I’ve been a bad webmaster and I didn’t update everyone on the book we read last month. For the month of September we read The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. The back cover of the novel describes it as “An epic novel of love, magic, and family pride.” The House of the Spirits was first published in the Spanish language in 1982 under the title La casa de los espiritus. It has since been translated to over 20 languages and was first published in English in 1993. Wikipedia gives the following short description of the novel:
“The story details the life of the Trueba family, spanning four generations, and tracing the post-colonial social and political upheavals of the Latin American country they live in. The story is told mainly from the perspective of two protagonists (Esteban and Alba) and incorporates elements of magic realism. Some readers claim that the novel is a roman à clef. According to them, The Poet in the novel is probably Pablo Neruda, and Allende’s cousin, once removed Salvador Allende, is both The Candidate and The President.”
Click here to read the full article.
We were originally scheduled to meet this past weekend to discuss this novel, but due to scheduling conflicts we are opting not to meet again until November to discuss The House of the Spirits as well as our next novel, The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy.
The Dud Avocado is loosely based on Dundy’s own experiences living in Paris. She was born in New York City in 1921 and lived in both Paris and London.
At the time The Dud Avocado was published it received praise from many people including Groucho Marx:
“Dear Mrs Tynan, I don’t make the habit of writing to married women, especially if the husband is a dramatic critic, but I had to tell someone (and it might as well be you since you’re the author) how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream and guffaw (which incidentally is a great name for a law firm). If this was actually your life, I don’t know how on earth you got through it. Sincerely, Groucho Marx.” (note: When the novel was published, Dundy was married to theater critic Kenneth Tynan, hence the address of Mrs. Tynan)
Barnes & Noble sums up the book on its website as follows:
“The Dud Avocado follows the romantic and comedic adventures of a young American who heads overseas to conquer Paris in the late 1950s. Edith Wharton and Henry James wrote about the American girl abroad, but it was Elaine Dundy’s Sally Jay Gorce who told us what she was really thinking. Charming, sexy, and hilarious, The Dud Avocado gained instant cult status when it was first published and it remains a timeless portrait of a woman hell-bent on living.”
Happy Reading!
