Only the clairvoyant Clara and her otherworldly features can temper Esteban Trueba and his desires and political schemes. Their daughter, Blanca, utterly enrages him with her unwavering love and longing for a man Esteban forbids. Then there is Alba, his granddaughter and greatest joy, whose fiery ambition will lead the Truebas into a revolutionary future.
In a whimsical story of Latin melodrama, the personal and political passions and struggles of three generations of the Trueba family wind up in a turning point that finds them on opposing sides. Allende uncovers a family whose ties and contempt are deeper and more enduring than the political loyalty that came between them.
In a bizarre and exaggerated plot, the turbulent contention between capitalists, militarists and Marxists is intertwined with magical realism. Spanning over decades and lives in a world where there are green-haired women and horse-sized dogs, who love marmalade, The House of Spirits is a powerful and original story.
