City of the Beasts

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Ein bisschen halten mich die Figuren auf Abstand (z.B. stereotypische Bösewichte), da gibt's einen Stern Abzug von mir. Está narrada en tercera persona siguiendo un argumento lineal y bastante descriptivo (usual en la autora), pero sin resultar aburrido. Está poblado de animales, indígenas, chamanes, dioses y espíritus, en donde se entretejen a la perfección la magia, la fantasía y la realidad. I loosed a breath I didn’t know I was holding. An endless labyrinth of shelfs lie before me. I am simultaneously intimidated and in awe. La ciudad de las bestias = City of the Beasts (Memories of the Eagle and the Jaguar #1), Isabel Allende

To prevent this review from becoming a novel in itself, I will get to the book now. I really had a great time with it, and with the entire trilogy for that matter. I loved the setting, the writing, I loved the hint of magic, and loved the character (especially grandma).

I do hope you enjoyed that piece of melodrama… Seriously though, when you are a kid, going to the adult section for the first time seems like a big deal. The first time I went there was for this book. Nowadays, this book would be appropriately shelved as YA, and my mom knew this when she recommended this to me (Don’t worry, she didn’t send her child out to fetch 50-shades of erotica or some traumatizing horror-book). However, this was the zeros and small-town libraries in the Netherlands where blissfully ignorant of the existence of such rebellious new genres.

The beginning was boring beyond belief. I had to read this for school, and my class and I begged the teacher to let us read another one. It had no interest for us, no appeal. I hated the grandmother, didn't know what to think of the main character, and was bored out of my mind by the language. When the main character was swimming with the dolphins, the story basically went, 'I was having so much fun. It was the best day of my life.', and then boom, on to the next boring-as-crap thing. I had to wonder if something was lost in the translation... The first half of the book had a snails pace, just prolonging our torture. Lo que mas me gusto fue el personaje de Alex y como se desarrollo a través de la trama, todas las pruebas que tiene que superar, desde las que le presenta la vida en su hogar,las que le impone la inhóspita y salvaje selva amazónica, y la prueba que lo llevara a ser hombre y mas adelante héroe. Toll, dass Alexander und Nadia sich als jugendliche Protagonisten auch tatsächlich *jung* anfühlen (keine Pseudojugendlichen, die sich stattdessen die ganze Zeit mit Erwachsenenthemen, meistens Sex, rumschlagen) San Francisco Chronicle Book Review for Nov. 17th 2002: one of the best Young Adult Science Fiction novels of 2002 [5]

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I had always known this day would come, but never thought it’d come so soon. I take the right turn, where I have always taken the left, half expecting to hear someone ask me: “are you lost little girl”. But I am not lost. I stand at the threshold, and open a door I have never been able to close ever since. Me encanto la historia por varias razones, es una travesía a tierras fantásticas y peligrosas al estilo de Julio Verne, que se desarrolla en las selvas de mi tierra Venezuela, tiene algo de magia y misticismo, y habla de las culturas autóctonas de mi país, si bien es algo inocente en algunos puntos con respecto a los indígenas, no deja por ello de ser un libro juvenil muy bueno, a la altura de varias de las sagas que están de moda en la actualidad. Isabel Allende (through talented translator Margaret Sayers Peden) regales us with a lyrical epic of nonstop adventure. Her sparkling new novel enchants a fresh generation of readers with its astounding spirituality—and keeps us tingling with anticipation throughout its mystical tale. Suspicion starts to grow around some members of the party. The stated objectives of a couple of nefarious types seem at odds with their actions. Fortunately, Alex teams up with Nadia, the guide’s daughter, and the two form a bond which unites them throughout the journey. They go into each day with open minds, allowing them to see the good in evil-appearing individuals, and the bad disguised as beauty in others. Al principio no sabía qué esperar, sin embargo, me encontré con una historia de aventuras muy bonita, rodeada de fantasía, personajes increíbles y una lección sobre la destrucción de ecosistemas, en donde nos obsequia valores familiares y una verdadera amistad.

The fact that this has been describes as an ecological romance makes me cringe, as this is definitely neither a flattering nor an accurate way to describe this. In fact, part of why I enjoyed reading this was because it wasn't a romance story - it's an adventure. Initial reception was split between harsh criticism and approval. Some critics regarded the novel as an engaging read and a good first try at a children's book, [3] while others note its slow start, and tedious, somewhat unconvincing speech in translation. Isabel Allende created some wonderful characters here - the participants of the expedition all got their unique character traits, they're dynamic feels real and believable and I particularly liked how tough the females in this story were. They're definitely victims to men who think themselves as authoritarian, but at the same time they're in no way afraid to stand their ground. Our main characters are young adults - we've got the 15 year old Alexander and the 13 year old Nadia and both of them felt believable as well. They're hitting puberty, where you might feel in charge and in control of everything, but at the same time you're clearly not. Still, they're never annoying, but ultimately good-natured and brave kids. Echter, onder de expeditieleden bevinden zich ook enkele corrupte mensen, die het helemaal niet goed voorhebben met de indianen, maar ze willen uitroeien, zodat ze het land in bezit kunnen nemen en kunnen exploiteren. Materie genoeg voor een spannend verhaal!The exciting, surprising finale will leave you hungry for more. Never fear— City of the Beasts is the first book of a planned series. Why don't you go ahead and clear out a little space in your bookshelves now? These are going to be keepers!” Reread 2021: you know that great feeling of rereading a childhood favourite and finding it actually manages to hold up to your memories? Yeah, well: this didn’t... Isabel Allende seamlessly educates us while we’re in the grip of her ceaseless suspense. Ill treatment of the Indians, catastrophic decisions about the environment, and corrupt officials all get equal play in City of the Beasts. More than one moral winds its way through the jungle with the youths.

When they reach the village, they are welcomed by the Natives - but their happiness is tempered by the death of Mokarita, which follows shortly after. He is given a traditional funeral, which unfortunately sends up a great amount of smoke from the pyre. During the funeral, everyone is given a drug which reveals to Nadia her totem of the eagle. Jaguar and Eagle are initiated into the clan. Alex, being fifteen, is put through a rite of passage into manhood; during the ceremony, unusual things happen. Firstly, he turns into a jaguar, his totem; secondly, he receives a vision of his mom on her hospital bed and he talks briefly with her. After the ceremonies, the Shaman takes them to visit the Beasts, who live in a lair city deep within the forest. These Beasts are considered gods by the People of the Mist. Jaguar correctly assumes their city to be the famous El Dorado which is really made from fool's gold. Jaguar and Eagle embark on a journey to visit El Dorado and its inhabitants with the help of Walimai, the mystic's spirit wife who will serve as their guide. The city is located inside of an inactive volcano, and the only entrance is a confusing labyrinth of lava tunnels and caves.The People of the Mist test Alex and Nadia with harrowing experiences, teaching them about their culture and values. In exchange, the tribe learns to trust—and even rely on—the teens. Eventually, they set Alex and Nadia off on a journey to El Dorado. There, the two find unlikely treasures, valuables that may enrich their lives in unforeseen ways if they can survive the many obstacles in their paths. Making the right decisions becomes a matter of life or death. For nostalgias sake I’m keeping it at 4/5 stars because I have wonderful memories of reading this with my mum when I was about 10, but really: this doesn’t age well. When I was in my teens I don't believe that I had the choice of books that is now readily available for YAs or even middle grade youngsters. In the end, Eagle and Jaguar must part. She gives Alex the three "crystal eggs", which turn out to be giant diamonds. With the money gained from their sale, it was hoped that they would be able to fund a foundation to keep the World's Eye safe. Alex tells her that the best thing about the trip was meeting her, and they agree that they will be best friends forever. Creo que de lo mejor del libro es la evolución de los dos niños, se vuelven dos personas nobles, honradas, con la mente abierta a otras culturas, tolerantes y defensores de las causas justas. El realismo mágico está presente en toda esa evolución, dejando borrosas las barreras entre lo que aprendieron por ser real y lo que aprendieron por ser maravilloso o mágico.