The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende - ★★★★

[John]

This literary classic, similar in style to Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, tells the story of the triumphs and heartaches of the Truebas, a wealthy Chilean family. The patriarch of this family is Esteban Trueba, entrepreneur, landowner, and conservative politician. His ambition is paralleled by his love for his family, especially the three generations of women. The matriarch is Clara, who possesses the abilities of clairvoyance and telekinesis. She was mute as a child when she was traumatized by observing the autopsy of her older sister. Esteban and Clara's children include the daughter, Bianca, often at war with her father, falls in love and becomes pregnant by one of her father's laborers and has Alba, the granddaughter who reunites the various factions of the family.

Allende is masterful in creating a literary world in which you can easily become a participant. However, I found her debut novel a slower read than some of her later works. I believe if she had rushed this novel it would have lost some of its majesty in its storytelling.

[Shelly]

I enjoyed this one too, one of my 5 star reads this year.