The House of the Spirits

A good friend of mine once told me, "if a book has a rating of 4 or more stars on Goodreads, it is probably a safe bet that you will like it." This is why I almost always choose my books by their Goodreads rating, a strategy I am currently rethinking after reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.

With an average rating of 4.23/5 on Goodreads, I thought I was going to love this book, and for the first four chapters, I did. However, as the story progressed I started to struggle, which has led me to believe that when choosing books I might need to employ tactics that do not solely rely on Goodreads ratings.

The Patriarch

Isabel Allende's novel takes place in early to mid twentieth century Chile, and tells the story of landowner Esteban Trueba, a man who went from rags to riches using nothing but his mother's honourable last name. Esteban is a classic example of an upperclass patriarch; he believed that by going back to the land of his mother's family, he was saving the "ignorant peasants," despite the fact that he was more often than not, cruel. When he started his own family, he believed in control, which led to some drastic events when things did not go his way and his temper took over.

During this time, overseas in a far off country, a war has erupted, and with it, the rise of communism, something that threatens everything Esteban believes in. It is with the rise of these ideals that we expect to see conflict for the rich landowner, from the peasants who live on his lands, as well as the members of his family who share in these ideals.

What went wrong?

The plot was promising, similar to that of Victor Hugo's famous novel Les Miserables (some of the songs from the Broadway musical would probably fit in this story as well), and promised a passionate and violent Communist Revolution. 

So where did Allende lose me?

When I tell people that I majored in history, I get a variety of responses, one common response being, "But history is so boring!" It's tough to argue with this one, because when we study history in high school, we study it in a linear fashion. We memorize what happened, when, sometimes we go into why, but it tends to stop at what and when. This style of learning history was a snooze for me too. 

(History itself is much more than this, but I won't go down that rabbit hole right now).

The House of the Spirits is basically a historical account of Esteban Trueba's family, starting at the very beginning and going through each event in excruciating detail until we finally get to the revolution that threatens to tear his family to pieces. I am not opposed to long novels, but 448 pages of a detailed family history was a lot to sift through; from chapters 5-11, I found myself losing interest, until Esteban's granddaughter Alba begins to provide an interesting contrast between two generations. Esteban and Alba's relationship was by far the most interesting relationship in the novel, but there was too much that occurred in between.

The Movie

As I was doing some research on this book, I found that a movie was released in 1993 starring Jeremy Irons as Esteban Trueba, and Meryl Streep as his wife Clara. But a quick look at the trailer and the rest of the cast made it clear that the focus of the movie was on the marriage between Esteban and Clara, as well as the rebellious actions of their daughter Blanca, played by Winona Ryder. Strangely enough, the main generational contrast in the book was between Esteban and his granddaughter, who is born of Blanca's rebelliousness, and I wonder if there was enough time to allow this to come through in a film adaptation.

(The movie does also star Antonio Banderas, so it must be worth watching...I'll see if I can find it and let you know)

Leaving Chile

In the end, this book was exactly what I wanted to find when I searched for a book by a South American author; Allende provided a different cultural and political view, and for that I am grateful to her, but the style of the novel was not for me. This is why we as readers must look deeper than star ratings on Goodreads. We must ask ourselves: Why do people like this book? Why do they dislike it? Does the author's style entice me?

Book reviews are a useful tool but we cannot make decisions based solely on those reviews (except my book reviews, which are 100% reliable, but only if you are exactly like me). Even so, read my reviews, read several more. Read those that are in favour, and those that are against. Picking the right book is a tricky business, but this Bookworm (and others like me) will help to make it easier for you.

I might try another of Allende's novels in the future, but for now I will give The House of the Spirits 3/5 stars, and move on. As I leave Chile, I search for other books that will take me to the far corners of the Earth. If you have any recommendations or questions for me, please comment or email me at theopinionatedbookworm@gmail.com.