book review: Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
The backstory: It's time for a confession, folks. I worked as a bookseller at an independent bookstore in college, and sometimes I cheerfully recommended books I haven't read. One of my go to novels for those who liked historical fiction (which I rarely read then except for Sarah Waters, whose debut Tipping the Velvet had rocked my socks off), was Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. In my defense, I had read other novels, but the book buyers at this store wanted new things; they wanted hardbacks. Clearly a tinge of guilt is still there, so I decided it was finally time to read this novel I recommended to so many that year. My thoughts: When I first sat down with Daughter of Fortune, I intended to read for only fifteen minutes. I immensely dislike being between two books, and I wanted just enough to give me a taste of what was to come. An hour later, I was sad to put the book down. Sometimes there are books, and in this case, the character of Eliza, who dig i...