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Loading... Sisterland: A Novel (edition 2013)by Curtis Sittenfeld (Author)
Work InformationSisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Sisterland was the last Curtis Sittenfeld novel on my bookshelf. To be honest, I had held off buying this one because of the back cover blurb talking about senses and being psychic. (Also, I found the original Australian cover kind of creepy looking). Thatâs not really my scene, but after devouring later Sittenfeld books, I came back to this one. Iâm glad I did. Itâs not as spectacular as her later novels (e.g., Rodham, Eligible) but itâs still an excellent exploration of family and relationships in quiet domesticity. Kate and Vi are identical twins but of course, their personalities are much different. The major thing that they have in common is that they have âsensesâ â a type of psychic ability. They canât see everything in the future, but they have glimpses. Vi embraces her senses, but Kate shuns hers as an adult. Kate tries desperately to fade into the wallpaper and do everything correctly, while Vi is happy to attract attention. When Vi predicts a major earthquake to hit St Louis, she makes national news and becomes an insta-celebrity. For Kate, this is the worst thing that could happen â and what if someone links her with Vi? The story moves from the present with Kateâs relatively dull, but happy life with two small children to the twinsâ life growing up. It describes how Kate felt awkward at school and used her senses to get in with the âcool crowdâ. When she is burned by that, she retreats into being the most normal, bland person possible. Still her senses find their way into her normal life, but Kate is not willing to put up with them anymore. So when Vi becomes famous, itâs her worst nightmare. The differences between Vi and Kate are instantly recognisable as the âgoodâ and âbad twin. While Kateâs worrying could get annoying at times, Viâs outlandish choices combined with her blunt honesty were much more refreshing. Kateâs retreat into absolutely average normality was an interesting way to hide from her shame at her family, but as the novel builds to its crescendo the reader finds that she isnât too bad at breaking all the rules either. Itâs not all Viâs fault! Even though a lot of the story is about the daily, ordinary life of a stay at home mother I found it very engrossing. The backstory of the twinsâ childhood and early years and even the random things Kateâs daughter Rosie comes out with are really interesting. I understand Iâm in the minority for liking this novel, but I enjoyed the combination of the âis she or isnât she rightâ of Viâs prediction as well as the examination of all the relationships between parent and child, husband and wife. Itâs a deep dive into the complexities and expectations of each party. The differences between Kate and husband Jeremy and their friends Hank and Courtneyâs relationship was interesting to read, particularly when it similar situations for each couple arose. Itâs detailed, mundane and yet completely engrossing. Itâs not Sittenfeldâs best novel, but itâs still worth your time. http://samstillreading.wordpress.com It was ok. One twin, Kate, was very neurotic. She was uncomfortable with her psychic gifts and quite uncomfortable in her own skin really. The other twin, Vi, embraced her psychic gifts, was kind of sloppy, irresponsible, and outspoken. Both were narcissistic but in different ways. Kate was self-indulgent in her neurotic anxieties to the point it took over her life. She was a control freak who lost control of herself at one point. Vi was a bit harder for me to figure out because the novel was written from Kate's point of view. Vi was definitely quite self-absorbed. She might have had better luck becoming a mature adult if Kate didn't always bail her out. There was enabling going on. The writing style was good. The storyline sort of fizzled for me and I felt the end was rushed and enigmatic. On a side note, I've read a few books lately in which the male characters have to put up with a lot of crap from the female characters. It often results in the male characters seeming to have few flaws, which is very hard to believe! no reviews | add a review
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HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR BY Slate â?˘ Daily Candy â?˘ St. Louis Post-Dispatch â?˘ The Guardian (U.K.) â??Novelists get called master storytellers all the time, but Sittenfeld really is one. . . . What might be most strikingly excellent about Sisterland is the way Sittenfeld depicts domesticity and motherhood.â?â??Maggie Shipstead, The Washington Post â??Psychologically vivid . . . Sisterland is a testament to [Curtis Sittenfeldâ??s] growing depth and assurance as a writer.â?â??Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times â??[Sittenfeldâ??s] gifts are in full effect with this novel, and she uses them to create a genuinely engrossing sense of uncertainty and suspense.â?â??Sloane Crosley, NPRâ??s All Things Considered Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife and Prep, returns with a mesmerizing novel of family and identity, loyalty and deception, and the delicate line between truth and belief. From an early age, Kate and her identical twin sister, Violet, knew that they were unlike everyone else. Kate and Vi were born with peculiar â??sensesâ?â??innate psychic abilities concerning future events and other peopleâ??s secrets. Though Vi embraced her visions, Kate did her best to hide them. Now, years later, their different paths have led them both back to their hometown of St. Louis. Vi has pursued an eccentric career as a psychic medium, while Kate, a devoted wife and mother, has settled down in the suburbs to raise her two young children. But when a minor earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the normal life Kate has always wished for begins to shift. After Vi goes on television to share a premonition that another, more devastating earthquake will soon hit the St. Louis area, Kate is mortified. Equally troubling, however, is her fear that Vi may be right. As the date of the predicted earthquake quickly approaches, Kate is forced to reconcile her fraught relationship with her sister and to face truths about herself sheâ??s long tried to deny. Funny, haunting, and thought-provoking, Sisterland is a beautifully written novel of the obligation we have toward others, and the responsibility we take for ourselves. With her deep empathy, keen wisdom, and unerring talent for finding the extraordinary moments in our everyday lives, Curtis Sittenfeld is one of the most exceptional voices in literary fiction today. Praise for Sisterland â??Whatâ??s most captivating about Sisterland is the intimate, intense portrayal of identical twin sisters. . . . [The novel] unfolds like a good prophecyâ??inevitable and shocking.â?â??San Francisco Chronicle â??The accomplished Sittenfeld . . . is as skillful as ever at developing an intriguing premise and likable characters. . . . Sittenfeldâ??s affectionate take on sibling rivalry is spot-on.â?â??People â??The power of [Sittenfeldâ??s] writing and the force of her vision challenge the notion that great fiction must be hard to read. She is a master of dramatic irony, creating fully realized social worlds before laying waste to her heroinesâ?? understanding of them. . . . Her prose [is] a rich delight.â?â??The B No library descriptions found. |
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Now, years later, their different paths have led them both back to their hometown of St. Louis. When a minor earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the normal life Kate has always wished for begins to shift.
Received in ebook format from the publishers via www.netgalley.com
Decent sized text when presented on the Kobo, which made this easy and comfortable to read
A small earthquake wakes everyone up, and it is Vi, who predicts that another, larger, earthquake will hit the area soon. Kate is now married with two kids, ultra straight and conservative, and she has spent years trying to deny her powers still exist. Vi on the other hand is the opposite, still single, making some money out of her powers through consultation, and experimenting with being a lesbian.
Kate narrates what it was like growing up, both in conjunction with Violet whilst theyâre young, and then solo as she moves to university and the pair begin growing apart. Their mother â long since dead â is only portrayed through Kateâs memories of an unhappy and possibly depressed woman. Narration also switches to Kateâs marriage to Jeremy in the present time, her friendship with Hank who lives down the road and who is a househusband to Jeremyâs colleague Courtney.
As the predicted date of the next earthquake approaches, things get increasingly tense for Kate, especially in her relationships with Jeremy and Vi. Jeremy is as laid back about the impending earthquake as Kate is unnerved by it, and this (combined with his continued friendship with Courtney), proves a major source of irritation between the two. Kateâs friendship with Hank - the black man in a mixed race relationship â exacerbates her feelings of isolation and insecurity, whilst ultimately being involved in the most life changing set of decisions Kate ever makes.
This is book where not an awful lot seems to happen - it is as much a study on the small things in Kateâs relationship with others as anything else. Kate is not a loveable character, but rather a flawed, isolated, possibly selfish character that Iâm not sure I would remain friends should I ever meet her in real life. The entire story is narrated by Kate, and knowing that she is flawed makes her rather an unreliable narrator.
There is no question that Vi believes she has powers, and secretly, unconsciously, both Kate and her father believe she does too. Vi has predicted that an earthquake will happen in St Louis, and there are many things in this story â not just shifting of earth â that could ultimately be classed as âquakesâ in the lives of the people involved.
In summary then: it took me longer to read than I would have expected for a book this length (approximately a week) but this had nothing to do with the book. For a book with long chapters detailing often small things, I did not feel bogged down with it or even considering ditching it as I was enjoying it. The multiple time line switches can confuse and annoy some people - how she and Hank met and became friends comes practically at the end of the story for instance - but I personally found it kept my interest rather than detracting from the story.
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