Genesis of "The House of Spirits", April 9, 2008

This is a interesting bilingual children's book about distinguished writer Isabel Allende's life. She has written many books including . The book is a perfect introduction to the world of Isabel Allende as a child mostly. It allows the young reader to see what influences mold an adult. The early influence is not unlike many other childrens where the grandparents, especially the grandmother has a lot to do with the upbringing, especially in extended families. there are some unusual differences though, the grandmother would conduct seances. These seances resulted in a manuscript and ultimately were the basis of her first book . The book will...

I'm one of the author's fan. I was curious about this book. It is good, yes.but for an older child who has had some exposure to different lifestyles.I liked the illustrations, and the fact that it is written in Spanishas well as in English. I will give it to my grandchild.

Fans of award-winning author Isabel Allende likely are familiar with the broad outlines of her remarkable life and understand how her experiences have informed her writing. Such fans also know that Allende's life has not been a fairy tale. Allende's mother was Chilean who fell in love with a diplomat; they moved to Lima, Peru, where they had three children including Allende. The marriage failed and Allende's mother took her children back to Chile to live in her grandparents' house. Allende suffered from loneliness but created a strong bond with her grandmother who openly held beliefs in the existence of spirits; in fact, Allende loved to attend her grandmother's séances. Allende also filled the lonely hours with books and old photos she found in her grandparents' abandoned basement. Fans also know that Allende's family eventually fled Chile with the 1973 coup led by General Augusto Pinochet leading to the death of President Salvador Allende, a relative of the young Isabel...