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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
If you hate reading about war and torture than this book is not for you.
A very disappointing read. There were so many characters, and the plot jumped back and forth between the past and present, that I spent a large portion of my time flipping back to refresh myself on character "x." The first 25-30 pages were quite engaging. But not much after that. There were interesting tidbits of South American history which =kept me reading, but the book as a whole was a huge upset.
Sometimes you just want a good romping historical fiction novel. This was an intensely interesting adaptation of the life of Inés Suárez, a Spanish woman who immigrated to the New World (Central and then South America). She became the mistress of Pedro de Valdivia, and helped him "conquer" Chile. She later married Rodrigo de Quiroga, one of Valdviia's captains. Of course, this meant a lot of ensuing romance and adventure. The story of the colonization of Chile and Peru (and her comments on the rest of the colonization) were extremely interesting though, of course, bloody and brutal. The book meandered a bit, and some of the bloody brutality went on for too long, but it was still an interesting and entertaining summer read.
Based on the true events of Ines Suarez's life, it's very well done for what it is. The novel touches on themes of conquest, feminine power, torture and violence, religion, etc. And manages to balance it all quite well. And because the tale is "true", it's quite inspiring in some ways. Overall, it's a good story packed with action, love, and intrigue. But it fell a bit flat for me because it was very event-driven, rather than character-driven ... The latter just tends to be my preference. I couldn't really fall in love with any of the characters and at times it felt more like a history lesson than a novel. So, although it was good, it wasn't an all-time favorite.
This wasn't my favorite of Allende's, but it was still a good read. An easy one to stop and pick up as needed and her writing is deliberate and lyrical as always.
Not DNFing bc it’s bad, but bc this is just not my vibe right now and listening feels more like a chore sometimes. Esp since my Spanish vocab sucks. I’m missing a lot of the plot bc I don’t understand a lot of the words. Might come back to this author another time but right now, reading about the destruction of Native Americans is a little too depressing.
Adoro las obras de Allende, ya que tiene una manera de escribir que cautiva y fascina. Adoro este libro, aunque naturalmente el relato no solo me causa admiración, pero también una decepción y enojo. No me cabe en la cabeza ¿cómo podían ser tan salvajes, vanidosos y creerse dioses? Uno diría que así eran los tiempos. Pues Allende revela no entre líneas que los indígenas son pacíficos, curiosos, no acostumbrados a guerrear, y en el otro lado están los conquistadores, los insaciables y desalmados españoles que llegan a robar, violar, matar y destruir en las tierras ajenas para construir y imponer lo suyo creyéndose que no hay nada mejor. A la m****a los dioses y los tesoros materiales por los que fueron matados y destrozados tantos y tantos. Ni hablar de todo lo que se va perdido durante siglos por la insensatez eurasiática.
This was an excellent book on tape for a long drive. A history of Chile and romance all rolled into one. I don't know if the history part is accurate, though I suspect it loosely is, but the life and loves of the narrator, Ines, just drew me in and I couldn't wait to get into my car to listen to more.
I am no history expert. I know even less about South American history. And so, from the standpoint of accuracy or filling in details I didn't already know, I can't comment on this book. But then, I don't think that was the point of this novel.
American audiences, in general, aren't familiar with Chilean history, so that makes the filling-out of a female role in Chilean history much more plausible than if she'd chosen a region most of us Americans have already been repeating stories about since we were old enough to speak. I don't think Americans were Allende's primary target audience, but I am an American commenting on the book, and I don't know how it was received by Chilean historians.
I'm waffling between 3 and 4 stars not because this was poorly written, but because I couldn't figure out the point of the book, beyond bringing an influential woman to life. Allende goes against her usual sympathy for the indigenous population. Then again, she's writing deeply within the point of view of Inés Suárez, who truly believes the Mapuche people would be better off if the Spanish took over their land and converted them all to Christianity. That the author still manages to slide in her opinion on the matter shows a skilled hand.
Some readers might be annoyed by the deep-POV style that has Inés, an old woman narrating her life's story, sometimes contradicting, sometimes repeating, sometimes skipping over parts or rambling on with no historical context. There's a sense of verity in the narrative, thanks to those so-called mistakes.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a strong female heroine outside where you'd normally find her.
American audiences, in general, aren't familiar with Chilean history, so that makes the filling-out of a female role in Chilean history much more plausible than if she'd chosen a region most of us Americans have already been repeating stories about since we were old enough to speak. I don't think Americans were Allende's primary target audience, but I am an American commenting on the book, and I don't know how it was received by Chilean historians.
I'm waffling between 3 and 4 stars not because this was poorly written, but because I couldn't figure out the point of the book, beyond bringing an influential woman to life. Allende goes against her usual sympathy for the indigenous population. Then again, she's writing deeply within the point of view of Inés Suárez, who truly believes the Mapuche people would be better off if the Spanish took over their land and converted them all to Christianity. That the author still manages to slide in her opinion on the matter shows a skilled hand.
Some readers might be annoyed by the deep-POV style that has Inés, an old woman narrating her life's story, sometimes contradicting, sometimes repeating, sometimes skipping over parts or rambling on with no historical context. There's a sense of verity in the narrative, thanks to those so-called mistakes.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a strong female heroine outside where you'd normally find her.
This book super easily took me back 500 years! Interesting female figure as main character & interesting thoughts