The House of the Spirits

A Novel

By: Isabel Allende

Narrated by: Thom Rivera, Marisol Ramirez

Length: 18 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

The unforgettable first novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the world's most gifted and imaginative storytellers.

The House of the Spirits brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife, Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their daughter, Blanca, embarks on a forbidden love affair in defiance of her implacable father, the result is an unexpected gift to Esteban: his adored granddaughter, Alba, a beautiful and strong-willed child who will lead her family and her country into a revolutionary future.

One of the most important novels of the 20th century, The House of the Spirits is an enthralling epic that spans decades and lives, weaving the personal and the political into a universal story of love, magic, and fate.

©1982 Isabel Allende. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

A must hear

I read Isabel Allende’s classic over 20 years ago and found it transformative. Some books open your eyes to the world, to history, to culture and to humanity in ways that really help you to grow as a person. This is one of those books. If you have already read it, it is well worth listening to again. The narration is perfect. I challenge you to try to listen to this without crying at least 3 times.

A wonderfull story by a great storyteller .

I truly enjoyed this novel! I know the story of her uncle’s demise and I appreciate what the people of chili went through. Isabel is a wonderful storyteller and I will continue to read everything she has written. God bless her.

Goddamn that ended up being intense

When I first started this book, I had no idea what I was getting into. It was recommended to me by a friend but they didn’t really tell me anything about the plot line. When it started I was super confused. But I stuck with it and ended up reading the whole thing. Honestly the last few pages I feel like summarized it beautifully and I don’t regret reading it. However, I do not think I would read it more than once. It ended up teaching me a lot about the political history of Chile that I wasn’t expecting, but deeply appreciated. I also thought seeing the generational trauma of the family and how it connected through the years very interesting. However, this shit gets dark. Mega trigger warning for all kinds of stuff, just an FYI. For that reason, I think it’s a one time read for me. Just because I would say if you prefer more lighthearted things like me, this book might not be for you.

Didn’t Finish, Literally Couldn’t

I was very open minded going into this and listened to the first two hours before returning it. There is no discernible plot, the characters are very 2-dimensional and the book normalizes a few controversial things - women are referred like property to be stolen and owned with no argument, and there is a particularly disturbing scene where a man is described kissing between the legs of the corpse of a woman he wishes he’d kidnapped and locked away before she died.. it felt gross to even listen to. I wouldn’t waste a credit on this.

Historical fiction that leads to understanding the assassination of Salvador Allende

I liked the generations of a family that lead to understanding the perspective of wealthy landowners, of peasants on their land, of socialist reformers, and even of the right-wing military dictadictators who took over Chile and other South American countries. Of course, I like the stream of feminist comments and the portraits of 4 generations of women.
I tolerated the magical realism of Clara moving furniture.

No wonder it’s considered a very important book of the 20th century.

Although the narrator is not as good as the one in “the daughter of fortune “ the amazing storytelling of Isabella Allende concours all resistens. I recommend this book highly.

Loved the saga told from female perspective

Reading was excellent quality and I enjoyed the story and talented readers or actors. Message of forgiveness came through strong and the importance of understanding inter generational impact of trauma

Family saga

Great story. Was very hard to stop listening. It was spellbinding. I experienced a range of emotions from sad to happy to angry.

Entertaining story

Ended up really enjoying the book. Fascinating storyline. Started out slow and confusing. Would have enjoyed more had I not been constantly rewinding. Difficult to understand the narration throughout

Simply amazing, couldn’t stop listening

The story was heart wrenching & tugged at your soul. I was transported to a different time and place. It was a bit horrifying at times, but moving throughout. It was wonderful seeing these characters grow and how the writer wrote for each generation as time lapses.

Highly recommend!!