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The House of the Spirits

Written by: Isabel Allende
Narrated by: Thom Rivera, Marisol Ramirez
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Publisher's Summary

The unforgettable first novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the world's most gifted and imaginative storytellers.

The House of the Spirits brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife, Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their daughter, Blanca, embarks on a forbidden love affair in defiance of her implacable father, the result is an unexpected gift to Esteban: his adored granddaughter, Alba, a beautiful and strong-willed child who will lead her family and her country into a revolutionary future.

One of the most important novels of the 20th century, The House of the Spirits is an enthralling epic that spans decades and lives, weaving the personal and the political into a universal story of love, magic, and fate.

©1982 Isabel Allende. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
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What listeners say about The House of the Spirits

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

The animal cruelty Turned me off

I couldn't get past Chapter two. The animal cruelty was too much for me to keep my interest in this book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story with historical context

This book was recommended to me by someone, but when I started it over a year ago, I thought the magic and super natural elements in the beginning of the story was odd and gave up listening. But recently I heard a lot about the author while studying Spanish and decided to give it another shot. Beautifully woven through the history of the country, it is a wonderful narration of generations of a family through their hardships, vengeance and love with a beautiful ending. I am glad I picked it up again to listen!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Roller Coaster read

This was recommended to me by a friend who listened to it in its original Spanish and loved it. She warned me it was written in very descriptive text and as such made it compelling to read (or in this case listen to for 18 plus hours). I agree it was descriptive, but at times it was hard to follow. There was an element of repetition almost as if the writer got sidetracked by some related event but then would return to that event not too far later. An example of this would be the early mention of the house on the corner becoming a labyrinth over time, I felt we did not need to know that until near to the end where that became more relevant. It became a distraction to the story as a whole. As a result, I struggled sometimes with exactly where we were on the timeline. The stories of the individual characters were compelling, and made you want to carry on reading but sometimes, you just wanted to live in, understand and savour that moment in their lives, but the sidetracked narrative made that awkward to do. The ending was appropriate and kind of expected but still quite moving. Overall a three for me.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Whoa!!!!

Such a long story. If the characters were not so gorgeous, I don't think I could have made it theough.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful, Eloquent and Mesmerizing

The story is told beautifully and harmoniously while evoking every emotion. The characters are developed with such detail and depth, that I couldn't help but fall deep into the story. This is the second time listening to the story and I found myself as deeply engaged, if not more, than the first time. Well worth the read/listen if a powerfully rich and engaging storyline is what you like.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

a long string of events

This book lacks depth. I don't get what all the rave is about. I went back to it to listen uninterrupted during a long drive, but it really wasn't worth the time. There is a lot happening in this book, but only the surface is scratched and the story keeps moving to another event or character without ever digging and exploring. It would mean ok movie, but too shallow for a book.

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