Strange Times, Stranger Book

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Thoughts on The House of the Spirits:

Wow, this is a weird book. Definitely a strange change of pace from our last few books. With that said, I really enjoy the story and how intriguing the characters are. The only main character that I don't like is Esteban Trueba as he is a disgusting monster. Typically I'll play devil's advocate and fight for less favorable characters (see Kichijiro) but Trueba is awful, plain and simple.

The changes between chapters in passage of time and the narrator(s) is a little bit confusing at times, but I think they add to the sort of mystery or intrigue of the story. I feel that the book wouldn't be the same if it held one continuous chronology or one form of narrative.

I think Allende took a very strange approach in speaking on social issues like sexuality, politics, class system, etc. What's strange about it is that she doesn't avoid any of these issues, but she doesn't applaud or condemn any of them, either. So I'm definitely curious as to what exactly the scope or purpose of the book was when she wrote it. Hopefully that's something we can figure out in the coming weeks, whether by class discussion or continued reading..


Edit: I commented on Moriah and Rachael's posts.

Comments

Leanne Elizabeth said…
I am also curious to understand the book's purpose. Someone asked me the other day "If you could have dinner with one author and discuss one of their books, who would you choose and which book?" Of course, this book was the obvious answer. There's so much I would love to discuss will Allende.
March 16, 2020 at 3:05 PM
Hailey Morgan said…
It is definitely impossible to comfortably play devil's advocate for a character like Esteban. In the other novels we have read, most of the villains have had a few redeemable qualities or at least noticeable reasons as to why they had fallen so far. However, Esteban is just naturally vile. The minuscule amount of good in him is highly overshadowed by the massive amount of bad!
March 17, 2020 at 1:00 PM
Moriah said…
I also kept wondering if Esteban would have many redeeming qualities but I think he and Kichijiro are in the same boat in this case. I think Allende wants us to recognize these social issues, think about them, and then do something about our formed opinions. It seems against her book's character's natures to force us to see one way only and so her novel is allowing us to view various perspectives. "The House of Spirits" definitely reminds us of social issues we may not encounter every day and I think that must b part of the purpose Allende published this novel.
March 18, 2020 at 9:02 AM
Jamie Peters said…
Personally, as far as Esteban goes, I think that in his younger days, he was a monster, and as he got older, he got old, angry, and regretful, which is combination, is much worse. However, I think Alba being born might help. Also, I think that Allende writing like an observer more than anything can be compared to Primo Levi, in the way that the dehumanization of self really puts things into perspective. In English, they want to point out that it is the way it is, nothing more, nothing less.
March 22, 2020 at 5:27 PM
Clabo said…
You couldn't be more right my guy. Esteban is a despicable creature and I'm honestly kind of sad that the earthquake didn't just finish him off. You're also right in the fact that Allende definitely was odd in respect to the way she approached political matters. It's nice be able to choose a side and not have the authors opinion and stance forced however. I'm definitely excited to finish the book and see where this thing goes.
March 23, 2020 at 12:32 PM
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