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boxcar's reviews
230 reviews

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

perhaps my least favorite allende. I wonder if it has to do with the different translator. I enjoyed the story and it again made me tear up towards the end, but it felt more predictable than her others, probably because Ive read a good amount now. The characters seem to recur to some degree—not a bad thing because I love her characters. Also a very close look into a part of history I was unaware of, the details of Franco’s Spain and the civil war. Again some great Chilean politics, I feel like I’ll be an expert soon. 
Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a trickier one to review. I just finished, and in some ways this is my favorite allende and in others my least favorite. At times she does a sort of stream of consciousness that i haven’t seen in her other works, and that works to perfection. once again, she managed to devastate me totally while also warming my heart with a passionate romance. This book was more horrific though, and the romance felt a little unimportant in light of the devastation. Death and love exist in the same breath, with the same magnitude. I’ll be honest, i found that weird at points. The most intense moment of love and desire happened directly following the first and most intense confrontation with death. Obviously, this is intentional and the collaboration of love and horror in a story dealing with an oppressive militantly regime certainly works. However, it was jarring, and this is not a complaint, because I think it was meant to be. I’m rambling, but I thought that theme was pertinent. Fantastic book once more; she somehow still shocks me and draws tears from my eyes. I should know her tricks by now, right?

Same deal with many characters being some amount of bad and some amount of good, complex, humans. some are just evil but it goes like that. graphic graphic graphic, painful to read at points. More than her others I think Allende did not allow atrocities to be left unsaid or simply hinted at—something important but extremely extremely uncomfortable and at times nauseating. 
Paula by Isabel Allende

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

My questions are answered, Allende’s life is as unbelievably rich and magical as her writing, perhaps vice versa. Absolutely devastating, to the same degree and beyond the others. The bare truth that is this book, a memoir and autobiography at once, only amplifies the effect. I came to know a whole host of characters who are real people. By the end, I am not sure if i am reading this memoir or if I have been written into it.
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

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emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

I bought this book before I had read any Allende, and it turned out to be a dumb purchase, at the time. It's a book of short stories (somehow I didn't catch that upon purchase...) and it's under the premise that Eva Luna is writing them. Now having read Eva Luna, I finally felt the urge to read the book I had for so long. Fantastic. I'm usually not the biggest short story guy, at least reading a book full of them. It can be disorienting. This, however, was far from that--set in Eva Luna's world, it's an extension of her character, her companions and life, yet all the stories stand alone and flourish even outside her context. Beautiful writing, as always. Sad stories, loving stories, horrific stories, ridiculous stories and crushingly real stories. 
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Allende is amazing. Another book with characters written to near perfection, a story that winds around politics of Latin America and Europe, guerrilla warfare and romance, a trans woman who is treated as a woman (the most badass, dope woman) in a book written in the eighties--there are a wealth of tense moments, anxieties, anger at decisions made by characters, there are moments where I smiled and I was met with an unexpected, romantic happy ending that didn't feel shoehorned in--it felt as natural as love itself. Wonderful. My only complaint is that it lacked some of the tragedy that I think she does so well. Maybe I'm a sadist or whatever, but I really get behind her stories where shit just goes magnificently wrong in a gut wrenching, soul crushing way. She's just so damn good at destroying me and making me feel emotions at a magnitude I haven't experienced through reading. At the same time, I'm glad that Eva Luna wasn't so devastating. 
Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

At first I wasn't as enamored with this book as I was with the others by Allende I have read. It seemed like a book to fill the gap between The House of the Spirits and Daughter of Fortune. I was very wrong. While it certainly does exist temporally between those two magnificent novels, by the end it had spun its own, devastating, rich and compelling tale. Emotional and absolutely soul crushing, more so than the others. Characters are again written with a fullness and depth that I'm not sure can be described. I will say that this book is more dependent on having read the others in the "series" than the other two. It certainly can stand alone and excel, but the knowledge and having grown close to these characters in the other books makes the events in this one all the more powerful. Allende is quickly becoming my favorite author--the depth of feeling that I am overwhelmed by from her writing is such that I've never encountered before. 
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I can’t believe the depth of character Allende creates. This book felt a good third of the length it actually is. A look at Chile and the gold rush in California, racism and prejudice and a wealth of culture, all within a compelling narrative with masterfully portrayed characters. Quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Hermit in Paris: Autobiographical Writings by Italo Calvino

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

Interesting background on Calvino, but fragmented and dissonant. I never felt satisfied with any section, though i’m not sure why i expected to. a hodgepodge of biographical writings slapped together, not too bad all considering. 
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very fun read, deceptively quick; the pages turn faster than i realized. Super heartwarming queer romance with a strong message of anti-discrimination and love. Also there are funky creature children who are very silly. Altogether well written but I found myself a little annoyed at different cliches and mediocre prose. I am insufferable. That may also be that I don’t read much romance, so I’m not used to the little cheesy but heartwarming moments. Great book, left me very happy and I smiled a lot reading this. 
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm fairly confident calling this the best book I've ever read. Devastating and inspiring in the same breath, presenting the disgusting capabilities of humanity beside the boundless spring of compassion and empathy humans are capable of. Genuinely some of the most human characters with a depth of identity and character deeper than I thought possible. I had read Garcia Marquez' Clandestine in Chile around a month ago, so I had a solid idea of some of the events Allende writes about, namely the democratic election of a socialist president and the subsequent military coup and right-wing dictatorship. This certainly added context to the latter part of the novel, but I think through the strength of Allende's voice and narrative prowess it would be as poignant and devastating sans context. Like GGM, she seamlessly spans generations in a single novel. I was taken aback multiple times when I stopped to consider just how much time has passed in the story. Rife with the magic and fantastical touches that I love so much. I can't remember the last time a novel effected me so much; I can't remember the last time I flew through a novel of this size; I can't remember a book better than this. A masterpiece.