History Literature / TheHouseOfTheSpirits

It spawned a film in 1994, which received negative reviews and was a BoxOfficeBomb.

* EarthquakesCauseFissures: And worse things. It's actually based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake Chilean 1960 earthquake]], complete with the pandemonium that followed.

The House of Spirits is an 1982 novel, Creator/IsabelAllende's first and most famous novel.

The book deals with the members of the Trueba family, their growth, their rise and eventually their downfall. Esteban Trueba, an ultra-conservative landowner, marries the {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Clara del Valle, with who they have three kids, Blanca and the twins Nicolás and Jaime. Trueba builds his fortune through his farm Las Tres Marías, but this, coupled with his political views, throw a few wrenches in the wheels of his family. Drama ensues.

* AdaptationDistillation: The movie cuts A LOT of characters ([[JustifiedTrope justified]], since they're [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters so many]], but still).

* BabiesEverAfter: Subverted. [[spoiler:Alba ends pregnant, but she doesn't know if the baby is of her boyfriend or her bastard cousin, who raped her repeatedly. She thinks of it and decides that it's ''her'' baby after all, so it'll work somehow.]]

* BookEnds: The book starts with kid!Clara writing on her lifebook. [[spoiler: Alba is reading the same 'book in the end.]]

** In a roundabout way, [[spoiler: Alba and Miguel. Since his older sister Amanda was among those who helped Blanca when she was giving birth to Alba in the Trueba home, Miguel managed to slip inside the room and was present wnen Alba came to this world.]]

* DyingAlone: Férula damns Esteban to die like a dog. Averted, because he dies in company of his granddaughter.
** [[spoiler:Férula herself dies alone; her family only finds out that she's dead after her spirit visits them during a family dinner. This was deliberate: after Esteban kicked her out, she refused to have any contact with the Truebas - to the point that Clara can't use her powers to find her.]]

* {{Fingore}}: Esteban cuts three of Pedro Tercero's fingers. He [[HeroicBSOD doesn't take it well]], but later [[HowDoIShotWeb works it out]] and [[HandicappedBadass learns to play the guitar with less fingers than usual.]]

* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: At the end [[spoiler: Alba doesn't know if her child is of Miguel or of Colonel Garcìa or of random militar who raped her during her imprisonment but she doesn't care.]]

* PosterGalleryBedroom: a non-traditional one: Alba's bedroom is a full mural painted by herself since she was a little girl, despicting her most important moments of her life. [[spoiler:This is foreshadowing of TheReveal that she has been TheNarrator all along]]
** "Minor" versions: Rosa's huge and unfinished tapestry and Clara's lifebooks.

* PsychicPowers: Clara [[ISeeDeadPeople talks with spirits]] and [[TeleKinesis moves objects with her mind.]] She's so skileld at the latter task that she can ''pay the piano without touching it''.

* ShotgunWedding: [[spoiler: Esteban makes Blanca marry Jean de Satigny because she carries Pedro Tercero's daughter.]]

* StarCrossedLovers: Subverted with Blanca and Pedro Tercero. They at least have [[EsotericHappyEnding some sort of happy ending]].

* StrawMisogynist: Esteban

* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Rosa was ver talented at sewing and needlepoint, and she chanellized said skill via sewing a HUGE tapestry through years.

* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:six year old Miguel was there when Alba was born. (That one's justified: Amanda, his older sister, was there as well.]]

* VillainousCrush: [[spoiler: Surprisingly - but not so much for a GenreSavvy reader - Esteban Garcìa develops one to Alba. Too bad that [[IgnoredEpiphany he slams her into isolation cell]] after figuring out this.]]

* GraveRobbing: Esteban and his sons exhume Clara's corpse from the Del Valle's crypt to put it in the Trueba's crypt.

* VillainousCrush: [[spoiler: Surprisingly - but not so much - Esteban Garcìa develops one to Alba. Too bad that [[IgnoredEpiphany he slams her into isolation cell]] after figuring out this.]]

* Foreshadowing: Alba has always the feeling that [[spoiler: Esteban Garcìa will have to do with her. She was ''horribly'' right.]]

* EccentricMentor: Pedro Primero. He seems to be just a rambling old man, but he can get rid of an ants plague and mend all the broken bones of Esteban without any problem. Oh, and did I mention he's blind?

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: Esteban García has always suffered his condition of bastard and has always envied the happy and prosperous infancy of Alba and instigated by his grandmother Pancha Garcia, he seeks revenge.]]

* HomoeroticSubtext: Clara and Ferula, so much, especially on [[AmbiguouslyGay Ferula's part.]] Esteban notices this, which leads him to [[spoiler: kicking Ferula out of his house]]

* {{Jerk With A Heart Of Gold}}: Esteban.

* MaidenAunt: Ferula.

* PluckyGirl: Alba
** Also [[spoiler:Tránsito Soto]]

* PsychicPowers: Clara talks with spirits and moves objects with her mind. She's so skileld at the latter task that she can ''pay the piano with telekinesis''.

* SiblingTriangle: Nicolás, Jaime and Amanda.

* TheSpeechless: Clara loses her ability to speak due to a traumatic event ([[spoiler:Rosa's murder, which she blames herself for]]). She only regains it when she announces that Esteban will ask her parents for permission to marry her.

* BigScrewedUpFamily

* BookEnds

** Her older sister Rosa also was pretty off. Nivea was seriously worried that the girl wouldn't ever do anything but sewing.

** [[spoiler:Férula herself dies alone; her family only finds out that she's dead after her spirit visits them during a family dinner.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: Esteban Garcìa gets a fewbefore [[spoiler: the golpe.]]

* PsychicPowers: Clara talks with spirits and moves objects with her mind.

* TheRival: Nana vs. Férula

* TheSpeechless: Clara loses her ability to speak due to a traumatic event ([[spoiler:Rosa's murder]]). She only regains it when she announces that Esteban will ask her parents for permission to marry her.

* TellHimImNotSpeakingToHim

* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: Somehow, [[spoiler:six year old Miguel was there when Alba was born. (His sister Amanda was there, actually).]]

* WomenArePrudes: None of the female characters give any indication of actually liking sex. Clara gets to the point where she just thinks it's boring. Blanca enjoys making love to Pedro Tercero but after [[spoiler: she gets pregnant and is forced to marry Jean de Satigny, she can't think of having sex with anyone else.]]

* AllofBigSister: Férula and Esteban aren't all that close.

** Her older sister Rosa also was pretty off. Nivea was seriously worried that the girl wouldn't ever do anything but sewing.

* [[SelfMadeMan Self-Made People]]: Esteban goes from an ImpoverishedPatrician miner to a very rich landowner and a Senate member [[spoiler:before losing almost everything]]. Similarly, [[spoiler:Pedro Tercero goes from a poor farm boy to a well-known guitar player and musician idolized by the local youth]]. [[spoiler:Tránsito Soto goes from an ugly but plucky teen prostitute to a beautiful and smart HookerWithAHeartOfGold ''and'' then to a financially fluent and ''very'' well-positioned MissKitty.]]

** Similarly, Esteban only recalled Clara as an average-looking and VERY awkward 12-year-old StrangeGirl. Cue him being almost dumbstruck when he meets her at age 18 and sees that she has grown into a much prettier woman.

* StrangeGirl: Clara, who remains eccentric as she grows up.
** Rosa was just as odd, but without the PsychicPowers.
** Alba may also count.

It spawned a film, which received mixed reviews.

* HowDoIShotWeb: Or better said, [[spoiler:"How Do I Learn To Play Guitar With Three Fingers Less?"]]

** [[spoiler: Alba gets also three fingers chopped off by Esteban Garcìa and ''send them to her grandpa''.]]

* MindOverMatter: Clara moves a table only with his mind.

* VillainousIncest: Esteban García, [[spoiler:step-grandson of Esteban Trueba, rapes his step-cousin Alba. [[MoralEventHorizon Many times]] ]].

* {{JerkWithAnHeartOfGold}}: Esteban.

The House of Spirits is an 1982 novel, IsabelAllende's first and most famous novel.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic

* AllMenArePerverts: Esteban Trueba is the main culprit here, but can be noticed with a majority of the male characters.

* FreudianExcuse: Esteban García.

* {{Jerkass}}: Again, Esteban.

* NewAgeRetroHippie: Nicolás.

* SheIsAllGrownUp: Blanca grew into her looks, and was depicted as genuinely ugly when she was born.

The book deals with the members of the Trueba family, their growth, their rise and eventually their downfall. Esteban Trueba, an ultra-conservative landowner, marries the CloudCuckooLander Clara del Valle, with who they have three kids, Blanca and the twins Nicolás and Jaime. Trueba builds his fortune through his farm Las Tres Marías, but this, coupled with his political views, throw a few wrenches in the wheels of his family. Drama ensues.

* CloudCuckooLander: Clara del Valle.

* AllMenArePerverts: Esteban Trueba is the main culprit here, but other male characters have their moments too.
** Actually can be noticed with a majority of the male characters. [[UpToEleven Including Barabás, Jaime and Nicolas.]]

* StraightGay: Jean de Satigny and Férula (the later case is only implied) are supposed to be this.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Rosa is described as having had green hair. The very first edition cover allegedly portrait her.

* EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage: Clara believes it's the ideal language.

* BuryYourGays: The two most prominent gay characters die way before the end of the novel.

* MyHairCameOutGreen: This happens to Rosa, in an event inspired by something similar that happened to the author.

* StraightGay: Jean de Satigny and Férula are supposed to be this.

* StraightGay: Jean de Satigny and Férula are supposed to be this.