Isabel Angelica Allende Llona was born on August 2, 1942 in Lima, Peru.
She is a journalist, translator, public speaker, and writer of both fiction and
nonfiction books. Some of her works are considered to be in the genre of
magical realism, which introduces fantasy into what would otherwise be
considered to be a fairly rational story. She has written at least twenty books.
The House of the Spirits was published in 1982. The book follows the story
of three generations of the Trueba family in a South American country. Alexander
Coleman from the New York Times book review wrote: "Spectacular . . . An
absorbing and distinguished work . . . The House of the Spirits with its
all-informing, generous, and humane sensibility, is a unique achievement,
both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present,
and future of Latin America."