Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

 

Overall rating: ★★★★

Eliza Sommers came to Rose Sommers’ life under questionable circumstances. Eliza’s origins did not seem to weight as much as Rose would have thought… as soon as she saw the baby in the box wrapped in a man’s sweater, Rose knew her life would change forever. Rose would love and educate Eliza like her own daughter. Nobody in the house of Valparaiso was allowed to question or to tell Eliza how she came to live in the Sommers’ house with Rose and her brother Jeremy.

Eliza grew up between the refined manners of Rose and the smells of Mama Fresia’s (her nanny and cook) kitchen. Eliza developed a keen sense of smell that would preserve her from certain occupations later on in her life. When Eliza turned 16 years old, she met the man that would make her world come upside down. She knew it the minute she smelled him. That man would forever change her destiny and make her understand that things could only be that way.

Daughter of Fortune is the first book of an unusual trilogy. It is the first book but it was not the first one written by Isabel Allende. It seems that the trilogy happened almost by accident in a circle that came back to where Ms. Allende started her career as a novelist. This is the second time I read this book; my goal is to read all three back to back to have the complete story with a good understanding of the families and their relationships.

Daughter of Fortune starts in the beautiful city of Valparaiso (Chile) in the year 1843. The characters’ adventures, fortunes, and misfortunes take us to California during the gold rush – San Francisco, Sacramento, and other smaller cities –, to China, briefly to England, and extensively aboard different ships that navigated the route between Valparaiso and California, New York, and Europe. 

The story is so beautifully written and extraordinary that it would be almost impossible not to fall in love with Rose, Eliza, Tao Chi’en, and some other characters. Others, like Agustin del Valle, would be more difficult to love… but their presence would be fully felt. Daughter of Fortune is a great novel of love, resilience, entrepreneurship, honor, family, and some unusual subjects for the time like female power, interracial relations, and questioning the truth about God and the Catholic church. 

The book is available in paperback.  

Originality: ★★★★

Beauty and use of language: ★★★★

Inferno by Dan Brown

Overall rating:★★★

Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital room in Florence with a bullet wound in his head and with some days lost out of his memory probably forever. He has strange visions of Hell as described by Dante in his famous classic book The Divine Comedy. Robert cannot remember why and how he arrived in Florence, why or who shot him, and he is supposed to be doing in Florence outside of his usual trips to the Renaissance city. 

All these questions will be answered as Dan Brown walks through the cities of Florence, Venice, and Istanbul. The mystery involves details of Dante’s Divine Comedy especially the poem related to Hell. The villain, obsessed with both the Divine Comedy and world overpopulation, creates the reasons for Robert Langdon being summoned to Florence, for people following both Robert Langdon and our evil man, and gives enough reason for world leaders to worry about his plan. 

Inferno is an entertaining reading. The action is concentrated in 48-72 hours, which can be overwhelming for some people. I personally prefer novels whose stories and action happen in a longer time period to be able to assimilate and enjoy each character and their personal tales. Reading Dan Brown’s book is an entertaining way of reading an encyclopedia. The writer succeeds in picking the readers’ curiosity. Other than that, the novel does not have any other value. The writing is not particularly beautiful and the characters do not have any depth or real philosophical ways to see life. I would expect that a movie would come out based on this book. If I could turn back time, I would wait for the movie instead of reading the book – there would not be a big loss of details or events, it would take less time, and probably the visual effects and photography of such beautiful cities would be more impressive on the big screen than on the pages of Mr. Brown’s books. 

The book is available in hardcover and Kindle.

Originality:★★★★

Beauty and use of language: ★★

Pastelaria de Belem - Belem, Portugal

When you visit the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos in Belem, Portugal (and even if you don’t go to the monastery), a visit to Pastelaria de Belem is a must. The pasteis de nata are a little piece of heaven in your mouth. They are sweet but not cloying. It’s impossible to have only one. Even as I am writing this review, I close my eyes and I can feel the taste, the texture, the softness… I better not think anymore or I will have to get a ticket and get me some pasteis… To visit their website click here.

Cabo Blanco Restaurant

Overall rating: ★★★★

I have been several times to this place. It is really convenient for lunch. The service is fast and they have many lunch specials both Cuban and Peruvian. Some of my favorites are sauteed calamari, skirt steak, and the fish. Waitresses are nice and prices are very affordable. To visit their website click here.

Service: ★★★★

Value: ★★★★

Top Ten Wednesday (TTW) - Books that made me lose my time

1. Twilight Saga

I have to admit that all four books are entertaining but they provide nothing more than knowledge about vampires and werewolves. Also, Bella’s self-esteem is mostly absent giving female readers yet another reason to feel insecure… just saying.

2. Breakfast with Buddha

This book is a pseudo Buddhist book. If the reader has never heard of Bhudda it could be an easy and entertaining introduction. The novel is somewhat engaging and can only be helpful if you are planning a road trip from New York to somewhere in the Midwest and would like to know some of the restaurants on the way.

3. The Great Gatsby

I know this is one of the classics of American literature but honestly I tried to see what the point of the story was and I could not. I did not go to high school in the states – maybe it was explained in the English class – but other than the luxurious life of Gatsby, the bad event, and the fact that he got away with it, the novel did not provide much else for me.

4. The Newlyweds

I was drawn to this book because the story was about a mixed couple – an American man and a woman from Bangladesh. I am in a mixed relationship myself so I was hoping to connect with the story immediately. Well, I was wrong. Their marriage was strange – it was not arranged but it seemed that it was not for love either. The writer portrayed the Bangladeshi woman as opportunistic and the man as someone with no feelings. There was an unexpected twist but it was so bizarre that in my humble opinion it did not fit in the story.

5. One Minute Millionaire

The intention of this book is supposedly to help the rest of us become millionaires. Although some of the tips may be useful most of them are very hard to apply. Also the writer tries to appeal to those readers who use their right-side of the brain with the same message in the shape of a story… I do not want to be impolite, let’s just say I’m glad a left-sided brainy.

6. Acres of Diamonds

Suffice to say that this was a complete waste of money and time. The positive? It was a short book.

7. The Sea Wolf 

This one is supposed to be another classic. This one is about a tyrannical boat captain on a voyage from San Francisco to China. I guess the only thing one can learn from this book is how evil a man with power could be.

8. As a Man Thinketh

As in Acres of Diamond, reading this book was a waste of time and money. It is also a short book so the damage was not too big.

9. Russian’s Debutante Handbook

I read this book recently. The story was not engaging and I kept reading with the hope that something would happen. Well there was brief action towards the end of the book. It was not worth the wait and time.

10. The Worlds I Love (Los Mundos que Amo)

This is some interplanetary story with which I could not connect. Maybe readers who like science fiction may enjoy it… it was not my cup of tea.

El Corral USA

Overall rating: ★★★★

In all my trips to Colombia even those that were merely layover I made an effort to go to this burger place. This chain opened recently in Miami. Of course I had to go and check it out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted very close to the ones in Colombia. Burgers were very tasty; French fries are delicious. To visit their page click here.

Service: Self-service

Value: ★★★★

Miami Art Cafe

Overall rating: ★★★★

This small café in downtown Miami is perfect for a quick lunch. I have been there a couple of times and it is always good. The last time I was there I had the chicken avocado wrap. My friend K had the combo of soup and quiche; according to her both really good. Service is fast, waitresses are nice… good food for the price.

Service: ★★★★

Value: ★★★★