About this title: Isabel Allende's powerful tale of one boy's escape from the slums of Los Angeles. This magnificent novel tells the story of Gregory Reeves, the son of Charles, an itinerant preacher. As a boy, Gregory accepts the endless journeying and poverty which is his family's lot, never questioning the validity of his father's homespun philosophy of life -- the Infinite Plan. But, as manhood approaches, Gregory finds himself increasingly possessed by a yearning to escape. Hankering after worldly wealth, he longs to break away from the barrio, the teeming Hispanic ghetto of downtown Los Angeles where ...
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Description: New York: Harper Collins Perennial (1993) 24th printing 2003 382 pages, 5 1/4 x 8, large format trade paperback CONDITION: VERY GOOD, light wear, very good plus condition. read more
Description: Very Good. 0060924985 Great condition Soft cover book, clean pages, mild crease to spine, some light edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780060170165ISBN:0060170166
Description: Very good. No dust jacket. cover a bit shelfworn. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 380 p. Audience: General/trade; General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780060924980ISBN:0060924985
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. light wear at corners and edges; otherwise fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 400 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harper/Collins
Date Published: 1993-05
ISBN-13:9780060170165ISBN:0060170166
Description: New. New hardcover in dj. Dust jacket shows very minor shelf wear, otherwise an unblemished copy.; 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Free Delivery Confirmation! Ships same or next business day! read more
Description: Very Good. 0060170166 First Harpercollins Edition / Light shelf wear / edge wear cover/ pages very good condition /"Buy with Confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Customer Service Makes All the Difference. " read more
"Allende's first novel set in the U.S., this is a great read that reminded me of the scope of The World According to Garp. We meet Gregory Reeves when he is four years old. He's traveling with his family, gypsy style, across the U.S. in a truck with a sign on it: The Infinite Plan. His father is mystic selling answers to those who attend the meeting halls he rents out. His mother is a Russian immigrant who is just as distant in her own way.
The novel spans decades and centers around Reeves and his sister-like friend, Carmen, whom he grew up with as the "gringo son" of the Moraleses, his adopted family. We see the San Francisco barrio, Berkley in the sixties, Vietnam in the seventies, and Gregory finally meeting his own Infinite Plan head-on in the starkness of the eighties.
I was particularly impressed with the point of view of the narration. The majority of the story is told in third person but it occasionally passes effortless into first person. A few of the plot points seem to come together a little too easily but even this doesn't really detract from the story, but only serves to accentuate the broad scope."
"the way allende brings words to life is magical. but the life she brings them to...oy! it almost feels like setting a book in the u.s. was a foil to continue on her constant themes (war, poverty, the inadequacy of governments, delinquent families, general misery) and add to them related accessories that this great nation has in spades, such as capitalist greed and the need for therapy. the main character is infinitely (har har) unlikeable and i happen to disagree completely with the idea that if you neglect to raise your child properly and he or she goes to seed, you should let them go because you can't help and you should just be focusing on your own happiness. i wish the book had continued following the nomadic family of the first thirty pages instead of zooming in on gregory reeves, the saddest sack she's brought to life yet."
"i was disappointed in this one. i was expecting something more mysterious like her other books. this one was strange since it was set in US in the midwest."
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