it took me forever to finish this because i just didn't want to say goodbye to this series - i just love everything about it.
i am very sad that i have finished The Memories of Eagle & Jaguar series. But i know it's only a see you soon. And anyways, the fabric of space and time unites everything, so in a way maybe i'm always reading these books, always living in this world.
Isabel Allende, as always, writes beautifully, reuniting me with my old favourite pals, and instantly bringing me on board with the new characters. The wit, humor, love, friendship, tension, anger, fear, adolescence - she does it all effortlessly, and i cannot help but to live in these books. the storyline grips you and guides you along with nadia&alex. The way Allende talks, discusses and illustrates her points on humanism, ecology and spiritualism are always excellent, and the end of the saga is no exception.

Boriiiiiing

Escribir fantasía no es lo de Isabel Allende

El libro en líneas generales está bastante entretenido el problema en mi caso yo creo q ha sido q ya lo he pillado muy tarde y que las dos primeras partes me las leí hace mucho tiempo y perdí un poco las referencias, de todas formas muy recomendable si estas empezando con la fantasía.

I read the first two books of this series a couple of years ago and felt like I should have read them all back to back. For whatever reason I wasn't connected with the characters and felt like it lacked suspense.

I like how the ending connected all the books and let us know what happens to the main characters.

I really enjoyed this last installment.


Me gustó mucho la entrega final de la trilogía

Εξωτικό και ιδανικό για εφήβους και παιδιά.
Ή τουλάχιστον για όσους νιώθουν έτσι.
Μου άρεσε το εξώφυλλο του.

Magico!

Setelah membaca ketiga serinya, saya jadi merasa Allende ingin menyampaikan misi perdamaian yang begitu mendasar: kepercayaan. Dalam ketiga buku seri ini, ia menggambarkan betapa kepercayaan orang-orang yang kita anggap primitif ternyata begitu bersahaja. Dunia spiritual itu memang berbeda sesuai perspektif kita, dan mengapa kita kadang begitu sulit memahami dan menerima perbedaan itu. Salah satu kutipan yang paling saya suka dari buku ini: "Tidak ada alasan Tuhan dan roh yang berbeda tidak bisa berbagi tempat yang sama dalam hati manusia".

3.2 estrellas.

This time Jaguer and Eagle are in the heart of Africa.
With Kate Cold's International Geographic team, Alexander and Nadia start their journey in the first elephant safari. At the end of the trip, a missionary stumbles from the jungle and asks their pilot Angie Ninderera to take him to the village Ngoubé, where his brothers were the last time they sent a letter. In last couple of letters they described how difficult the situation in the village is because King Kosongo, commandant Mbembelé and sorcerer Sombe had taken over.
The team decided to help. Upon landing in the middle of the forest Angie's plane crashes and they are left without the vehicle. While walking through the jungle they meet a group of Pygmies who help them to the village. In Ngoubé they are held prisoners.
During the first night Nadia escapes and goes to the part where she saw Pygmy women held, and learns they are slaves for Kosongo, while Pygmy men have to hunt for elephants so he could sell ivory, and if they disobey he would sell their children. Nadia and Alexander escape into the forest where they find the former Queen of Ngoubé and help here come back. They also arrange the fight of the best Pygmy hunter and commandant Mbembelé, in which the hunter wins. They unmask commandant Mbembelé and it turns out he is the same person as King Kosongo. Alexander transforms into jaguar and chases commandant out of the village.

Oh dear. I was forewarned. The other two books in the series were awful enough. I only read this because I had a three-books-in-one edition at home, but I only skim-read it. The series was probably intended for children roughly between 8-11 – old enough to read on their own, but inexperienced enough to enjoy the contrived adventures of the teenage protagonists (with a monkey for a sidekick). The tone is too condescending to pass as Young Adult Fiction, and the narrative arc seems formulaic and, well, childish to the adult reader.

Apart from being full of phony metaphors and overall poor language (is it the translator’s fault???), it is also offensively rich in African clichés, and one gigantic rip-off of “Heart of Darkness”. Moreover, it follows yet again the same pattern as the other two books – so Nadia and Alexander covered the Amazonian rain forest, then the Himalayas, now they defeat some exotic foes in central Africa. The plot is so very clunky and basic that only very young readers might find it entertaining.
Right, it’s a children’s book, but the fantasy elements (magic realism?) are uninspired – so the protagonists can shape-shift and talk in animal languages? Yawn. And it wouldn’t be an Isabel Allende novel without some strong, confident, witty female characters who defy the laws of a man’s world. Snooze.

The end is truly inane, as Ms Allende decides that every other silly character from the other two books miraculously appears out of thin air to help defeat the evil tribal sorcerer.
To be fair, each book tries to address some political issue, and there is merit in bringing the young readers’ attention to the ongoing enslavement of native tribes in the rainforest. But I am sure there are better-told stories about it.