The House of the Spirits

If you are a girl and you have not seen Jane the Virgin, drop everything and go watch it. If you're a guy, you can of course go for it too, but I'm more reluctant to recommend it because the guys around me didn't like it. Anyway. This is a series I really like, Jane, the main character, is a writer and writes magical realism. One of her main inspirations is Isabel Allende. That's why I decided to read The House of the Spirits that was hanging around my house.

Magical realism

A short introduction to magical realism. It's quite simple: it's a kind of work that takes place in a realistic setting, that is to say, among humans, on planet Earth, at a given time and in a given place, and that slips in magical, supernatural, spiritual, and highly improbable elements. The House of the Spirits is often given as an example for this genre. Let's move on to the summary, it will make things even clearer.

Summary

In a country that looks a lot like Chile, Nivea del Valle gives birth to Rosa. From the moment she is born, we see that Rosa has a beauty that is more than extraordinary; out of this world. She has slightly translucent skin, long green hair and the grace of a water creature. Many men fall in love with her, but none as hard as Esteban Garcia, a deeply macho and angry man, but with enough love to last a lifetime or two. He proposes to her, and, oh miracle, she accepts. Unfortunately, she tragically dies before they even have time to get married, poisoned by a drink that was meant for her father.

Esteban, in spite of his burning love, quickly decides to turn to one of Rosa's sisters, Clara, also a pretty girl, but whose particularity lies in her mind: she attaches little importance to earthly things and spends her time conversing with spirits and moving salt shakers on tables. She also predicts events with phenomenal accuracy. She is a strange gril, but Esteban becomes deeply attached to her.

Together they have three children. This is where it gets complicated, because each child has an absolutely hectic life, one of the children has a child of her own, and the story becomes a wacky, hectic family saga that amazes us and keeps us on the edge of our seats until the very end.

Review

It was the first time in my adult life that I consciously read magical realism. And I fell in love. I really like realistic settings to begin with, they make it much easier for me to identify with the characters and to get a better mental picture of the setting. And the little bit of magic made me fall head over heels: it gives the novel surprising, comical and mystifying twists with great success.

Another mystifying thing: the overflowing, inexhaustible, bubbling imagination of Isabel Allende. The story is dense, the characters are complex, the setting is meticulously described, the events are unexpected, it is dizzying.

I absolutely loved this read. It was gripping, refreshing, there is social criticism and love, it was light and deep at the same time. Another great summer read.