![]() Clara stops speaking for the next nine years because she's worried that, by predicting Rosa's death, she's the one who caused it. Everyone's devastated, especially Esteban. Unfortunately, Rosa dies before he can strike it rich, poisoned by a swig of brandy that was intended to kill her father, a liberal politician. He slaves away in a mine in the North, hoping to make his fortune so he can return to the capital to marry Rosa. Esteban Trueba is a young, ambitious entrepreneur who's engaged to the eldest del Valle daughter, Rosa the beautiful. So when he arrives at the del Valle home in a coffin, Clara would be quite upset if it weren't for the mangy, half-starved puppy that shows up in her uncle's luggage. Uncle Marcos is one of Clara's most beloved relatives, an adventurer who tells her stories of his trips around the world and bequeaths to the family a chest full of magical books. ![]() Around this time, Clara's Uncle Marcos dies. Turns out, Clara already has some special gifts – she can predict the future, interpret dreams, and move furniture around telekinetically. This concerns her parents, for more reasons than you might think. When little Clara curses during a silent moment she earns a reputation for demonic possession. We're introduced to the del Valle family as Severo and Nívea sit in a sweltering church with their eleven living children and listen to the overly zealous priest's fire-and-brimstone sermon. Clara continues to write in journals the rest of her life, and it's thanks to her that the narrator can piece together the family history fifty years later. ![]() The novel opens with Clara as a young girl, writing in her first journal about the arrival of a new pet, an enormous dog that she names Barrabás. Events are not recorded chronologically, which can make following the plot a bit complicated, but let's give it a shot. The House of the Spirits is a family saga that spans four generations, but focuses primarily on the lives of two women in the clan, Clara del Valle and Alba de Satigny, and the connection between them.
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