Hija De La Fortuna: Novela [Paperback]

Isabel Allende (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2000

Eliza Sommers es una joven chilena que vive en Valparaíso en 1849, el año en que se descubre oro en California. Su amante, Joaquín Andieta, parte hacia el norte decidido a encontrar fortuna, y ella decide seguirlo. El viaje infernal, escondida en la cala de un velero, y la búsqueda de su amante en una tierra de hombres solos y prostitutas atraídos por la fiebre del oro, transforman a la joven inocente en una mujer fuera de lo común. Eliza recibe ayuda y afecto de Tao Chi'en, un médico chino, quien la conducirá de la mano en un itinerario memorable por los misterios y contradicciónes de la condición humana. hija de la fortuna es un retrato palpitante de una época marcada por la violencia y la codicia en la cual los protagonistas rescatan el amor, la amistad, la compasión y el valor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Allende expands her geographical boundaries in this sprawling, engrossing historical novel flavored by four culturesAEnglish, Chilean, Chinese and AmericanAand set during the 1849 California Gold Rush. The alluring tale begins in Valpara!so, Chile, with young Eliza Sommers, who was left as a baby on the doorstep of wealthy British importers Miss Rose Sommers and her prim brother, Jeremy. Now a 16-year-old, and newly pregnant, Eliza decides to follow her lover, fiery clerk Joaqu!n Andieta, when he leaves for California to make his fortune in the gold rush. Enlisting the unlikely aid of Tao Chi'en, a Chinese shipboard cook, she stows away on a ship bound for San Francisco. Tao Chi'en's own storyArichly textured and expansively toldAbegins when he is born into a peasant family and sold into slavery, where it is his good fortune to be trained as a master of acupuncture. Years later, while tending to a sailor in colonial Hong Kong, he is shanghaied and forced into service at sea. During the voyage with Eliza, Tao nurses her through a miscarriage. When they disembark, Eliza is disguised as a boy, and she spends the next four years in male attire so she may travel freely and safely. Eliza's search for Joaqu!n (rumored to have become an outlaw) is disappointing, but through an eye-opening stint as a pianist in a traveling brothel and through her charged friendship with Tao, now a sought-after healer and champion of enslaved Chinese prostitutes, Eliza finds freedom, fulfillment and maturity. Effortlessly weaving in historical background, Allende (House of the Spirits; Paula) evokes in pungent prose the great melting pot of early California and the colorful societies of Valpara!so and Canton. A gallery of secondary characters, developed early on, prove pivotal to the plot. In a book of this scope, the narrative is inevitably top-heavy in spots, and the plot wears thin toward the end, but this is storytelling at its most seductive, a brash historical adventure. Major ad/promo; BOMC dual main selection; 11-city author tour. (Oct.) FYI: This book will also be released in a HarperLibros Spanish edition, Hija del la Fortuna (ISBN 0-06-019492-8).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this luscious saga, Allende reaches beyond her previous novels (e.g., Eva Luna) in both space and time. In 19th-century Chile, a baby girl is left at the doorstep of Jeremy Sommers, director of the British Import and Export Company, Ltd., and his spinster sister, Rose. Rose raises Eliza to marry well and is understandably nonplussed when as a teenager she falls passionately in love with a poor clerk in the company. Eliza possesses all the feistiness and passion that Rose herself has suppressed, and when her somewhat indifferent lover heads north to San Francisco in search of gold, she follows, pregnant, disguised as a boy, and assisted by Tao Ch'ien, a Chinese doctor forced to work as a cook on a ship captained by John Sommers, brother to Jeremy and Rose. Not surprisingly, Eliza has some trouble locating her lover, but through a host of richly detailed adventures, she does find something more precious: freedom. Obvious and at times sentimental, this is still entertaining reading. For all collections.
-ABarbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Rayo (September 5, 2000)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0060932767
• ISBN-13: 978-0060932763
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of eight novels, including, most recently, Zorro, Portrait in Sepia, and Daughter of Fortune. She has also written a collection of stories; three memoirs, including My Invented Country and Paula; and a trilogy of children's novels. Her books have been translated into more than twenty-seven languages and have become bestsellers across four continents. In 2004 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Isabel Allende lives in California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simplemente...., October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hija de la fortuna (Hardcover)

... es una novela exitante llena de aventuras. Isabel Magicamente nos sumerge en ese fantastico viaje donde cada personaje esta en busca de algo particular que llene sus necesidades: oro, identidad, libertad... Nuevamente Allende nos enbriaga y hace adictos de sus letras... LA RECOMIENDO ASI COMO TODAS SUS DEMAS OBRAS.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Hija" es peor que sus otras obras, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hija de la fortuna (Hardcover)

Ademas de los personajes fuertes, el enfoque sobre el choque de las culturas y los detalles riquisimos sobre la vida en Chile, China y California, tendria que decir que no vale la pena de leer esta novela. Allende ha escrito y, seguramente, va a seguir escribiendo obras clasicas y inteligentes pero "Hija" debe de estar olvidado. Cuando la autora visito a Seattle para presentar esta novela yo le pregunte por que su obra termino asi--casi sin desarollo del trama. Ella me dijo que si ella hubiera terminado la novela se la convertiria en una mera novela de romance. Temo que "Hija" ya es una mera novela de romance.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, breath-taking story, November 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hija de la Fortuna (in Spanish) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book. Allende takes us through a fabulous journey through the young eyes of this amazing woman, Eliza Sommers. Eliza is courageous, adventurous and full of life. I found the background on the Gold Rush and the early years of California fascinating. Even though the end leaves you wondering some things, it is parallel to what the book is all about -- the world out there which is unknown to all of us. Beautiful piece of work. I highly recommend it.