28. Daughter of Fortune, by Isabel Allende
Let me start by saying that I have read nothing else by Isabel Allende; apparently her earlier work is better. Daughter of Fortune is wholly pedestrian, with shallow-drawn characters about whom it is impossible to care. All manner of tragedy is thrown at them, and I am simply not moved on their behalf at all. Every move of the plot can be predicted in advance: shock: girl turns out to be the daughter of her adoptive uncle! Amazement: she forgets her long-lost lover [the ridiculously mythical socialist-turned-outlaw], and falls for her trusted companion instead!
The ending is unsatisfactory and smacks of being left open for a sequel; in other words, it wasn’t even finished properly. There are occasional moments of description that leap out from the text as anomolies; the best one of these I must share with you: a large woman with hyperbolic breasts. Meh.
3/5