A drawn-out historical saga

Allende, Isabel ~ Daughter of Fortune

When I selected this book I thought
This has to be part of the unintentional family grouping on the A shelf, and I’ve never read an Isabel Allende book. I know, I know, famous and critically-acclaimed writer who’s sold mountains of books; I’m playing catch-up.

50-word description
In mid-1800s Chile, an orphan baby is taken in and raised by a middle class British family. The girl defies her careful upbringing and falls pregnant, which sparks a series of dangerous journeys to find her lover who is pursuing wealth in the Californian gold fields.

150-word review
My mother used to bring home towers of secondhand books when I was young and I did my historical saga apprenticeship with the biggest of James A Michener and Leon Uris.

I haven’t read one for a while though and was let down by Allende’s almost reportage style of narrative. New characters kept walking onto the pages and tedium set in while determining passages that could be skimmed and when sharp concentration was required to keep track of the central story. My yardstick of a book is how late I stay up reading on a work night – this was all early nights and I could easily control idle curiosity about how heroine Eliza’s life would pan out.

Allende’s descriptions of Chile, California and China were well rendered, as were her portrayals of social classes and perspectives of women during the period. Apart from that, trying to find memorable themes to discuss a week after finishing the book is a challenge.

isabel allende ~ daughter of fortune

Found in
Fiction A

Borrowed
Nov 08

Author’s link:
Author’s web site

Rating
Underwhelming

This is book 10 of the project.