Isabel Allende's La casa de los Espiritus has ended up as one of my favorite novels of all time. This novel accounts the story of the Trueba family in a South American country from the begining of the centurty up to the modern times. Allende introduces various colorful characters in incredible almost surreal at times situations. Allende's writing style is simple, and to the point, but she knows just when and how to include details that give you crisp ideas and visions of exactly what is going . The incredible story of the Truebas is one all families can relate to, the characters are so vivid in ones mind, you know exactly what Isabel was thinking as she created them. Everyone should put this book on their summer reading list!