My paintings (inspired by Isabel Allende), Moje slike (nadahnuta s Isabel Allende)

This first painting of mine reminds me of Isabel Allende's heroines (you can find her site here). Now, when I think of it, the second painting also reminds me of one of her characters. That might be just my mind playing tricks on me, but somehow both of them have that something I associate with South American women, that magical complexity that Allende captures beautifully in her novels.  The first novel I read by Allende was her famous The House of the Sprits.  Need I say I was bewitched? For those of your who prefer movies to book, there is also a film version. I only saw a part of the film, so I can't really judge it. I can, however, recommend this novel.


Ova me prva slika podsjeća na heroine Isabel Allende (njena stranica ovdje). Sada kada malo razmislim i druga me slika podsjeća na jedan od njenih likova. Možda mi se to samo činiti, ali obje mi imaju nešto što povezujem s ženama Južne Amerike, tu neku magiju koju Allende divno opisuje u svojim romanima. Prvi njen roman koji sam pročitala bio njen poznati prvijenac Kuća duhova. Moram li reći da sam bila začarana? Za vas koji preferirate filmske verzije, postoji i ta. Nisam ga cijelog pogledala, tako da ga ne mogu ocijeniti. Roman pak svakako mogu preporučiti.

watercolour and coffee (mixed media)
slikano kombinacijom vodenih boje i kave

watercolour and coffee (mixed media)
slikano kombinacijom vodenih boje i kave

The second novel I read by Allende was Zorro. I found her idea of making Zorro more multicultiral fascinating. She also managed to make him more human and somehow even a tragic figure. I like the fact that Zorro is, like many of her characters, biracial. However, I can't said that I consider Zorro to be a masterpiece. It is a good novel, but nothing more than that. It doesn't have the power or the complexity of The House of the Spirits. When I compare those two, it is almost like they're not written by the same author. One of them is magnificent and the other is merely good. Zorro is well written and interesting, but it doesn't stand out when I compare it with other things she has written. Don't get me wrong, it is much better than other Zorro versions because we are talking about a version by a very giften writer, but still this novel lacks that special magic other Allende's novels posses without a doubt.


Drugi roman ove spisateljice koji sam pročitala je Zorro. Njena ideja da napravi Zorra više multikulturalnim mi je jako zanimljiva.  Napravila ga je više čovječnim, pa čak i pomalo tragičnom figurom. Sviđa mi se činjenica da je Zorro, kao puno njezinih likova, mješane rase. Međutim ne mogu reći da smatram Zorra nekakvim remek djelom. To je dobar roman, ali nekako ostaje na tome. Nema tu snagu ili složenost Kuće Duhova. Kada njih dvoje usporedim, kao da i nisu pisani od strane iste spisateljice. Jedan od njih je veličanstven, a drugi je samo dobar. Zorro je dobro napisan i zanimljiv, ali nekako mi se ne ističe kada ga usporedim s drugim njezinim djelima. Nemojte me krivo shvatiti, sigurno je puno bolji od drugih Zorro verzija, jer je ipak riječ o sjajnom književnici, ali nema mi tu neku čaroliju koju njene druge knjige imaju bez sumnje.

akvarel / aquarelle

The third novel that I read by Allende's is Daughter of Fortune. I loved this novel so much. It was a joy to read and I found it to be incredibly touching. It possesed all the magic that existed in The House of Spirits. I feel in love with the heroine of the novel, with her strenght and stubborness. I consider Daughter of Fortune to be an absolutely perfect novel. I plan to reread it some day. So, I can give you my recommendation of this book. It is beautifully written story about love and identity. The plot isn't perfect and some things may not seem entirely realistic, but none of that matters because when you look at this novel as a whole, it is truly wonderful.

Treći roman Isabel Allende koji sam pročitala bio je Kći sreće. Jako mi se svidio roman. Bio je užitak pročitati ga i baš je nevjerojatno dirljiv. U njemu je postojala ta čarolija koju sam osjetila u Kući duhova. Zaljubila sam se u junakinju romana, u njenu snagu i tvrdoglavost. Smatram taj roman potpuno savršenim. Planiram ga ponovo pročitati jednoga dana. Tako da vam mogu dati preporuku ove knjige. Zaplet nije savršen i neke stvari možda nisu posve realne, ali na kraju krojeva ništa od toga nije važno jer kad pogledati roman kao cjelinu stvarno je divan.