Dessa vez já reencontramos Nádia e Alexander no novo lugar de sua aventura, ambos estão acompanhando Kate que fora convidada por um guia e naturalista para escrever sobre uma nova modalidade de turismo na África. Kate até tinha prometido não levar os garotos para mais nenhuma aventura, mas não viu nada demais em um simples safári. E o safári realmente não foi o problema, ela só não contava encontrar com um missionário no último dia da viagem e que por causa desse encontro eles acabassem se embrenhando em um pedaço esquecido da selva africana, em uma aldeia escondida numa região comandada por um psicopata se de repente se vissem às voltas lutando contra um ditador que mantém duas tribos servindo aos seus interesses.“Com a voz emocionada, a escritora leu a breve mensagem de seu neto: “Nádia e eu estamos tentando ajudar os pigmeus. Tratem de distrair Kosongo. Não se preocupem, voltamos logo.” – Aqueles meninos ficaram loucos – Joel González comentou.– Não ficaram, esse é o estado natural deles – gemeu a avó – E agora, o que poderemos fazer?”No livro anterior o que estava em cheque era a herança cultural de um país que estava correndo o risco de ser perdida e conspurcada pela ganância. Agora, no último livro da trilogia, Allende retoma o grito de alerta do primeiro livro, contra a destruição massiva da natureza. Como comentei na resenha do livro anterior, a fórmula adotada pela Allende pode até ser previsível, afinal já começamos a leitura sabendo que uma aventura estar por vir, que os bandidos dessa história sempre estão atrás do lucro desmedido não importando a destruição que tenham que fazer para isso e que Alex e Nádia farão de tudo para impedir que eles saiam ganhando, mas o entrosamento dos protagonistas e o lado sobrenatural da história, que aqui atinge seu ápice retomando até mesmo antigos personagens tornam a história encantadora. Uma trilogia que recomendo para o que gostam de romances de aventura, em conhecer novos lugares e não tenham preconceito com elementos sobrenaturais. Ao longo das histórias fomos guiados por Alex e Nádia, e além de conhecer mais sobre os lugares que eles visitaram, também pudemos acompanhar o crescimento dos personagens e o desenvolvimento de sua relação e gostei dos rumos dado aos personagens por Allende que aqui se despede da Águia e do Jaguar.Blablabla Aleatório
I was disappointed to find that Alex and Nadia were yet again faced with the very repetitive storyline throughout this series: they go to an exotic country and get faced with some dangerous foes, but as always Alex the shape-shifting American teenager and his Latin-American friend Nadia conquer all with their weird and wonderful powers. I don’t mean to be rude but I must ask was this book written for teenagers or for primary school children with an unfaltering lack of imagination? The main reason I got into reading this series in the first place, was due to my interest in the scenery described for the setting in the books. The first novel ‘City of Beasts’ had an almost original style to it that I actually quite enjoyed. The supernatural fantasy side to the books is very ambiguous at best, as Isabelle Allende does tend to go a little overboard. The book unsurprisingly is set in one of the few continents that the shape-shifting duo haven’t visited with the National Geographic team: Africa. The ‘pygmies’ lie in the heart of the blazing wild plains of Kenya, which surprise surprise must be approached by the National Geographic team of all people, as a Catholic missionary urgently seeks their help. Thus, Alex and Nadia are forced to call upon their ‘totemic animal spirits’ to help restore peace among the pygmies and free those captured under the wrath of their foes. For me the only character that I actually found I could relate to throughout this novel was Alex’s grandmother Kate, as her grumpiness and realistic attitude helped to balance out all the ‘animal spirit’ absurdity. The adventure supposedly brings Alex and Nadia closer together and a romantic future for the two of them is hinted at the very end, yet I still envisage their relationship as quite brother and sisterly, as I didn’t really get any hint of romantic feelings shared between them.All in all, I cannot deny I am a little relieved this series is over as I am not sure I could take another of Alex and Nadia’s quite predictable adventures.
What do You think about Forest Of The Pygmies (2006)?
I have a thing for magical realism stories. I've always loved the transitions between what's real and what's not, and the wondering whether something is even possible in the remoteness of the settings Allende uses. I'm sad to see that not everyone agrees with me (although I've never thought that would ever happen in my life). Maybe it's because this genre is not for many people, or maybe it's because all that feel is lost during the English translation process(I did notice how many were English-speaking readers). This third and last book takes place in the marshy heart of Africa, where ancestor's ghosts, spirits, voodoo rituals, and so much more take place. The protagonists can also transform in their totemic animals, in case you haven't read the previous books. Take all of that into mind when thinking about reading this book. If you have no problem with all that happening during the 21st century, you can read it. If you are too skeptical to read that, then I'd recommend you don't. It doesn't matter if it's from Allende, most probably you're not going to like it.
—Ana
This is my first negative goodreads review, however, I feel it's only fair to say: this is one of the most poorly-written books I've ever read. I picked it up at the library, on recommendation form the librarian, as part of a collection of readings on eastern Africa. I finished it as a mere exercise in research. Caveats complete, here is my main beef with the book:1) The prose is sub-par. I know it's a kid book and yadda yadda, but this book is exceptional in its poor use of metaphor, analogy, description, basic plotting, and tension building. With analogies intended to describe lithe movement that compare muscles to concrete, it feels like the author was under a one month deadline and churned out a sloppy work. (I am giving her the benefit of the doubt. I've not read her other work, but she's touted as a national best selling author.)2) The book claims to be appropriate for 10 year olds, but one of the main characters drinks vodka throughout the novel, and the other smokes. Current cultural sensitivities for an American elementary school classroom would not call this book "school appropriate."
—Annalisa
Forest of the Pygmies by Isabelle Allende was a great book. I really liked how at the beginning Alexander and Nadia went to a future teller and got a prophecy because I like books like this where the main characters feel that they have to live up to the prophecy. In this book the International Geographic team goes to Africa but they end up going to the Forest of the Pygmies. The International Geographic team goes to a primitive village called Ngoube with a missionary who wants to find his two m
—711sam
