The House of the Spirits

A Novel

De: Isabel Allende

Narrado por: Thom Rivera, Marisol Ramirez

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This “spectacular…absorbing and distinguished work…is a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present, and future of Latin America” (The New York Times Book Review).

The House of the Spirits, which introduced Isabel Allende as one of the world’s most gifted storytellers, 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 twentieth 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.

Mesmerizing story.

it is important to get the characters straight at the outset, because this story is generational--a point beautifully summarized in the closing lines. once you have the players straight, the plot moves at a pace that made me skip chores and lose sleep..beautifully written, but some of the beauty is tainted by an inept female narrator. I had to listen to one sentence multiple times until I realized that the dropped voice did not signal the end of a sentence and the following incomplete sentence was actually a clause modifying the previous sentence. such details are important in conveying the author's intent. Still, I recommend it..it's that good.

Great book, awful narration

The narrator mispronounced common English words, and, throughout the book her inflection was so poor that the meaning of a given phrase or sentence was unclear. The narration degraded an otherwise excellent story.

Great Audible Experience

I usually struggle to digest audio books on the same level as printed ones, but the narration was so compelling that it was easy to lose myself in the story.

Horrifying chronicle

This book is a horrifying chronicle of the way men in economic and political power abuse that power. I wish it had been read by people who sound Latino and Latina. The standard American accents didn’t work for me. I have students who would have made the book sound more authentic.

History Repeats Itself

For many years women have been treated in this way come into this world thinking we are free. Following propaganda and learning we are not free. We have children without thinking about the consequences. If you’re a minority it’s even more likely that you will end up being oppressed. The choice of prison, homemaker, or you sell your soul to the devil. It’s not that you are rebellious it’s that we don’t have the resources that the privileged did. We conform vs fight back think we have a chance to make it in the world. You cannot unless you sell yourself out. As long as you don’t have a voice and a mind of your own money will always be the cause of lies and deceit!