I read Daughter of Fortune for two reasons - it had been sitting on my shelf of stuff to read for quite a while (passed on by Mom) and the UC Davis Sacramento Alumni Book Club chose it for July. Always a bonus when the book group picks something I planned to read. I had picked it up before and never made it past page 10; even considered adding it to the donate pile unread. Turns out I would have missed a great book. Having forgotten Allende's style, I was pleasantly surprised at how well she was able to combine historical information and character background without losing the flow of the story. Her character descriptions made it clear what she thought of the British in Chile, at one point stating that English arrogance made English women puckered as they aged. Seeing this attitude sprinkled throughout the book made me smile in the middle of otherwise ordinary scenes.
In addition, I loved the pre-knowledge of different events that will occur after the end of the book. As I read the passage, I was looking forward to a continuation of the courting later in the book, but when it was over those characters were still on opposite ends of the Americas. There were several of these spread throughout; giving the book life after it's end.
I would read this again and recommend it to others. Now, I just have to make room in the "A" section for it's permanent home.
No comments:
Post a Comment