ale's Reviews (340)

I don't know what about Isabel Allende's writing is so addicting, but it is. I read this book in two sittings, probably would've finished it in one if I didn't have to sleep.

There were some things that made me give this 4 starts instead of 5:
- Things were a little too conveninet at times, characters became sucessfull too quickly and too easily (but I was able to overlook most of it because it wasn't with the main characters, and also because those things weren't the focus of the story.)
- Being a white author writing about slavery, Allende did do some things wrong. I do believe she had the best intentions, and it's clear she did A LOT of research, but some scenes were a bit unconfortable (for ex. the one where the Irish woman tells Teté about how she had to work to pay her debts and compares it Teté's situation. Those two things are incomparable).
- The end part of the book wasn't my favorite.

Now, the things I loved the most:
- The setting was obviously very well researched and I loved learning more about Haiti's history. The book even became a little duller once we moved away from it. But I felt like I was truly immersed in the setting, and that's great.
- Allende's writing is always great. I see a lot of people talk about the way she describes dialogue instead of writing it word for word, but that's actually very common in Latin America and came mostly from people outside of Latam. A lot of people need to learn that there are other places in the word and that those places will have different writing styles, and only because they aren't used to it, it doesn't mean it's bad.
- I loved most of the characters. I was able to connect with them. I was always eager to learn more about them and what they were up to.

Anyways. Eager for my next book by the author.

porra, Jorge Amado!

Amo quando a primeira frase de um livro te pega na hora.
Gostei bastante do livro e das discussões trazidas nele. Achei as personagens um pouco rasas, e no começo não me interessei pelos capítulos narrados pela Fernanda.
Mesmo assim, foi um livro bom de ler. Gostei até do final, apesar de ele também ter me frustrado.
Talvez, se o livro fosse um pouco maior, teríamos mais tempo para desenvolver as personagens e os temas e, portanto, teríamos um livro ainda melhor.

Se você acha que pode ser bipolar, ou conhece alguém que é, ou que pode ser, leia esse livro. Fui diagnosticada esse ano, depois de dez anos com diagnósticos errados ou insuficientes, e meu psiquiatra me indicou esse livro. Fiquei o tempo tempo: "meu deus, eu sou assim!". Além disso, é muito didático e ensina muito sobre a bipolaridade. Aprendi muito sobre mim mesma. 

oficially giving up.
really can't understand why people like this series so much

i'm taking this as the ending because i don't think it needs a continuation

cute

So.
My thoughts on this were kinda mixed. 
At first, I was bored. Yes, bored. The art style and coloring are absolutely amazing, but the story is just so normal. It feels like the mythology was kinda wasted on it? As in, those greek-roman mythologies are absolute bananas and filled with drama, but this is just a very average and normal romance story that underutilizes the mythological elements.
Also, the plot and dialogues felt very juvenile while the story was being overly sexualized. I don't mind either of those things when they're separate, but it feels kinda icky when they're jogether.
Besides, so far, it's very heteronormative. It feels like another waste.
And, that scene at the end felt unecessary.
BUT. HOWEVER. ON THE OTHER SIDE.
The art style is GORGEOUS. And the characters are starting to grow on me. So I'll probably keep reading.