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Jan 22, 2014lukasevansherman rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I've been reading Julia Alvarez's "In the Time of the Butterflies," set in the Dominican Republic, with my high school students and it's piqued my interest in other Latin American authors. "The House of the Spirits" is one of the most popular books to come out of South America (they made a film of it with mostly Anglo actors). I find it a little myopic that the default author to compare other South American authors to is Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Yes, he's a major writer, but it's not like every American author deserves to be compared to Hemingway, for example. While there are elements of magical realism, Allende's mix of family saga, political drama and colorful incidents has more in common with Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" than anything by Marquez. Allende's second cousin, of course, was Salvador Allende, who was overthrown in a U.S.-backed coup and replaced by the dictator General Pinochet. This history is the backdrop for the novel, which deserves to be read both for its illuminating look at this shameful period and for its vivid writing and characters.