The novel explores the lives of three generations of Trueba women—Clara, Blanca, and Alba—as they attempt to escape the dominance of Esteban Trueba, the controlling patriarch of the family. The story unfolds against a backdrop of rising political tensions between left-wing and right-wing factions, culminating in a military coup that leads to a harsh dictatorship. While the country is not specifically named as Chile, the political events closely mirror those of the author's homeland. In 1973, military forces overthrew the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende, who was Isabel Allende's uncle. "I think I have divided my life [into] before that day and after that day," Allende revealed in an interview with Publishers Weekly conducted by Amanda Smith. "In that moment, I realized that everything was possible—that violence was a dimension that was always around you." This awareness gives The House of the Spirits a more pronounced political dimension than many other works of magic realism. As a result, it is distinguished as "one of the best novels of the postwar period, and a major contribution to our understanding of societies riddled by ceaseless conflict and violent change," Bruce Allen observed in the Chicago Tribune Book World. "It is a great achievement, and it cries out to be read."