Group Read, October 2016: Of Love and Shadows

Our October Group Read is Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende. Please join in and post any comments on this thread.

Well, i've struggled through the first section anyway. This struggle has surprised me because I loved Allende's House of Spirits. For some reason I am not connecting with the story or the characters and I find myself constantly having to look back and reread. I still always appreciate Allende's prose. I am hoping the story picks up for me. I am curious to know how others are experiencing the book. I feel like I could potentially pick this up at another given time and appreciate it more. If I weren't reading it for the group read, I would probably set it aside for another time.

I've just read 25 pages but am enjoying it. The opening with the old people was odd and wonderful. I've never read anything else by Allende but I do like the characters -- more as her creations than as "real people" though, I'll admit.

Just finished reading the novel this morning, and I was somewhat disappointed by it. Much like >3 annamorphic: I enjoyed the opening and the first part in general. The characters seemed a bit schematic but Francisco and especially Irene was interesting enough.

After finding the mine, however, the story went downhill for me. It just wasn't told very well, and it felt like Allende was more focused on finishing the book than on telling the story. Instead of showing the development and sentiments of people through dialogue and actions, she just tells us what happened. Some parts felt like she was re-telling the plot a novel instead of writing the novel itself.

I don't think the book is without merit. It just doesn't live up to its potential.

SPOILER ALERT
An example: When Irene is shot, she is just shot. No build-up, no suspense and there is still no chock effect, because Allende has already let go of her characters at that point.

I'm sorry to hear that it gets worse and not better! I am 100 pages in now, no mine yet, but I'm kind of enjoying it. I am especially fond of Irene and the old people!

I just finished this morning.... for a shorter book, I really struggled through this one.... it took me forever to read.

I liked the idea for the story a lot... but it wasn't as well written as I expected it to be. As others have already noted, Allende seems to gloss over things to move onto the next aspect of the story.

>6 amerynth: I really struggled with this too. It took me three weeks to read! Granted I had a lot going on in those three weeks but a really good book demands that I carry it everywhere and read it every chance. This book just didn't do that for me.

>6 amerynth: >7 Lynsey2: me three! It took me almost the whole month to read this, although I did accidentally leave it behind while I was travelling for a few days. Still, a long time for a pretty slim book.

I seem to be in the minority in rating this book. I am really enjoying it although I haven't finished it yet. I just read the passage with the love scene outside of the mine. Wow! It is hard to write a good love scene that doesn't descend to cliches. I think Allende nailed it.