This beautifully written book tells the story of a girl raised in Chile by English merchants. She grows up learning all the ways of being a lady but finds the strong emotions of her mind beckoning her elsewhere. After the acquisition of California by the USA, people all around her including her first "true love" scramble to get on the boats to California inspired by the gold rush. Eliza finding herself heart broken decides to follow her heart - all the way to California.
One of the things that impressed me most about this book was the descriptive nature in which it was told. Every character had a background that remained essential to the plot, and to why they did certain things or did not do others. Interestingly, the man who ends up tending to Eliza when she is a stowaway on a boat (Tao) and Eliza herself both journey to where the gold rush is taking place but neither of them are there for gold. Eliza striving for the love she has lost and Tao not wishing to become rich without the work he believes in - a sort of healing practice. One of the things I took away from this book was the love Eliza held for years of a perceived gentleman, when what she doesn't realise is how much a person can keep hidden even when the depths of intimacy have been reached.
The ending of this book seemed in one way complete and perfect but in another way annoyed me a hell of a lot. Ends were tied up but not shown to the author although earlier references in the book let you know what happened when looking back on it. Would recommend this author and this book to anyone, I enjoyed this story immensely (far more than The Infinite Plan).
1 comment:
If you want to know what happens next, you should read 'Portrait in Sepia' and then 'The House of Spirits'. They form a sort of accidental trilogy, even though she wrote the House of Spirits first.
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