Aphrodite - Isabel Allende
There is something about reading suggestive material that awakens the senses--too often
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ignored in the fray of modern life--and fires the imagination. Perhaps it brings us back to those breathless, palpitating moments from childhood when puberty was a rosy smudge on the horizon and sex was an abstract term.Aphroditeis a long, savoury, enthralling ode to sensuality.In this bawdy memoir-cum-cookbook, Allende has put together an apothecary of aphrodisiacs, from snake's blood and rhinoceros horn to the more commonplace and more palatable oysters, "those seductive tears of the sea, which lend themselves to slipping from mouth to mouth like a prolonged kiss ... can be purchased in bottles, but there they look like malignant tumours; in contrast, moist and turgid in their shells they suggest delicate vulvae--a prime example of food that appeals to the eye." Chapters such as "Alligators and Piranhas"; "Supreme Stimulus for Lechery"; "Bread, God's Grace"; "Forbidden Fruits"; and "The Saucy Way to Foreplay" offer categorical listings on the aphrodisiac qualities of meats, spices, fruits and vegetables, and alcohol. A few chapters into the book, one begins to wonder what foods aren't considered erotic: "the shape of the wheat head is considered phallic, which proves human imagination knows no limits." Wine (no surprise there) is recommended because "it lessens inhibitions, relaxes, and fosters joy, three fundamental requirements for good performance, not only in bed but at the piano as well." However, as in many situations, moderation is key: too much and you may find your guest asleep in the soup.Allende dismisses nouvelle cuisine in favour of earthier foods and more satisfying portions. More than 100 recipes are provided, from sauces and soups to hors d'oeuvres, supplemented with her voluptuous commentary. Recipes such as Mykonos Sauce, with walnuts, pistachios, basil, garlic, and milk; Widower's Figs; Filet Mignon Belle Epoque; and Alicante Cream Soup, with leeks, shrimp, oysters, paprika, and cream will have you in an apron (and perhaps not much else) in no time."If cookbooks make up part of your library," Allende notes, "books on eroticism should, too." And what more delightful combination of the two thanAphrodite, which provocatively underscores the relationship between sustenance and sexuality, and the aphrodisiac qualities of watching a man cook: "[Women] suppose that if he can remember how many minutes frog legs can tolerate in the skillet, how much greater reason he will have to remember how many tickles our G spot demands." Spiced with litanies of lust and longing from Anais Nin, W.B. Yeats, Pablo Neruda, and Lady Onogoro, and enriched with Allende's warm humour and lustyjoie de vive,Aphroditewill tantalise your senses and engender lascivious grins. Recommended in delicious but moderate doses, this book is not for the faint of ... er, heart. - -Jhana Bach, Amazon.com
Zorro - Isabel Allende
If admirers of the exquisitely talented novelist Isabel Allende had to pick the least
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likely subject for a novel by her, it would probably be the swashbuckling yarnZorro. But that's exactly what Allende has tackled, and with her first adult novel since 2001'sPortrait in Sepia--and the result (against all the odds) is a conspicuous success.It is, after all, something of a surprise that Allende proves herself so adept at a novel chronicling the adventures of this masked superhero figure of the old world. In such books as her signature novelThe House of the Spirits, the author's territory has been the careful and insightful delineation of human character against richly atmospheric settings. Swashbuckling adventure has hardly been her metiér, but in some waysZorroproves to be a more successful resurrection of the much-loved tale than the rather self-conscious Antonio Banderas movie incarnation.Diego de la Vega is a man caught between two societies: he inherits his aristocratic background from his Spanish father, a high-ranking military officer who has become a landowner. His mother, however was a Shosone Indian, and it is from his Indian grandmother that he absorbs Indian ways, while achieving the unparalleled swordsmanship skills of his father. As his country suffers under the yoke of Napoleon's autocratic rule, Diego becomes a member of la Justicia, an underground movement dedicated to the overthrow of the tyrant. Hethen finds himself called upon to use his warrior skills to deliver those around him--and to confront a deadly rival.Of necessity, the character drawing here has to be on a larger scale than we are used to from Allende, but she is still able to freight much of her subtle observation into the colourful canvas that isZorro. Will her long-time admirers be able to accept such a radical change of pace from the author ofThe House of the Spirits? If they can't, they are doing themselves a disservice--and those addicted to novels of high adventure can add a new title to their lists.--Barry Forshaw
storytellers, a reputation that is confirmed in her novelPortrait in Sepia. Allende offers a compelling saga of the turbulent history, lives and loves of late 19th-century Chile, drawing on characters from her earlier novels,The House of SpiritsandDaughter of Fortune.The book's heroine is Aurora del Valle, who "came into the world one Tuesday in the autumn of 1880, in San Francisco". As Aurora sets out to retell her own history and that of her family, she admits "there are so many secrets in my family that I may never have time to unveil them all: truth is short-lived, watered down by torrents of rain". In typical Allende fashion,Portrait in Sepiais crammed with love, desire, tragedy and dark family secrets, all played out against the dramatic backdrop of revolutionary Chile. Aurora's mother is a Chilean-Chinese beauty, whilst her father is a dissolute scion of the wealthy and powerful del Valle family. At the heart of Aurora's slow, painful recreation of her childhood towers one of Allende's greatest fictional creations, the heroine's grandmother, Paulina del Valle. An "astute, bewigged Amazon with a gluttonous appetite", Paulina holds both the del Valle family and Allende's novel together, as she presides over Aurora's adolescence in a haze of pastries, taffeta and overweening love.One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is Allende's decision to turn her heroine into a photographer, bringing together the written word and the photograph as a way of holding onto the past: "through photography and the written word I try desperately to conquer the transitory nature of my existence, to trap moments before they evanesce, to untangle the confusion of my past". There is little confusion in Allende's elegantly crafted and hugely enjoyable novel. --Jerry Brotton
Advantages: Good story, interesting plot, good characters Disadvantages: Very unlike usual Isabel Allende novels
...I very much enjoyed this book about a trip on the Amazon. The characters were very appealing, and the story is interesting - even gripping in places. You definitely get a feel for the places visited on the trip, and for the characters you encounter.
I would say that this book is unlike any other IsabelAllende novel I have read. In my experience, Allende's novels are usually more autobiographical, with feminism and human rights high on the agenda. There is usually less of a "plot" - City of the Beasts reads more like an adventure novel in parts. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book has a lighter feel to it than others I had read, and I found myself wanting to get to the end to see what happened.
In summary, this is an interesting story, with a strong plot and enthralling magical detail. It would...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Writing and imagery Disadvantages: None
...Mystical and enthralling are the words that best describe this book, which was my first introduction to the world of IsabelAllende. In Eva Luna the reader is taken on a winding journey embued with Latin mysticism, folklore and history. Allende's storytelling is evocative in spirit and rich and raw in reality. Her characters are not your typical novel dwellers either; instead she brings to life real people with lives as richly complex and engaging as any that are featured on American daytime talk shows. That is not to say that they are hideous (some are but you are still compelled to like them).
The novel requires you to become involved with the characters and their lives!! This is no skim reading book. Allende's, magnetic and fantastic tale demands that you pay attention and be enchanted by the stories of Eva Luna....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Writing and imagery Disadvantages: None
...Mystical and enthralling are the words that best describe this book, which was my first introduction to the world of IsabelAllende. In Eva Luna the reader is taken on a winding journey embued with Latin mysticism, folklore and history. Allende's storytelling is evocative in spirit and rich and raw in reality. Her characters are not your typical novel dwellers either; instead she brings to life real people with lives as richly complex and engaging as any that are featured on American daytime talk shows. That is not to say that they are hideous (some are but you are still compelled to like them).
The novel requires you to become involved with the characters and their lives!! This is no skim reading book. Allende's, magnetic and fantastic tale demands that you pay attention and be enchanted by the stories of Eva Luna....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Good story, interesting plot, good characters Disadvantages: Very unlike usual Isabel Allende novels
...I very much enjoyed this book about a trip on the Amazon. The characters were very appealing, and the story is interesting - even gripping in places. You definitely get a feel for the places visited on the trip, and for the characters you encounter.
I would say that this book is unlike any other IsabelAllende novel I have read. In my experience, Allende's novels are usually more autobiographical, with feminism and human rights high on the agenda. There is usually less of a "plot" - City of the Beasts reads more like an adventure novel in parts. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book has a lighter feel to it than others I had read, and I found myself wanting to get to the end to see what happened.
In summary, this is an interesting story, with a strong plot and enthralling magical detail. It would...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
...tended to concentrate on events in the male bloodline - to the female characters of her story.
The book is particularly significant because Allende blends the magical elements in her prose with figures and events of historical importance, including the government of her Uncle Salvador Allende, the 1973 coup by Augusto Pinocet and the characters of the poet Pablo Neruda and the guitarist Victor Jara. Therefore this is not just a wonderfully written piece of fiction set in Chile but a historically relevant novel.
The House of the Spirits is a superb introduction to the work of IsabelAllende and to Latin American literature itself. Of Allende's work as a whole I will venture to say that the House of the Spirits is one of her best, if not her best, work. For readers who have read The House of the Spirits and fallen in love with Allende's work...
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20.04.2005
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