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Category Archives: Isabel Allende
Yes, Isabel Allende wrote a mystery novel. No, it’s not terrible. Thoughts on Ripper. (by Jill)
When Ripper came out back in 2014 quick on the heels of Maya’s Notebook I asked myself if Isabel Allende had lost her damn mind. And then I remembered that Maya’s Notebook took quite literally forever to get published … Continue reading
Final Thoughts on Isabel Allende’s Maya’s Notebook (by Jill)
I finished Maya’s Notebook Thursday night, and I was immediately annoyed with myself for writing so much in my progress report on Tuesday, because I don’t have much additional to say now. The two big surprises at the end of … Continue reading
Progress report on Isabel Allende’s Maya’s Notebook (by Jill)
I think I will look back on the books I’ve read in the past six months and the main thing I’ll remember is this: bad things happen to teenagers who end up in Las Vegas. Very. Bad. Things. Remember … Continue reading
The House of the Spirits Eighteen Years Later, Wrap Up (by Jill)
I don’t feel like it’s been nearly long enough since I graduated from high school for babies to become voting-age high school graduates, but I’m learning that time is a funny thing, and never seems to slow down. In fact, … Continue reading
The House of the Spirits, 18 Years Later (by Bethany)
So the moral of the story is that concentration camps are really great places, where lives regain their meaning and community flourishes. OK, just kidding, although the final chapter of this novel does feature what has got to be the … Continue reading
A Veterinary Question for My Co-Blogger (and Other Thoughts on Chapters 2-7 of The House of the Spirits) – by Bethany
As I keep reading (and I am, at a good clip, in spite of the fact that I’ve been engrossed in a couple of nonfiction books at the same time), I’m finding that Allende uses very different techniques to characterize … Continue reading
Progress Report: Thoughts on chapter 1 of Allende’s The House of the Spirits (by Bethany)
William Faulkner famously said, “The past is not dead; in fact, it is not even past,” and I think it’s hard to even begin to appreciate magic realism without considering this idea. Magic realism seems to emerge from cultures rich … Continue reading
Progress report, AP English Challenge: The House of the Spirits (by Jill)
I’m about 1/3 of the way through The House of the Spirits. I last read this book in its entirety my freshman year of college in a comparative literature class. This was not an English class. At my university, there … Continue reading
Pre-reading thoughts on Allende’s The House of the Spirits (by Jill)
I have much fonder memories of this book than Bethany does. It was one of the first novels we read in our AP English class that year, and as I said earlier, one of my favorites. Prior to this book, … Continue reading
Pre-Reading Notes on Allende’s The House of the Spirits (by Bethany)
Other than a negative general impression, I remember exactly two things about Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits from our AP English class. I remember the following subordinate clause: “When the twins were born under the watchful eye of … Continue reading
Postcards From Purgatory 