتخابات وتآمر الأغنياء على هذه الانتخابات واللجوء الى الجيش لعمل الانقلاب وكالعادة عندما يسيطر العسكر فلن تسمع صوتا اخر . والتعذيب والمقاومة كل هذا بأسلوب شيق يجعلك اتباع الأحداث بتشوق لذيذ.
عندما بدأت قراءة الرواية لم أكن اعلم انها الجزء الأخير من ثلاثيته الرائعة كما أفادني بعض الأصدقاء مما شوقني الى قراءة الأجزاء الاخرى وبشوق كبير.
من اروع الروايات وأصبحت إيزابيل الليندي من المفضلات لدي.
March 7, 2016
This took me some time to read as I wanted to savour it for as long as possible and not have it end. This is my first Allende novel which depicts an epic story of a Latin American family that spans 3 generations. Weaved throughout are hints of mysticism, history, political unrest, cultural richness along with vivid descriptions of a cast of characters in which some evoke ethereal auras and others violent furies.
Allende’s masterful style of writing is lavish with foreshadowing and thematic contrasts and brings as much satisfaction as a warm toasty fire on a cold winter day. 5 ★
Allende’s masterful style of writing is lavish with foreshadowing and thematic contrasts and brings as much satisfaction as a warm toasty fire on a cold winter day. 5 ★
May 10, 2008
I really wish I could say this is an amazing book, worthy of so much thoughtful praises, etc., but that would just be a lie. Given how much I enjoy good writing—and this book definitely has it all, like a beautifully crafted essay that speaks with prominent characters and conflicts between generations of families—it’s kind of weird for me to say this book is just okay. I mean, the only thing I like from this entire book is the language: the metaphors, descriptions, the lines that sound so poetic and true, and the impressive vocabulary. Everything else? Not so much.
Storyline. Absolutely hate how the story shifts like a timeline of generations. It makes sense that it would cover the entire family from grandfather to granddaughter since it’s a family story, but I hate how little time we get to spend with each character before s/he is whisked off to some other place, and only to return whenever the author feels like it. (That how it looks like to me.) Each chapter is almost devoted to just one or two characters, and I find it really tiring, especially when it’s all about relationships and love that I haven’t really figured out why it exists. It’s written at a speed that makes the character’s love story seem kind of random.
It’s like what I say about the protagonist falling in love with her best friend: when readers start the story, they’re just given the fact that they’ve been through a lot and have been best friends forever, so of course they fall in love. But readers don’t get to see that process, and it’s frustrating to see the point they’re making when the viewers are just like, “Yeah, okay, if you say so.” So the protagonists don’t fall in love with their best friends in this book, but they might as well have. Take Pedro Tercero and Blanca, for instance. Love at first sight. Whoop-de-do. First of all, clichéd. Second of all, no development. Love at first sight is pretty explanatory itself, but how the heck did they grow to love each other so much? One minute, they’re children, the next paragraph; they’re teens trying to express themselves. I hate that we just have to take the basic “Oh, they fell in love the first time they curled up against each other” from the author without really questioning how it happened or why it’s developed into some life-and-death scenario later. I can’t handle reading a relationship that doesn’t express itself in a deeper stand and instead, just tells you, yes, they love each other, yes, they are willing to do for each other, yes, they are having wild and passionate sex. So what if they do all of that? It’s the chemistry and direct message that I will interpret that matters.
Of course, if it was just one couple, I could handle. But the sad thing is that the same goes for Clara and Esteban. Maybe it’s the time period, but the author likes to play with the love at first sight story. That’s how Esteban fell for Clara. And Clara was only in it because of her vision, which makes me more frustrated. If you can see the future, why not change it? For a character that seems pretty strong—yet identified as fragile and beautiful, of all the freaking adjectives to describe women!—she lacks what I hope for in a protagonist. Isabel Allende tries to make her manner seem so unorganized and magical realism that she comes off rather cold and unconvincing. And the fact that she hardly talks, not just her character and her mute phases but the dialogue in the book itself (really, the only one who actually says things throughout the book in conversation form would be Esteban and Transito. I felt they talked more than husband and wife. Ironic much?). Seeing as how they’ve spent years and years together, you’d think I, as a reader, could see something present in their relationship, some sort of depth or attraction, but nope, nothing. I mean, I saw a spark in his relationship with a prostitute rather than Clara, which is just wrong. And, the only one who’s real in here is Esteban, but too bad I find him and his actions revolting. If I were to rate him on a personality scale, it’d be negative, negative 1. In this case, two negatives don’t make a positive, people.
Still continuing with the storyline, I find the political stuff just plain boring. I hate how we’re required to read books that not only talk about religion (like Christianity, which is really getting boring by now. How many more discussion topics about this can I handle before I start to scream?) but also politics. I don’t mind if the authors throw it in here and there, but to put all her characters involved with government conflict? It makes the story so predictable (because it is. You don’t politics never end well) and you know we will all spend a day or two talking about the different sides they’re taking and what a big theme it is. I’m just like, yeah, okay, whatever. I don’t want to end up having to look up the political references that the book mentioned to understand it all, and I don’t want a book that puts so much pressure on generations of families just because they don’t agree with each other. It’s bad enough that people are so passionate about that stuff, when others would very much like to just leave it at whatever’s best for the country, and still find something annoying in a work of fiction. With this topic, it threatens the characters and changes their personalities. Instead of being natural people, they get portrayed as good citizens who want to fight for what they believe in. We all know most people wouldn’t do that. Take the Holocaust, for instance. How much people stood up for Jews then? If I’m reading about a character that has journeyed into this political standing/situation, then I have nothing to complain about. But nope, not the case.
It’s also not about the storyline, but how messed up the characters and the people are. It drives me crazy how the author, out of the blue, tells you what can be expected somewhere down the road. I want to be amazed, shocked, and not told what’s going to happen. (One example would be when Amanda’s picking up Miguel from school and says something about dying for him. Then, the author jumps in with, little did she know that she would have to one day. Random!) And it also makes me nuts whenever characters appear and disappear. Like Transito. She appears early on in the book and vanishes until Esteban’s lust kicks in. And finally, she helps him. Or the Moira Sisters—I can’t even remember the significance they had, just that they were like Clara the Clairvoyant. Oh, just the tiniest thing can frustrate me about this book. I haven’t found one single character that I like. They’re all pigs/rapists, or poor fragile women who can’t stand up for themselves, with the exception of Alba. She realizes in the end that she can’t give up, but the whole pregnancy and don’t know who the father is makes me grimace.
I hate how every generation is about sadness, and how everything bad that can happen, happens to the Trueba/Del Valle family. But that’s story-telling for you, just not realistic.
On a final note, even though it couldn’t have been more than a few weeks, it seemed like I’d been reading this book for months, and those months just dragged on and on, especially since I had the old issue of the book where the pages were yellow and smelled like moth balls and some other unidentifiable thing.
The rating: I would have given it 1 star, but the writing was good, so I decided to be nice.
Storyline. Absolutely hate how the story shifts like a timeline of generations. It makes sense that it would cover the entire family from grandfather to granddaughter since it’s a family story, but I hate how little time we get to spend with each character before s/he is whisked off to some other place, and only to return whenever the author feels like it. (That how it looks like to me.) Each chapter is almost devoted to just one or two characters, and I find it really tiring, especially when it’s all about relationships and love that I haven’t really figured out why it exists. It’s written at a speed that makes the character’s love story seem kind of random.
It’s like what I say about the protagonist falling in love with her best friend: when readers start the story, they’re just given the fact that they’ve been through a lot and have been best friends forever, so of course they fall in love. But readers don’t get to see that process, and it’s frustrating to see the point they’re making when the viewers are just like, “Yeah, okay, if you say so.” So the protagonists don’t fall in love with their best friends in this book, but they might as well have. Take Pedro Tercero and Blanca, for instance. Love at first sight. Whoop-de-do. First of all, clichéd. Second of all, no development. Love at first sight is pretty explanatory itself, but how the heck did they grow to love each other so much? One minute, they’re children, the next paragraph; they’re teens trying to express themselves. I hate that we just have to take the basic “Oh, they fell in love the first time they curled up against each other” from the author without really questioning how it happened or why it’s developed into some life-and-death scenario later. I can’t handle reading a relationship that doesn’t express itself in a deeper stand and instead, just tells you, yes, they love each other, yes, they are willing to do for each other, yes, they are having wild and passionate sex. So what if they do all of that? It’s the chemistry and direct message that I will interpret that matters.
Of course, if it was just one couple, I could handle. But the sad thing is that the same goes for Clara and Esteban. Maybe it’s the time period, but the author likes to play with the love at first sight story. That’s how Esteban fell for Clara. And Clara was only in it because of her vision, which makes me more frustrated. If you can see the future, why not change it? For a character that seems pretty strong—yet identified as fragile and beautiful, of all the freaking adjectives to describe women!—she lacks what I hope for in a protagonist. Isabel Allende tries to make her manner seem so unorganized and magical realism that she comes off rather cold and unconvincing. And the fact that she hardly talks, not just her character and her mute phases but the dialogue in the book itself (really, the only one who actually says things throughout the book in conversation form would be Esteban and Transito. I felt they talked more than husband and wife. Ironic much?). Seeing as how they’ve spent years and years together, you’d think I, as a reader, could see something present in their relationship, some sort of depth or attraction, but nope, nothing. I mean, I saw a spark in his relationship with a prostitute rather than Clara, which is just wrong. And, the only one who’s real in here is Esteban, but too bad I find him and his actions revolting. If I were to rate him on a personality scale, it’d be negative, negative 1. In this case, two negatives don’t make a positive, people.
Still continuing with the storyline, I find the political stuff just plain boring. I hate how we’re required to read books that not only talk about religion (like Christianity, which is really getting boring by now. How many more discussion topics about this can I handle before I start to scream?) but also politics. I don’t mind if the authors throw it in here and there, but to put all her characters involved with government conflict? It makes the story so predictable (because it is. You don’t politics never end well) and you know we will all spend a day or two talking about the different sides they’re taking and what a big theme it is. I’m just like, yeah, okay, whatever. I don’t want to end up having to look up the political references that the book mentioned to understand it all, and I don’t want a book that puts so much pressure on generations of families just because they don’t agree with each other. It’s bad enough that people are so passionate about that stuff, when others would very much like to just leave it at whatever’s best for the country, and still find something annoying in a work of fiction. With this topic, it threatens the characters and changes their personalities. Instead of being natural people, they get portrayed as good citizens who want to fight for what they believe in. We all know most people wouldn’t do that. Take the Holocaust, for instance. How much people stood up for Jews then? If I’m reading about a character that has journeyed into this political standing/situation, then I have nothing to complain about. But nope, not the case.
It’s also not about the storyline, but how messed up the characters and the people are. It drives me crazy how the author, out of the blue, tells you what can be expected somewhere down the road. I want to be amazed, shocked, and not told what’s going to happen. (One example would be when Amanda’s picking up Miguel from school and says something about dying for him. Then, the author jumps in with, little did she know that she would have to one day. Random!) And it also makes me nuts whenever characters appear and disappear. Like Transito. She appears early on in the book and vanishes until Esteban’s lust kicks in. And finally, she helps him. Or the Moira Sisters—I can’t even remember the significance they had, just that they were like Clara the Clairvoyant. Oh, just the tiniest thing can frustrate me about this book. I haven’t found one single character that I like. They’re all pigs/rapists, or poor fragile women who can’t stand up for themselves, with the exception of Alba. She realizes in the end that she can’t give up, but the whole pregnancy and don’t know who the father is makes me grimace.
I hate how every generation is about sadness, and how everything bad that can happen, happens to the Trueba/Del Valle family. But that’s story-telling for you, just not realistic.
On a final note, even though it couldn’t have been more than a few weeks, it seemed like I’d been reading this book for months, and those months just dragged on and on, especially since I had the old issue of the book where the pages were yellow and smelled like moth balls and some other unidentifiable thing.
The rating: I would have given it 1 star, but the writing was good, so I decided to be nice.
March 2, 2017
Wow! If you look up 'epic family dramas, sweeping sagas' you are sure to find the The House of the Spirits at the top of the list. It's hard to capture what this book covers as it covers so much. The story of the three generations of the Trueba family. How their lives have changed over many, many years. Their loves, grief, joy, family, politics, greed, desires, and more. I felt that there was so much heartbreak and tragedy in this story. But I kept thinking about this one....even when I was not reading it. It is beautiful. I wish that I could go back and start it all over again.
Esteban Trueba.....hmmm, he is a monster (I think). Though does he ultimately redeem himself? Clara....a wonderful character, who I wanted to hear more about and her talents. The book touches on magical realism and it was done perfectly, weaved into the lives of each of the Trueba family members. The love between Blanca and Pedro Tercero García....epic. Throw in a government political coup. Oh I want to hear more and more about these wonderful characters.
I listened to this one via audio. There were two narrators - one male, one female. It took me a bit of time to get into the flow of the narration on this one. But once I did, I was captivated. However, I did not care for the male narration as much, from the point of view of Esteban Trueba. To me, I had a picture in my mind of Esteban and how he would speak. And this voice narration was just not him. Esteban was rugged, violent, jealous,.....and the narration was timid and quiet and too laid back. Just a nit-pick on my end. I just found it too jarring when the narration would switch, taking me out of my dream-like trance that I was in listening to this magical book.
A beautiful book that I hope to revisit one day again and savor the details of the wonderful story.
Esteban Trueba.....hmmm, he is a monster (I think). Though does he ultimately redeem himself? Clara....a wonderful character, who I wanted to hear more about and her talents. The book touches on magical realism and it was done perfectly, weaved into the lives of each of the Trueba family members. The love between Blanca and Pedro Tercero García....epic. Throw in a government political coup. Oh I want to hear more and more about these wonderful characters.
I listened to this one via audio. There were two narrators - one male, one female. It took me a bit of time to get into the flow of the narration on this one. But once I did, I was captivated. However, I did not care for the male narration as much, from the point of view of Esteban Trueba. To me, I had a picture in my mind of Esteban and how he would speak. And this voice narration was just not him. Esteban was rugged, violent, jealous,.....and the narration was timid and quiet and too laid back. Just a nit-pick on my end. I just found it too jarring when the narration would switch, taking me out of my dream-like trance that I was in listening to this magical book.
A beautiful book that I hope to revisit one day again and savor the details of the wonderful story.
June 14, 2020
تبدأ في قراءة الرواية في فترة عصيبة، متخذًا قرارك مسبقًا بأنك ستقرأ لأجل المتعة ولا شيء سواها، فلا تركيز على نقاط أو تسجيل لملحوظات أثناء القراءة كي تستعين بها عند كتابة مراجعة. تبدأ رحلتك مع الرواية مرتبكًا، متعثرًا أكثر من مرة، وتكاد تشعر أن الصفحات لا تمرّ بين يديك، تشكك في اختيارك لتوقيت قراءتها، تفكر في تأجيلها لوقت آخر، وبمجرد بدء التفكير في ذلك تبدأ الرواية في اجتياحك بالكامل، تتغلغل داخل تلافيف مخك، وتلمس أعمق أعماق قلبك، تجذبك، بإيقاعها الهادئ تأسرك، بشخصياتها البديعة تفتنك، وعند النهاية تصب عليك خلاصة الجمال والإبداع، فتلجمك، وتفقدك القدرة على النطق لساعات، تفكر في الاستسلام وعدم الحديث عن تجربتك لأنك لن تتمكن من الوصف، ثم تجد بداخلك طاقة تدفعك للحديث لأجل الحديث فقط، لأجل الحكاية، لأجل الرحلة.
مرحبًا بك في عوالم إيزابيل الليندي، هذا ما يفعله قلمها، وهذا ما تخلفه وراءها من أثر.
تحكي إيزابيل كما لم يحكِ أحد، تغزل خيوط رحلتها بمهارة فتبهرك بنسيجٍ روائيّ بديع، تمهّد للأحداث ببطء كطباخ يطهو طعامه بمزاجٍ خالص كي يمنحه نكهته الخاصة، تعطي أبطالها من روحها فتجسدهم بشرًا من لحم ودم، تتلاعب بالزمان كما تشاء، تجلب نتفًا من المستقبل في الحاضر، وتسافر من الماضي إلى المستقبل ثم تعود إلى الحاضر في نفس الصفحة وربما في نفس الفقرة، تتلاعب بالنص كشهرزاد ألف ليلة وليلة.
لم أقرأ في حياتي عملًا به من دسامة الأحداث وعمق الشخصيات كما قرأت في أعمال إيزابيل، كم المتاهات التي تدور فيها بين صفحتي البداية والنهاية لكل عمل من أعمالها يجعلك تصفق منبهرًا فور انتهاء كل لقاء من اندهاشك لهذه القدرة الغريبة على اقتيادها لزمام القارئ لكل هذه المسافات دون أن يتوه أو أن يمل أو يشعر للحظة بسخافة ما يقرأ. تجعل من قضيتها قضيتك وقضية كل البشر، فالحب له نفس السحر، والأوطان بها نفس القهر، والشعوب تعاني نفس الذل، لذلك تجد في كل مرة داخل حكايتها جزءًا تعرفه عن نفسك، عن وطنك، أو جزءًا جديدًا يصدمك تجاههما.
الحديث عن شخصيات وحكايات إيزابيل عامةً وهذه الرواية خاصةً يشعر القارئ بمدى ضحالة قدرته على السرد والوصف، فينتهي به الحال لا شعوريًا إلى الرغبة في أن يراسل كل من يعرفهم كي يروا بأعينهم ما رأى من جمال، ويمتعوا عقولهم بما استمتع من إبداع، ولكن هذا صعب المنال.
هذه السيدة لا تٌملّ صحبتها، ولا أتمنى لقلمها أن يتوقف يومًا.
هل يوجد سبيل آخر للثرثرة؟..لا
هل اكتفيتُ من الحديث؟.. لا
هل ستنجح هذه الكلمات المبعثرة في جذب أحدهم لاكتشاف عوالم إيزابيل الفاتنة؟
لا أظن..
!إذًا فلتصمت يا رجل.
تمت.
July 1, 2022
Our souls has no place in this world even if we lived in a one thousands room House
We continue to run madly behind freedom and love,money and beauty; justice and power; master ship and independence
For 75 years, and three families Allende have taken us to run behind the mirage and fall under the disappointments of an old house.that opened for her the door of literature kingdom
We struggle and suffer isolation and cruelty and alienation must defeat us
There are many kinds of life that makes you rush to death But nothing worse than our fear from fear itself and our novel here is about: fighting death
Three families of three Ethnicities To form the monstrosity modern Chilean society
The Spanish family of Del vallies; the Castilian-Arab: Trobia family; and the Indo-Latin Garcia family
for the first time Isabelle gave the lead to a hero, not a heroine, but time was the real hero here as always
The four whites
Neviea. .Clara..Blanca . .alba .. From the grandmother to the late granddaughter they all shared a name meaning: whiteness and disclosure .. Depart / political like Nivea and Alba
Indeed, one of them was not atrophied or false ' to the contrary, they were always clear; they shared simplicity and non-cost and sometimes "silliness " ..
Nivia grandmother was an early "feminism" and put them on the path of independence and giving to others and doing good and the compation for others either for Political reasons like Nivea and Alba
Or just for the sake of charity like Clara and Blanca
Esteban Troubia
He's the man who wither plants when he enter the place
The angry lion; the self-made the fascist; the disgruntled dictator
The descendant of the Peruvian royal family, who in his childhood bloomed with newspaper under his clothes and walked miles because he did not have Santafo to ride the tram.. he was angered by his father and by the heavy loss of Rosa on the day of his victory over poverty;
We continue to run madly behind freedom and love,money and beauty; justice and power; master ship and independence
For 75 years, and three families Allende have taken us to run behind the mirage and fall under the disappointments of an old house.that opened for her the door of literature kingdom
We struggle and suffer isolation and cruelty and alienation must defeat us
There are many kinds of life that makes you rush to death But nothing worse than our fear from fear itself and our novel here is about: fighting death
Three families of three Ethnicities To form the monstrosity modern Chilean society
The Spanish family of Del vallies; the Castilian-Arab: Trobia family; and the Indo-Latin Garcia family
for the first time Isabelle gave the lead to a hero, not a heroine, but time was the real hero here as always
The four whites
Neviea. .Clara..Blanca . .alba .. From the grandmother to the late granddaughter they all shared a name meaning: whiteness and disclosure .. Depart / political like Nivea and Alba
Indeed, one of them was not atrophied or false ' to the contrary, they were always clear; they shared simplicity and non-cost and sometimes "silliness " ..
Nivia grandmother was an early "feminism" and put them on the path of independence and giving to others and doing good and the compation for others either for Political reasons like Nivea and Alba
Or just for the sake of charity like Clara and Blanca
Esteban Troubia
He's the man who wither plants when he enter the place
The angry lion; the self-made the fascist; the disgruntled dictator
The descendant of the Peruvian royal family, who in his childhood bloomed with newspaper under his clothes and walked miles because he did not have Santafo to ride the tram.. he was angered by his father and by the heavy loss of Rosa on the day of his victory over poverty;
April 17, 2019
ثلاثية مدهشة.. تصل ايزابيل الليندي في ختامها إلى سبعينيات القرن العشرين
تفاصيل حياة أجيال تحكي من خلالها تاريخ تشيلي السياسي والاجتماعي والفكري
ثلاث روايات يجمع بينهم الإبداع في الرؤية والسرد
تفاصيل حياة أجيال تحكي من خلالها تاريخ تشيلي السياسي والاجتماعي والفكري
ثلاث روايات يجمع بينهم الإبداع في الرؤية والسرد
December 8, 2020
الادب هو فن التعبير بالكلمات عن افكار و مشاعر الانسان و عن هواجسه و نقل صورة صادقة مليئة بالمعانى على هيئة كلمات و هذا يحتاج الى موهبة كبيرة و نادرة بالطبع و عند هذة النقطة يعجز اللسان عن البوح بما اثارته الكاتبة إيزابيل ألليندى التى جاءت من قارة امريكا الاتينية فى اقصى الجنوب لتذهلنى و تسحرنى و تزلزل كيانى و مفهومى عن الادب و تزرع فى معانى اخرى و نوع جديد من الادب لتنقل بكلماتها الحب و الوحدة والمعاناة و التمرد و الثورة و السلطة فى قالب روائى لا يشوبه شائبة يلمس القلب و لم اتعدى اكثر من مائة صفحة حتى وقعت فى حب الرواية و حب إيزا .
" اكاد من فرط الجمال اذوب "
هذا الجمال لم يكن فى مخيلتى عندما فتحت اول صفحات الرواية , خبرتى قليلة فى الواقعية السحرية نعم قرات " مائة عام من العزلة " فى بدايات قرائتى المتواضعة و اعجبت بها على الرغم من غرابتها و احداثها التى اتذكرها بعد مرور سنين لكن الفرق كبير بين الروايتين على ما اتذكر , ماركيز تعمد اظهار الواقعية السحرية ف اصبحت اقرب الى رواية فانتازيا اقرب من الواقعية على عكس إيزابيل التى استخدمت الواقعية السحرية بطريقة بسيطة فى الاحداث ف اصبحت رواية واقعية بها القليل من السحر و الخيال و لكن بها الكثير جدا من سحر الكلمات و اعتبر هذة اول قرائتى فى الادب اللاتيني و بالتاكيد وقعت فى حب هذة القارة الساحرة باحداثها الشيقة و المندفعة و تعرفت على عالم جديد غامض بالنسبة لى .
يعتبر هذا العمل المتكامل اول اعمال إيزابيل على الاطلاق و وما أزالُ أحاول أن أستوعب هذة المفاجئة , النضج الفكرى و السردى لنقل احداث 70 عام من احداث تشيلى بداية فى القرن الماضى حتى 1975 بطريقة ساحرة ممتعة لتعيش احداثها بكل ما فيها من مآسى و حب , لقد انتقلت بروحى لاعيش بين شخصياتها و بين احضان بيت الارواح و احياء تشيلى بكل ما فيها احداث .
عند الحديث عن السرد القصصى و تدفق الكلمات ياتى هذا التعبير ليعبر عن كمية الوصف والمشاعر و الاحداث " دسمة " لا يوجد تعبير اخر لوصفها هذة الرواية غزيرة الاحداث ذكرتنى ببداية رواية بين القصرين لنجيب محفوظ عندما شرعت فى قرائتها , تنتهى من صفحة واحدة ف ياتيك احساس انك قرأت عشرة صفحات لما تحتوية من كلمات و احداث باسلوب ممتع هادئ تنتقل بسلاسة بين الشخصيات و الازمنة و لا تجعلك تفقد تركيزك بل تجعلك منتبه من قمة الاثارة و رسمها لشخصياتها النموذجى يحتاج للكثير من الكلمات و لن تكفى حقها .
لن اخفى امتعاضى فى البداية لطريقة السرد التى تحرق الاحداث المستقبلية ف تفقد عنصر المفاجأة و حتى الثلث الاخير من الرواية كان لا يزال يؤرقنى و كان على وشك ان تفقد الرواية نجمة بسببه لكن جاء الجزءالسياسى الاخير ليقلب الرواية رأسا على عقب , لم اقرا من قبل وصف للانقلاب العسكرى بما فيه من ظلم و تعذيب و ديكتاتورية و سجون كما وصفته إيزابيل , رايت نفسى استرجعى احداث بلدى المنكوب اخر 5 سنين بما يحدث فيه الى الان من احداث مشابهة لما حدث فى سبعينات تشيلى , كأن يوجد كتاب موحد للانقلابين و الديكتاتورية موجه لهم ف الاحداث مماثلة بنسبة تفوق الخيال لتصبح واقعية فى كل البلاد التى ارادت ان تحظى ب حكم ميدانى , نفس السذاجة نفس الفساد و نفس النتيجة النهائية .
لن اشرع فى الحديث عن الشخصيات بشكل كبير لانى لن اوفيهم حقهم , كل شخصية مرسومة بعناية , اخذت وقتها فى التطور التدريجى حتى لحظات نهاية احداثهم , وجدت نفسى اعشق كل الشخصيات الرئيسية حتى الشخصيات التى كرهتها فى الاول تعاطفت معها فى النهاية و كل شخصية كان لها سحرها الخاص الذى يجعلك تتعلق به و لكن وجدت نفسى مع نهاية الاحداث انجذب الى شخصية " خايمى " تعاطفت معها فى كل مراحل حياتها .
كلارا " الزوجة \ الام " : الشخصية الرئيسية الملائكية التى مثلت الجانب الساحر فى الاحداث بقدراتها التخاطرية و تنبأئها بالمستقبل .
استيبان تروبيا " الزوج \ الاب " : الرجل الصارم العنيد الظالم الوحيد الذى يجعلك تكرهه ثم يجعلك تتعاطف معه ف تصبح تتقلب بين مشاعرك و بيين افعاله و نوبأت غضبه .
فيرولا : اخت استيبان تروبيا الكبرى التى اصبحت الصديقة الاقرب لكلارا حتى اثارت غيرة اخوها ف كانت حياتها كما بدات مأسوية تنتهى حزينة مع لعنتها التى تصيب استيبان .
بلانكا " الابنة " : التى مثلت جانب الحب البرئ بتعاسته و التضحية التى عاشتها من اجل الحب .
بيدرو جارثيا : الثائر للفقراء و الحقوق و العدل و حبيب بل��نكا السرى الذى ذكرنى كثيرا ب جيفارا .
نيكولاس " الابن " : ابن كلارا المتعلق ب كل ما هو غريب حتى يقع شغفه فى دراسة الديانات الشرقية .
خايمى " الابن " : ابن كلارا التؤام لاخوه نيكولاس لكن على عكس نيكولاس كان خايمى شخصية ليست اجتماعية عاش وسط كتبه و دراسته للطب و علاجه للفقراء و حبه للثوار .
ألبا : ابنة بلانكا و بيدرو الوحيدة التى كانت تجمع بين حب و تعلق جميع الشخصيات ف اخدت الجانب الثورى من خالها خايمى و الحب المفرط من والدتها بلانكا و الجانب الساحر من جدتها كلارا .
تصنيف هذة الرواية واقعية سحرية ميلودراما لكن الجانب السياسى بها كان غاية فى الجمال و الوجع و النهاية كانت رائعة لتنهى هذة التحفة الادبية و تجعلنى اعشق أيزابيل و حتما سوف اقرا لها مرة اخرة قريبة و اكمل هذة الثلاثية و اتعمق اكثر فى هذة القارة المظلمة المليئة بالانقلابات و السحر .
" اكاد من فرط الجمال اذوب "
هذا الجمال لم يكن فى مخيلتى عندما فتحت اول صفحات الرواية , خبرتى قليلة فى الواقعية السحرية نعم قرات " مائة عام من العزلة " فى بدايات قرائتى المتواضعة و اعجبت بها على الرغم من غرابتها و احداثها التى اتذكرها بعد مرور سنين لكن الفرق كبير بين الروايتين على ما اتذكر , ماركيز تعمد اظهار الواقعية السحرية ف اصبحت اقرب الى رواية فانتازيا اقرب من الواقعية على عكس إيزابيل التى استخدمت الواقعية السحرية بطريقة بسيطة فى الاحداث ف اصبحت رواية واقعية بها القليل من السحر و الخيال و لكن بها الكثير جدا من سحر الكلمات و اعتبر هذة اول قرائتى فى الادب اللاتيني و بالتاكيد وقعت فى حب هذة القارة الساحرة باحداثها الشيقة و المندفعة و تعرفت على عالم جديد غامض بالنسبة لى .
يعتبر هذا العمل المتكامل اول اعمال إيزابيل على الاطلاق و وما أزالُ أحاول أن أستوعب هذة المفاجئة , النضج الفكرى و السردى لنقل احداث 70 عام من احداث تشيلى بداية فى القرن الماضى حتى 1975 بطريقة ساحرة ممتعة لتعيش احداثها بكل ما فيها من مآسى و حب , لقد انتقلت بروحى لاعيش بين شخصياتها و بين احضان بيت الارواح و احياء تشيلى بكل ما فيها احداث .
عند الحديث عن السرد القصصى و تدفق الكلمات ياتى هذا التعبير ليعبر عن كمية الوصف والمشاعر و الاحداث " دسمة " لا يوجد تعبير اخر لوصفها هذة الرواية غزيرة الاحداث ذكرتنى ببداية رواية بين القصرين لنجيب محفوظ عندما شرعت فى قرائتها , تنتهى من صفحة واحدة ف ياتيك احساس انك قرأت عشرة صفحات لما تحتوية من كلمات و احداث باسلوب ممتع هادئ تنتقل بسلاسة بين الشخصيات و الازمنة و لا تجعلك تفقد تركيزك بل تجعلك منتبه من قمة الاثارة و رسمها لشخصياتها النموذجى يحتاج للكثير من الكلمات و لن تكفى حقها .
"لا يختلف موتنا ، عن لحظة المجئ إلى العالم ، فنحن نخشى المجهول ، غير أن الخوف هو شئ داخلي فينا ، ليس له علاقة بالواقع ، وهكذا فالموت هو كالولادة .. تبدل بسيط "
لن اخفى امتعاضى فى البداية لطريقة السرد التى تحرق الاحداث المستقبلية ف تفقد عنصر المفاجأة و حتى الثلث الاخير من الرواية كان لا يزال يؤرقنى و كان على وشك ان تفقد الرواية نجمة بسببه لكن جاء الجزءالسياسى الاخير ليقلب الرواية رأسا على عقب , لم اقرا من قبل وصف للانقلاب العسكرى بما فيه من ظلم و تعذيب و ديكتاتورية و سجون كما وصفته إيزابيل , رايت نفسى استرجعى احداث بلدى المنكوب اخر 5 سنين بما يحدث فيه الى الان من احداث مشابهة لما حدث فى سبعينات تشيلى , كأن يوجد كتاب موحد للانقلابين و الديكتاتورية موجه لهم ف الاحداث مماثلة بنسبة تفوق الخيال لتصبح واقعية فى كل البلاد التى ارادت ان تحظى ب حكم ميدانى , نفس السذاجة نفس الفساد و نفس النتيجة النهائية .
“نظنّ أن هذه الأشياء لا تقع إلا للآخرين . حتى اليوم الذي تقع فيه على رؤوسنا”
لن اشرع فى الحديث عن الشخصيات بشكل كبير لانى لن اوفيهم حقهم , كل شخصية مرسومة بعناية , اخذت وقتها فى التطور التدريجى حتى لحظات نهاية احداثهم , وجدت نفسى اعشق كل الشخصيات الرئيسية حتى الشخصيات التى كرهتها فى الاول تعاطفت معها فى النهاية و كل شخصية كان لها سحرها الخاص الذى يجعلك تتعلق به و لكن وجدت نفسى مع نهاية الاحداث انجذب الى شخصية " خايمى " تعاطفت معها فى كل مراحل حياتها .
كلارا " الزوجة \ الام " : الشخصية الرئيسية الملائكية التى مثلت الجانب الساحر فى الاحداث بقدراتها التخاطرية و تنبأئها بالمستقبل .
استيبان تروبيا " الزوج \ الاب " : الرجل الصارم العنيد الظالم الوحيد الذى يجعلك تكرهه ثم يجعلك تتعاطف معه ف تصبح تتقلب بين مشاعرك و بيين افعاله و نوبأت غضبه .
فيرولا : اخت استيبان تروبيا الكبرى التى اصبحت الصديقة الاقرب لكلارا حتى اثارت غيرة اخوها ف كانت حياتها كما بدات مأسوية تنتهى حزينة مع لعنتها التى تصيب استيبان .
بلانكا " الابنة " : التى مثلت جانب الحب البرئ بتعاسته و التضحية التى عاشتها من اجل الحب .
بيدرو جارثيا : الثائر للفقراء و الحقوق و العدل و حبيب بل��نكا السرى الذى ذكرنى كثيرا ب جيفارا .
نيكولاس " الابن " : ابن كلارا المتعلق ب كل ما هو غريب حتى يقع شغفه فى دراسة الديانات الشرقية .
خايمى " الابن " : ابن كلارا التؤام لاخوه نيكولاس لكن على عكس نيكولاس كان خايمى شخصية ليست اجتماعية عاش وسط كتبه و دراسته للطب و علاجه للفقراء و حبه للثوار .
ألبا : ابنة بلانكا و بيدرو الوحيدة التى كانت تجمع بين حب و تعلق جميع الشخصيات ف اخدت الجانب الثورى من خالها خايمى و الحب المفرط من والدتها بلانكا و الجانب الساحر من جدتها كلارا .
تصنيف هذة الرواية واقعية سحرية ميلودراما لكن الجانب السياسى بها كان غاية فى الجمال و الوجع و النهاية كانت رائعة لتنهى هذة التحفة الادبية و تجعلنى اعشق أيزابيل و حتما سوف اقرا لها مرة اخرة قريبة و اكمل هذة الثلاثية و اتعمق اكثر فى هذة القارة المظلمة المليئة بالانقلابات و السحر .
December 17, 2019
100 Years of Solitude except not boring, is what Isabel Allende's 1982 landmark of magical realism is. Like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's epic, it follows several cyclic generations of a family through the history of a country. But it has an immediacy that 100 Years, with its frustrating mist, lacks; the story is better. It's a better book; it's the best book in the magical realism genre I've read.
South American literature is different from the rest - no, seriously, it is, I know that's a huge generalization and some South American books are just like other books, but when you read the big towering classics from South America they feel different, and the difference is magic. (Also violence, but that's a trait all colonized literature shares.)
We talk about magical realism a lot; that's a patronizing term meaning that it's just like real literature except with magic. It's patronizing to fantasy books, not to South Americans, although to be fair most fantasy is pretty lame. The defining magical realism book is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude (Colombia, 1967), which is - did I mention this? - boring.
The magic starts way farther back than that, though, in a metafictional world of dark wizards that's even more compelling for me. This is the world of the mighty Borges (Argentina, 1940s or so), Julio Cortazar (Argentina, 1960s), dazzling Clarice Lispector (Brazil, 1960s), and the grandfather of it all is sly Machado De Assis (Brazil, late 1800s), who once wrote a chapter called "Let us proceed to the chapter."
Then Roberto Bolano's 2666 blew everything up, but that's a different story. In the meantime we have House of the Spirits (Chile, 1982), which is the best magical realist novel ever written, and believe me because I've read, like...four or so of them.
The story follows three generations of women in the Trueba family: clairvoyant Clara, who marries anger-afflicted Esteban Trueba; their daughter Blanca, who carries on a secret affair with Pedro Terces Garcia, the son of Trueba's foreman; their daughter Alba, another mystic of sorts. They have a tendency to create fantastic creatures, out of cloth or clay or anything. Other characters include Clara and Esteban's twins Jaime the socialist doctor and Nicolas the guru; Trueba's bastard by rape Esteban Garcia; Pablo Neruda, himself; and one of the best dogs in literature, Barrabas. There are even more, but you will have no trouble keeping everyone straight, because Allende is a fantastic writer.
Along the way Allende tells the story of Chile and its fight for socialism. All the characters are affected by the turmoil; each is forced to pick a side. This heats up around the three quarter mark, and if you thought the book was engaging before, which you did, you'll be riveted for the last part. It's tough going - I've already mentioned rape and there's no shortage of it, along with some child molestation and some torture. (And, if you're curious, even a hot consensual adult sex scene or three.) Again, the other ongoing theme of South American novels is violence, which is always present and gets increasingly horrifying as we go.
The house itself is not the Trueba ranch in the country, Tres Marias, but their house in town that Trueba builds and then is knocked down by an earthquake and then is rebuilt again, and each time is slowly transformed by the Trueba women into a labyrinth, for various reasons - Clara responds to spirits, Alba is hiding political refugees, but it is always described as a labyrinth, which I imagine is a nod to Borges.
And like a labyrinth, the entire intricate structure fits together perfectly in ways you couldn't have imagined. There are twists and turns and sometimes you find yourself in a passage you swear you've been in before, and sometimes you think all is lost, and suddenly you're out, bewildered but exhilarated. What kind of architect dreamed this thing up? What just happened? Who knows, but it was magic.
South American literature is different from the rest - no, seriously, it is, I know that's a huge generalization and some South American books are just like other books, but when you read the big towering classics from South America they feel different, and the difference is magic. (Also violence, but that's a trait all colonized literature shares.)
We talk about magical realism a lot; that's a patronizing term meaning that it's just like real literature except with magic. It's patronizing to fantasy books, not to South Americans, although to be fair most fantasy is pretty lame. The defining magical realism book is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude (Colombia, 1967), which is - did I mention this? - boring.
The magic starts way farther back than that, though, in a metafictional world of dark wizards that's even more compelling for me. This is the world of the mighty Borges (Argentina, 1940s or so), Julio Cortazar (Argentina, 1960s), dazzling Clarice Lispector (Brazil, 1960s), and the grandfather of it all is sly Machado De Assis (Brazil, late 1800s), who once wrote a chapter called "Let us proceed to the chapter."
Then Roberto Bolano's 2666 blew everything up, but that's a different story. In the meantime we have House of the Spirits (Chile, 1982), which is the best magical realist novel ever written, and believe me because I've read, like...four or so of them.
The story follows three generations of women in the Trueba family: clairvoyant Clara, who marries anger-afflicted Esteban Trueba; their daughter Blanca, who carries on a secret affair with Pedro Terces Garcia, the son of Trueba's foreman; their daughter Alba, another mystic of sorts. They have a tendency to create fantastic creatures, out of cloth or clay or anything. Other characters include Clara and Esteban's twins Jaime the socialist doctor and Nicolas the guru; Trueba's bastard by rape Esteban Garcia; Pablo Neruda, himself; and one of the best dogs in literature, Barrabas. There are even more, but you will have no trouble keeping everyone straight, because Allende is a fantastic writer.
Along the way Allende tells the story of Chile and its fight for socialism. All the characters are affected by the turmoil; each is forced to pick a side. This heats up around the three quarter mark, and if you thought the book was engaging before, which you did, you'll be riveted for the last part. It's tough going - I've already mentioned rape and there's no shortage of it, along with some child molestation and some torture. (And, if you're curious, even a hot consensual adult sex scene or three.) Again, the other ongoing theme of South American novels is violence, which is always present and gets increasingly horrifying as we go.
The house itself is not the Trueba ranch in the country, Tres Marias, but their house in town that Trueba builds and then is knocked down by an earthquake and then is rebuilt again, and each time is slowly transformed by the Trueba women into a labyrinth, for various reasons - Clara responds to spirits, Alba is hiding political refugees, but it is always described as a labyrinth, which I imagine is a nod to Borges.
And like a labyrinth, the entire intricate structure fits together perfectly in ways you couldn't have imagined. There are twists and turns and sometimes you find yourself in a passage you swear you've been in before, and sometimes you think all is lost, and suddenly you're out, bewildered but exhilarated. What kind of architect dreamed this thing up? What just happened? Who knows, but it was magic.
June 18, 2021
"La casa de los espíritus" es la historia de una saga familiar, llena de muerte, de amor y de magia, centrado en la figura del despótico y tiránico patriarca Esteban Trueba, y todas las personas que pasaron por su vida durante los noventa largos años que vivió. Muchos personajes se van a cruzar en esta historia, mientras el protagonismo va galopando de uno a otro conforme la trama va avanzando, pero siempre con la figura de Trueba como eje central.
Si os soy sincero, pese a que al final me ha encantando la obra y ha sido muy gratificante leerlo, me costó mucho meterme en la historia. Los dos o tres primeros capítulos me dejaron un poco desconcertado. Quizás tenía unas ideas preconcebidas sobra el libro y no me esperaba un protagonista tan detestable como Esteban Trueba. Es un villano hecho protagonista y a veces las barbaridades que hacía me costaba asimilarlas, sobre todo cuando las narraba en primera persona. Pero en cuanto empezaron a aparecer los personajes femeninos, que hay muchos y bastante interesantes, se relajo esto y ya solo fue disfrute.
Aunque el libro está narrado por una tercera persona que está contando la historia, a veces, había trocitos narrados en primera persona por Esteban Trueba que, como ya he dicho, al principio me sacaban un poco de mis casillas. Pero finalmente me parecieron un recurso bastante interesante, ya que mientras que cuando el narraba justifica sus acciones, cuando volvíamos a la tercera persona, eramos capaces de comprender la magnitud de su egoísmo y maldad. Un detallito que tampoco me gustó es que hay demasiadas escenas de maltratao animal. Demasiadas.
Hay muchos personajes en esta obra pero los que destacan mucho son el mismísimo trueba, Pedro Tercero, Miguel, y mis favoritas, el trío que representan Clara, Blanca y Alba, abuela, madre e hija. Quizás Clara ha sido mi favorita porque me ha parecido que dentro de su pacífica actitud, era la más justa con los demás y tanjante ante las acciones de Esteban, su marido. Alba también me ha gustado mucho, sobre todo en los últimos capítulos, que son una pasada. Un personaje maravilloso, que se ha quedado muy desaprovechado es Tránsito Soto, necesitamos una novela sobre ella.
Una de las cosas más disfrutables de la novela, es ese contexto histórico, la transformación que sufre Chile a lo largo de todos estos años. Esa derecha que creía tener el poder para siempre, como un derecho divino, que finalmente va perdiendo poco a poco cuando las personas más humildes empiezan a alzarse y reclamar sus derechos. Como la victoria de la izquierda, es ensombrecida por las estrategias de la derecha, con un golpe de estado como resultado. Flipante lo bien reflejado que está, como se va fraguando todo. De las cosas que más me han gustado.
Me ha sorprendido ver que la parte más mágica de este realismo mágico, llega un punto en la novela que prácticamente desaparece y se vuelve solo realista. Los últimos capítulos son durísimos, y rompen un poco con la tónica de la novela, y lo hacen en el buen sentido, porque son espectaculares. De hecho esta parte mágica es aportada, principalmente por Clara, mi personaje favorito de la historia. En difinitiva, me ha gustado mucho y aunque no ha sido todo lo que esperaba después de años de expectación, sí que me ha parecido una obra muy buena.
Si os soy sincero, pese a que al final me ha encantando la obra y ha sido muy gratificante leerlo, me costó mucho meterme en la historia. Los dos o tres primeros capítulos me dejaron un poco desconcertado. Quizás tenía unas ideas preconcebidas sobra el libro y no me esperaba un protagonista tan detestable como Esteban Trueba. Es un villano hecho protagonista y a veces las barbaridades que hacía me costaba asimilarlas, sobre todo cuando las narraba en primera persona. Pero en cuanto empezaron a aparecer los personajes femeninos, que hay muchos y bastante interesantes, se relajo esto y ya solo fue disfrute.
Aunque el libro está narrado por una tercera persona que está contando la historia, a veces, había trocitos narrados en primera persona por Esteban Trueba que, como ya he dicho, al principio me sacaban un poco de mis casillas. Pero finalmente me parecieron un recurso bastante interesante, ya que mientras que cuando el narraba justifica sus acciones, cuando volvíamos a la tercera persona, eramos capaces de comprender la magnitud de su egoísmo y maldad. Un detallito que tampoco me gustó es que hay demasiadas escenas de maltratao animal. Demasiadas.
Hay muchos personajes en esta obra pero los que destacan mucho son el mismísimo trueba, Pedro Tercero, Miguel, y mis favoritas, el trío que representan Clara, Blanca y Alba, abuela, madre e hija. Quizás Clara ha sido mi favorita porque me ha parecido que dentro de su pacífica actitud, era la más justa con los demás y tanjante ante las acciones de Esteban, su marido. Alba también me ha gustado mucho, sobre todo en los últimos capítulos, que son una pasada. Un personaje maravilloso, que se ha quedado muy desaprovechado es Tránsito Soto, necesitamos una novela sobre ella.
Una de las cosas más disfrutables de la novela, es ese contexto histórico, la transformación que sufre Chile a lo largo de todos estos años. Esa derecha que creía tener el poder para siempre, como un derecho divino, que finalmente va perdiendo poco a poco cuando las personas más humildes empiezan a alzarse y reclamar sus derechos. Como la victoria de la izquierda, es ensombrecida por las estrategias de la derecha, con un golpe de estado como resultado. Flipante lo bien reflejado que está, como se va fraguando todo. De las cosas que más me han gustado.
Me ha sorprendido ver que la parte más mágica de este realismo mágico, llega un punto en la novela que prácticamente desaparece y se vuelve solo realista. Los últimos capítulos son durísimos, y rompen un poco con la tónica de la novela, y lo hacen en el buen sentido, porque son espectaculares. De hecho esta parte mágica es aportada, principalmente por Clara, mi personaje favorito de la historia. En difinitiva, me ha gustado mucho y aunque no ha sido todo lo que esperaba después de años de expectación, sí que me ha parecido una obra muy buena.
May 26, 2019
الرواية التي لا تستطيع تحديد من من شخصياتها هو الأحب لقلبك هي رواية رائعة بالتأكيد.
January 30, 2022
I CORRECTED WIKIPEDIA, AND I LIKED IT : A GEEKY MINOR ANECDOTE
Since The House of the Spirits is all about Chile I thought I’d check out some history on Wikipedia. I found a page called Timeline of Chilean History. So I was reading that and I came across this under the year 2006 – it was a classic WTF moment :
Strange Missile Accident in Chile killing 50,000 citizens as investigators call it just an accident, some think is was planned to hit the oceans of California but went wrong. Sources say that nobody knew about the missile and thats what made it even more dangerous. Unsuspecting people dying at 12:00 P.M exactly.
Oho, I thought, a piece of vandalism if ever I saw one. This insane item was unsourced - because everyone knows there was no strange missile accident in Chile killing 50,000. I think we would all have been somewhat aware of it if there had been. (Vandalism as you probably know is when people with a sense of innocent fun insert wild and crazy untruths into the hallowed pages of the great Wiki. Editors should prowl all ten billion pages of Wikipedia 24/7 and prevent this happening but some things get missed. The more obscure page it is, the longer your ridiculous made up nonsense will stay there.)
I left the strange missile accident there for 24 hours then I came back and deleted it just like that, because anyone can edit Wikipedia.
THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS
And now back to our scheduled programme. This is a very looooonnnnngggggg novel often described as magical realist. Well, there is a charming young proto-hippy called Clara who has telekinetic and clairvoyant powers, she can predict the future, but this happens only sporadically. There was not enough magic for me. If I had a kid like Clara she would have been bundled up and taken to the track every Saturday. “Which horsey is gonna win this race, dear?”
IF I MAY BE SO BOLD
As to complain just a leetle bit about a couple of leetle things, really nothing at all, but in this 500 page 20th century panorama, until the election of Allende, the author only mentions three historical events – world wars get a vague reference and the moon landing comes up briefly. So most of the time we are rafting lazily in timeless mode. Well, maybe that’s how it was in Chile mostly. But it was like being on holiday with no signal and no newspapers.
And I must say that this book is full of page long paragraphs of explication and descriptive listings of interior decoration, and for long stretches is wholly bereft of dialogue. I could have used a bit more lively dialogue. These are plenty lively characters so let's hear them talk to each other! C'mon!
Then also, I have a dislike of when authors call characters The Candidate or The President or The Poet and decline to give them names. I guess in this case Isabel Allende wanted to be clear that she was referring to Salvador Allende and Pablo Neruda but still, a fictitious name would look better I think.
WHIMSY REPLACED BY TORTURE
This is a book of two halves. Make that four quarters. Maths is not my strong subject. The last 150 pages are a whole other thing. Up to then we get a whimsical family saga about three generations of women coping with the usual crew of misshapen hideous men-beasts, mainly in the form of the nasty padrone of the hacienda Esteban Trueba, whose hobbies were raping peasant girls and screaming at people.
But when Salvador Allende wins the 1970 election everything changes. In the military coup that followed after three years of chaos torture replaces cuteness and we get a gruelling horror story full of despair. This was the great part of the book for me. I noticed that this appalling account of what fascists will do to anyone who looks at them in the wrong way was written only ten years after the actual events. It gave me a chill.
3.5 stars for me (a life-changing 5 stars for many other readers, of course)
Since The House of the Spirits is all about Chile I thought I’d check out some history on Wikipedia. I found a page called Timeline of Chilean History. So I was reading that and I came across this under the year 2006 – it was a classic WTF moment :
Strange Missile Accident in Chile killing 50,000 citizens as investigators call it just an accident, some think is was planned to hit the oceans of California but went wrong. Sources say that nobody knew about the missile and thats what made it even more dangerous. Unsuspecting people dying at 12:00 P.M exactly.
Oho, I thought, a piece of vandalism if ever I saw one. This insane item was unsourced - because everyone knows there was no strange missile accident in Chile killing 50,000. I think we would all have been somewhat aware of it if there had been. (Vandalism as you probably know is when people with a sense of innocent fun insert wild and crazy untruths into the hallowed pages of the great Wiki. Editors should prowl all ten billion pages of Wikipedia 24/7 and prevent this happening but some things get missed. The more obscure page it is, the longer your ridiculous made up nonsense will stay there.)
I left the strange missile accident there for 24 hours then I came back and deleted it just like that, because anyone can edit Wikipedia.
THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS
And now back to our scheduled programme. This is a very looooonnnnngggggg novel often described as magical realist. Well, there is a charming young proto-hippy called Clara who has telekinetic and clairvoyant powers, she can predict the future, but this happens only sporadically. There was not enough magic for me. If I had a kid like Clara she would have been bundled up and taken to the track every Saturday. “Which horsey is gonna win this race, dear?”
IF I MAY BE SO BOLD
As to complain just a leetle bit about a couple of leetle things, really nothing at all, but in this 500 page 20th century panorama, until the election of Allende, the author only mentions three historical events – world wars get a vague reference and the moon landing comes up briefly. So most of the time we are rafting lazily in timeless mode. Well, maybe that’s how it was in Chile mostly. But it was like being on holiday with no signal and no newspapers.
And I must say that this book is full of page long paragraphs of explication and descriptive listings of interior decoration, and for long stretches is wholly bereft of dialogue. I could have used a bit more lively dialogue. These are plenty lively characters so let's hear them talk to each other! C'mon!
Then also, I have a dislike of when authors call characters The Candidate or The President or The Poet and decline to give them names. I guess in this case Isabel Allende wanted to be clear that she was referring to Salvador Allende and Pablo Neruda but still, a fictitious name would look better I think.
WHIMSY REPLACED BY TORTURE
This is a book of two halves. Make that four quarters. Maths is not my strong subject. The last 150 pages are a whole other thing. Up to then we get a whimsical family saga about three generations of women coping with the usual crew of misshapen hideous men-beasts, mainly in the form of the nasty padrone of the hacienda Esteban Trueba, whose hobbies were raping peasant girls and screaming at people.
But when Salvador Allende wins the 1970 election everything changes. In the military coup that followed after three years of chaos torture replaces cuteness and we get a gruelling horror story full of despair. This was the great part of the book for me. I noticed that this appalling account of what fascists will do to anyone who looks at them in the wrong way was written only ten years after the actual events. It gave me a chill.
3.5 stars for me (a life-changing 5 stars for many other readers, of course)
September 30, 2022
5 stunning stars!
This book was originally published in 1982, in Buenos Aires.
It was the author’s debut.
This was my first time reading Isabel Allende, and I can’t express enough the joy I had while reading this book.
What an epic drama!
I was swept away.
The story details the life of the Trueba family, spanning four generations, between 1910 and 1970s, and tracing the post-colonial social and political upheavals of Chile
Although my edition was translated from the Spanish, the translator, Magda Bogin, did (in my opinion) an excellent job.
The writing is superb!
Enthralling is the perfect word to describe this book.
It has all the right ingredients for a formidable tale. One of those that satisfies and at the same time you want more.
I felt like I was back to my parent’s living room in Brazil, during my teens, watching a Brazilian telenovela (it’s an addiction in that country).
I loved the writing style. It was different for me.
It is a lot of telling, with little dialogues. It’s packed with words (144k).
She has this skill of telling you a story and then changing directions by adding a side story (or two) and then getting back to the main story. This happens through out the book. It may infuriate some readers, thinking that she can’t keep focused, but it did not bother me. It was refreshing.
There are two more follow ups, “Portrait in Sepia” and “Daughter of Fortune”, continuing the family saga, forming the “Involuntary Trilogy”, but they can be read out of order, as they are considered standalone. I’m planning on reading these books soon, perhaps next January, unless I feel that urge to read them sooner.
I’m really so booked until December.
I have to stop paying attention to new releases and read the books that I own.
I also want to re-read various classics that I loved in the past, but this time in English, not Portuguese.
So little time…
I wonder if the 1993 movie adaptation is any good. The casting is top notch: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Vanessa Redgrave, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas…
Paperback : 481 pages, 180k words
Average reading time: 14-16 hours
Audiobook narrated by Thom Rivera & Marisol Ramirez: 18 hours 51 seconds (normal speed).
I’m looking forward to reading the next two books, already separated.
This book was originally published in 1982, in Buenos Aires.
It was the author’s debut.
This was my first time reading Isabel Allende, and I can’t express enough the joy I had while reading this book.
What an epic drama!
I was swept away.
The story details the life of the Trueba family, spanning four generations, between 1910 and 1970s, and tracing the post-colonial social and political upheavals of Chile
Although my edition was translated from the Spanish, the translator, Magda Bogin, did (in my opinion) an excellent job.
The writing is superb!
Enthralling is the perfect word to describe this book.
It has all the right ingredients for a formidable tale. One of those that satisfies and at the same time you want more.
I felt like I was back to my parent’s living room in Brazil, during my teens, watching a Brazilian telenovela (it’s an addiction in that country).
I loved the writing style. It was different for me.
It is a lot of telling, with little dialogues. It’s packed with words (144k).
She has this skill of telling you a story and then changing directions by adding a side story (or two) and then getting back to the main story. This happens through out the book. It may infuriate some readers, thinking that she can’t keep focused, but it did not bother me. It was refreshing.
There are two more follow ups, “Portrait in Sepia” and “Daughter of Fortune”, continuing the family saga, forming the “Involuntary Trilogy”, but they can be read out of order, as they are considered standalone. I’m planning on reading these books soon, perhaps next January, unless I feel that urge to read them sooner.
I’m really so booked until December.
I have to stop paying attention to new releases and read the books that I own.
I also want to re-read various classics that I loved in the past, but this time in English, not Portuguese.
So little time…
I wonder if the 1993 movie adaptation is any good. The casting is top notch: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Vanessa Redgrave, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas…
Paperback : 481 pages, 180k words
Average reading time: 14-16 hours
Audiobook narrated by Thom Rivera & Marisol Ramirez: 18 hours 51 seconds (normal speed).
I’m looking forward to reading the next two books, already separated.
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