When I started reading "The House of the Spirits", I labeled it as Magical Realism, and it IS from a Latin-American author. And yes, it has magical qualities... As it progresses, it becomes all too real: an analysis of class and race and politics and military dictatorship--but along with that is also love (and other relationships), magic, foolhardy schemes, birds, and kindness.

This copy came to me used, and sat on a shelf for years. I finally read it during the pandemic lockdown. A former reader was a bit lavish with the pen, underlining things and making comments...this reader was interested in the political aspects of the story, and seeing these parts emphasized made me think about this more than I would have. The story is narrated in two voices and documents four generations of a family, beginning early in the 20th century (though dates and specific historical events are kept rather vague...).