The House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende, Knopf, 1982 (1985 English translation by Magda Bogin). Genre: Magical Realism. 368 pages. Finished 4/14/2010.

LesOpinion: There is this thing that happens to me that goes like this: I enjoy playing the piano, but then I go see someone who is a prodigy play the piano. And I pretty much give up playing the piano, because I have no hope of ever playing like the prodigy plays. It's like we were never doing the same thing in the first place.

If every other author I've reviewed so far is like me in that respect, and if they read Isabel Allende, they will just pack it in. For the real hacks, like Randy Alcorn or Elizabeth Adler, one can only hope.

Yes, Gentle Reader, Allende writes actual literature-with-a- capital-L. Dense, beautiful, thought-provoking, complicated, and timeless Literature.

In fact, a timely quote for your reading pleasure: "...and on the date stipulated by law the left calmly came to power. And on that date the right began to stockpile hate."

Cruel April

Cruel April, Neil Albert, Dutton, 1995. Genre: Mystery. 261 pages. Finished 4/5/10.

LesOpinion: If you're like me, you like your mysteries to have a little action in them. Enough with the mannered, lady-like mysteries of Susan Wittig Albert or that English lady with the handcuffs. Neil Albert sends his character (Dave Garrett, Private Eye) gallavanting around the Pennsylvania countryside, half out of his mind from lack of sleep and concussive head injuries, dodging bad guys in his two-toned Honda Civic, and cracking wise with comments like "she was so skinny she had to walk around in the shower to get wet." Yep, I'd happily read about five more Dave Garrett-themed mysteries. Too bad old Field Memorial only has one on the shelf.

Three by Charlotte Vale Allen

Grace Notes, Charlotte Vale Allen, 2002, Mira. Genre: Fiction. 325 pages. Finished 3/28/10.

Fresh Air, Charlotte Vale Allen, 2003, Mira. Genre: Fiction. 282 pages. Finished 4/2/10.

Parting Gifts, Charlotte Vale Allen, 2001, Mira. Genre: Fiction. 372 pages. Finished 4/4/10.

LesOpinion: Charlotte Vale Allen is the kind of author that inspires me to be nice. She is smart, compassionate, and on a mission. Apparently, she's the bestselling author of Daddy's Girl (1976), which was something of a groundbreaking memoir about growing up with domestic violence. It's no surprise, then, that two of these three novels (she has written dozens of others), have a theme of child or spousal abuse.

Allen is smart and a decent writer. Her only downfall is her fondness for the deus ex machina plot device. Unlike our friend the Reverend Alcorn, though, Allen uses it only once per novel rather than every other paragraph. And because Allen carries the flag for abused wives and children everywhere, it's hard to dislike her. She is generous with her characters, adept at writing about emotional fragility, and she does the unthinkable: she includes self-addressed reader comment cards at the end of her books!

Would I go buy a Charlotte Vale Allen book? Nope. But I would happily read another should it appear on the library shelves.

Best quote: "...the truth is that every last one of us feels like a freak at some point. But that doesn't mean we are. It's about emotion, or instinct, or bad luck temporarily getting the upper hand and making us feel ugly or abnormal."