The final few chapters of House of Spirits felt like a whole new novel. For a great majority of the plot, the story was highly fictional. Though I could sense the political and societal issues wafting in and out of the tale, they were minor and easily overlooked.
However, the final few chapters were solely political in nature. This sudden switch almost made the book seem too dull. At the beginning and all throughout the middle, we are entertained by highly unusual and strange happens. Yet all of that build-up comes to a screeching halt when Allende decides to write more realistically. One of the only fictional aspects the author adds in at the end, is when Clara's ghost visits Alba in prison.
It makes me wonder why the novel was structured in this manner? Did Allende want to ensure her readers knew, right at the end, the true reason she wrote House of Spirits? Or did she merely want people to believe they were buying a fantasy novel, when in reality, it had a deep and all-too-realistic message right at the end?
Edit - Replied to Leanne White and Jacob Clabo.
However, the final few chapters were solely political in nature. This sudden switch almost made the book seem too dull. At the beginning and all throughout the middle, we are entertained by highly unusual and strange happens. Yet all of that build-up comes to a screeching halt when Allende decides to write more realistically. One of the only fictional aspects the author adds in at the end, is when Clara's ghost visits Alba in prison.
It makes me wonder why the novel was structured in this manner? Did Allende want to ensure her readers knew, right at the end, the true reason she wrote House of Spirits? Or did she merely want people to believe they were buying a fantasy novel, when in reality, it had a deep and all-too-realistic message right at the end?
Edit - Replied to Leanne White and Jacob Clabo.
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