I bought this book from the Oxfam shop in Beeston.
An epic novel. I loved it so I went and bought another one.

This book will be posted to Kangaroo soon

Was waiting for me when I got back from Edinburgh, along with Portrait in Sepia. Thank you - too generous! I have a feeling these will go high on the TBR pile..

This was excellent. I really enjoyed it, although now (October 2004) I can't remember much about the book at all! I wish I could, because I would love to be able to write a better review.

However, I'm going to send it off on its travels around the world as a book ray, to people who had it on their wishlist or asked to read it.

No rules as such, but:
PM the next person after you on the list for their address when you need it.
Try to pass it on within a reasonable amount of time (a month, say); but above all, enjoy reading it!

1. reissilvia, Portugal - Posted 25 Oct 2004, arrived 27 Oct 2004
2. Fire-Dragon, UK
3. flambard, UK In transit!
4. auddie143, Singapore
5. jenvince, California
6. writergrl, New Mexico
7. Morgail, Kentucky
8. meganh, Australia

It was a good book but (and I am not a critic) I wished it didn't end as bluntly...
Sent it to Fire-Dragon but wasn't able to post it as I was netless.

Received in the post last night. Looking forward to reading it as soon as I have finished my current book.

From Amazon.com:
Orphaned at birth, Eliza Sommers is raised in the British colony of ValparaÍso, Chile, by the well-intentioned Victorian spinster Miss Rose and her more rigid brother Jeremy. Just as she meets and falls in love with the wildly inappropriate JoaquÍn Andieta, a lowly clerk who works for Jeremy, gold is discovered in the hills of northern California. By 1849, Chileans of every stripe have fallen prey to feverish dreams of wealth. JoaquÍn takes off for San Francisco to seek his fortune, and Eliza, pregnant with his child, decides to follow him.

So begins Isabel Allende's enchanting new novel, Daughter of Fortune, her most ambitious work of fiction yet. As we follow her spirited heroine on a perilous journey north in the hold of a ship to the rough-and-tumble world of San Francisco and northern California, we enter a world whose newly arrived inhabitants are driven mad by gold fever. A society of single men and prostitutes among whom Eliza moves--with the help of her good friend and savior, the Chinese doctor Tao Chien--California opens the door to a new life of freedom and independence for the young Chilean. Her search for the elusive JoaquÍn gradually turns into another kind of journey that transforms her over time, and what began as a search for love ends up as the conquest of personal freedom. By the time she finally hears news of him, Eliza must decide who her true love really is.

Daughter of Fortune is a sweeping portrait of an era, a story rich in character, history, violence, and compassion. In Eliza, Allende has created one of her most appealing heroines, an adventurous, independent-minded, and highly unconventional young woman who has the courage to reinvent herself and to create her own destiny in a new country. A marvel of storytelling, Daughter of Fortune confirms once again Isabel Allende's extraordinary gift for fiction and her place as one of the world's leading writers.

Fantastic stuff! Isabel Allende is one of my favourite authors and this is a fine example of her work. She is most famous for her first novel, House of Spirits, but I actually think her writing has improved over time. This book is irresistible. It's beautifully written with almost a lyrical quality, I genuinely cared about the characters and it has a picaresque vision from 19th century Chile to the goldfields of California, with side trips down memory lane to England and China. Immensely enjoyable.

Received today! Many thanks, Fire Dragon!

Excellent! A wonderful read over Christmas. The style was one of simple ideas and grand emotions. The settings of Valparaiso and California were wonderfully portrayed, and the characters were clear and sharp. The secrets were masterly - Eliza's parentage, Miss Rose's source of income, Chile Boy, Murieta - and it was immensely satisfying that the author didn't find it necessary to wrap everything up nicely at the end and left the reader to draw their own conclusions. It was a pleasure to be treated with some intelligence!

If I had to pick out one passage which struck a chord, it was:
"Here is England, it is only a small island, but if you add our colonies you will see that we are masters of more than half the globe."
"How did you do that?"
"The same way we did it in Hong Kong: with war and deceit. Let's say that it's a blend of naval power, greed and discipline. We are not superior, we're crueller and greedier." The history of the British Empire summarized in a couple of sentences.

Ready to pass on now!

Released on Monday, January 10, 2005 at about 2:00:00 AM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Sent to a fellow BookCrosser in Controlled release, England United Kingdom.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to auddie143 in Singapore. Enjoy!