boxcar's reviews
230 reviews

Very quick, good read that had me on the edge of my seat. Hard to put down. Love a good folk tale becoming real and little magical dimensions filled with animal gods. Sick. Some characters are very hateable, and not even for entirely their own fault. Some real heart dropping into your stomach moments of second hand betrayal. Didn't like those, but only because it worked and made me sick to my stomach lol. 

fantastic.

Hilarious, as expected. A wonderfully unique world, funny characters, all kinds of gizmos and creatures, just very fun. Also a nice critique on the financial fraud and rich people shit that ruins the normal dude's life. 

Would absolutely recommend anyone who enjoys Allende's writing to read this: a great look into her life and mind. I think of Allende as a Chilean author, and I hadn't really thought about what that meant. This book is a fantastic look into what nationality is, what it means to be a native to some place or country, what home looks like and what it feels like to have no home at all. A great piece of nostalgic writing, looking back on her past, present and future. Chile, Venezuela, San Francisco, Allende invents her own country occupied by herself, because nobody embodies their country perfectly. We make our own space, influenced by where we live. I want to visit Chile. 

Not my favorite. I really liked each of the characters extensive backstories and the characters themselves, but the story was lacking. It felt contrived to connect the characters and less compelling than I’m used to from her.  

A soul crushing examination of the horrors and trauma of the loss of parents. Allende connects a jewish child whose parents were murdered by Nazis with a Salvadorian girl who is separated inhumanly from her mother at the US border, never to see her again. Human cruelty and the way marginalized groups are treated are forefront. I think that Allende went a little overboard with the different perspectives, and while none are first-person or totally confined to one person, there are like four different perspective chapters, it got a little confusing. When all of the different perspectives converged, it made it worth it, but for the first 100 or so pages it felt disjointed. I really enjoyed this book and the overwhelmingly compassionate approach Allende has towards humanity. Through her fiction, this book included, she shines a light on various injustices to humans, many of which I am blind to as a white man living in Pennsylvania.

Allende is my favorite author, I think that's clear at this point. I would like to outline some gripes I have with her though, present in this book but also throughout her work.

- pedophilia and sexual abuse of children is present in nearly all of her works. This isn't to say she glorifies it! The abuse is heinous and is written in no vague terms as evil and disgusting. I think stuff like this needs to make you uncomfortable, and it certainly does! Isabel Allende was sexually assaulted by a man as a child, and I can't imagine the trauma that entails, and I don't doubt that is a huge factor in its prevalence in her works. One of my favorite thing about her as an author is how much her characters and stories are infused with her voice, her life. Reading Paula and some interviews really gave me a different understanding of her fiction, so many parallels between life and writing. As a reader, I just want one or two books where she doesn't include child sexual abuse. As an author, she can write whatever the hell she wants, and I love her for doing just that. Ya dig?

- so many characters cheat! I know monogamy isn't some morally righteous position, and it isn't something that a "good" person needs to exemplify. It's just hard for me to like a character that is virtuous in all regards except for being unfaithful to a partner. Allende herself has been open about her own infidelity/affairs, and like every other part of her and her life it finds its way into her fiction. It's often more nuanced than a man or woman simply cheating for the sake of cheating, and love strikes quickly and doesn't take heed of societal expectations, at least in the world of Allende. I suppose that gets to the core of the matter. I love how Allende portrays love as visceral, impassioned and inevitable. It's a force to be reckoned with in her fiction: her romances are more profound to me than any other author, a big part of my love for Allende. So I get behind that love, feel it and then there's infidelity! Again, it's not a bad thing, and she's absolutely smashing it at making me feel complicated emotions. It's just sometimes disappointing, you know? But, that's life. Not a critique of Allende of an author, but rather me as a reader, I suppose. 

(I hope no one reads these, I kinda write them without considering it's public.)

Really enjoyed this, and of course a story about Zorro is bound to be adventurous and fun. This is no exception, and Allende does a great job of telling the story. Great characterization, fun adventures, tragedy, some real heartbreak in here. I also love a good pure evil, spawn of satan antagonist, and Moncada is certainly that. I thought the ending was hasty, but I'm sure she could've gone on about Zorro's exploits for 1000 pages, and that would've been the wrong move. Gotta end it somewhere.

One of my favorites. The tragic and beautiful lives of three people being told at once; a treatise on aging and growing old, loving and allowing yourself to love. There are some absolutely devastating themes and ideas in here. Strong strong strong characters who suffer from what has happened to them, but manage to live on. The end felt a little hasty, though I thought the idea was powerful. Almost like a gotcha! that feels contrived, but at the same time works. The setting being a retirement home was interesting. I think this book takes aim at so many great injustices that it might not be able to devote enough time to any particular one. However, the characters aren't stereotypes or charicatures of anything, and their identity, personality and trauma aren't the means to an end story-wise, but seem to be treated with the gravity they deserve. Dunno if that makes sense. One of those bittersweet stories, equally suffusing me with sadness and happiness, achieved through characters crafted with a great deal of empathy, hard not to feel what they feel. The ending was bittersweet as well. Allende is very good at making me feel something, which I think is her greatest strength.

Very good thriller romance gothic moment. The setting being after the Mexican War of Independence was interesting and new to me. Themes of class and race and the barriers they pose. I enjoy a good ghost story, and this was certainly one. Definitely a page turner, especially for a gothic novel. Spooky spooky spooky. I think that the mystery could've been executed better, from the first introduction super early on in the book I was pretty sure who the evil murderer was, so when it was revealed it wasn't so cathartic. Regardless, good, quick, exciting and spooky read that makes a lot of good points/makes you think about the world and injustice.