Daughter of Fortune - Isabel Allende > Reviews > A good summer read. (updated)

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Yes
Story	Good
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
How does it compare to similar audio books?	Very good
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Quite good

Advantages:	likeable characters and well written
Disadvantages:	incredulous plot

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This was the first book that I ever read by Isabel Allende and it has since inspired me to read many of her other books. Allende's style of writing is full of magic and mystery that makes all her novels exciting and absorbing. She mixes elements of the fantastical with history and personal experiences to create original novels.
What I especially liked about this book was that it spanned a wide variety of topics from 'lily footing' in China to the Gold Rush in California. The love story, which spans the novel, explores ideas of the difficulty of mixed-race relationships and the intensity of emotions. All the characters are well developed and easy to relate to.

When Eliza becomes pregnant she decides to stow away on a boat in order to find her lover who has left for Califorrnia to follow the gold rush. By the time she has reached California she has lost her baby and is alone in a foreign country. Will she be able to find her lover in this vast new land? Meanwhile rumours of a terrible bandit become the hot new subject in California and he bears a striking resemblance to Eliza's lover. But could it be him? During her search Eliza comes across many characters including Tao Chi'en a Chinese Zhong-yi (like a doctor). He is peaceful and calm and Eliza's relationship with him grows.

Eliza has an adventurous spirit and this guides her on her search around California. The style of the novel is such that you desperately like Eliza and want her to be happy because it feels as though you are right there on the journey with her.

However, at times there are events in this novel that cross the fine line between fantastical and ridiculous. But so long as you do not worry about some of the finer details, you will really enjoy it. It is a perfect book to take away on holiday and read by the sea-side!

If you do enjoy this novel tthen i suggest that you also read portrait in Sepia. Although it is not a sequel to Daughter of Fortune Eliza and Tao Chi'en are in it and you learn of the fate of their relationship, although they are not the main focus of the story.

I really enjoyed this novel and i hope that this review will inspire you to read it and to continue, as i have done, to read other Allende books.
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