The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

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Recommended: Examples of magic realism in house of the spirits

The House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits is a novel by famous Chilean author Isabel Allende. This book was her debut novel. The book is said to be based on the author’s own life. Most of the events occurring in the unnamed country of the book can be related to the same political issues Chile was facing at that time. The book narrates the story of the Trueba family and their continuous lives over four generations. It is a novel where love, politics, and magic is involved. The story is told from the points of view of Esteban Trueba and Alba Trueba, and includes elements of magical realism.
The book begins describing the first generation of the Valle’s family, which was their eldest daughter Rosa, and Clara their youngest daughter. Clara is one of the main characters in the book. She has special powers including being a clairvoyant and have telekinetic powers. As a child she would defy the town priest, perform paranormal activities with her uncle, and learned to communicate with ghosts and spirits. She becomes to be a woman who represents patience and love. As the story flows, her uncle is brought upon the family dead and along with him a puppy from which Clara adopts and calls Barrabas. Her sister, whom they called Rosa the beautiful, is engaged to Esteban Trueba. Esteban Trueba is deeply in love with Rosa and is far away working in the mines trying to make a fortune of his own. Clara, being able to see the future, predicts a tragedy in her family. Not long after this, her sister Rosa is poisoned accidentally. The poison was meant for her father, who is running for Senate. Shocked by this event, Clara decides to stop talking.
Devastated by the news the his lover Rosa has died, Esteban decides to leave the mines and work...

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... presidency of Salvador Allende. As in the book, there was a military coup in Chile to overthrow Allende. Simultaneously, a military government, led by General Augusto Pinochet, took control over Chile. Later on, a new constitution was created for Chile and Pinochet became president for an eight-year term. Overall, the book is now a classic story from Isabel Allende, which has been translated in over 37 languages, and was claimed Best Novel of the Year in Chile in 1982.

Works Cited
"History of Chile." History of Chile. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
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"Isabel Allende." Isabel Allende. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
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"The House of the Spirits." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
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