{"id":1596,"date":"2018-08-05T04:04:02","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T04:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.naimahassert.com\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2020-11-23T11:59:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T15:59:22","slug":"la-maison-aux-esprits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prochainelecture.com\/en\/la-maison-aux-esprits\/","title":{"rendered":"The House of the Spirits"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are a girl and you have not seen Jane the Virgin<\/em>, 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<\/em>\u00a0that was hanging around my house.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Magical realism<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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\u00a0<\/em>is often given as an example for this genre. Let's move on to the summary, it will make things even clearer.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Review<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n