Her Fearful Symmetry

This is a pretty good, quick read about what it's like to be a twin when the inevitable happens... you grow up and want to start your real life, as in career, love affairs, friends... Oh yeah and it's also a ghost story!

The ghost story aspect of this novel didn't really work for me. The book would have been much better if the author would have concentrated on the story of twins and what it is like when one twin wants her own identity and life and the other twin wants to hold on to being a twin. I think that would have been a good character study in itself and made for an interesting and fulfilling story. The ghost story, not so much.

A good enough read, all in all. Keeps you guessing. Even if you aren't always happy where the story ends up.

My wife wanted me to read this, so I did. The writing sucks you in and the atmosphere is well woven. That whole ghost thing, however. . . I could live with the ghost, but I think the story would benefit from a tad more British style restraint than the full bore extreme twists that the author chose to adopt. In other words, I thought the characters themselves amidst the well-crafted setting possessed enough richness to have carried the story without those more Hollywood-esque plot spikes.

A gorgeous and moving piece centered on what truly makes one oneself and how much of personality is bound up in our relationships with others. Every twist of the ending was telegraphed from the beginning, but despite that (or perhaps because of it) each piece is still extremely poignant. If this book has a draw back it is that Niffenegger still has a somewhat heavy hand with the English language. Long passages in Portuguese are written in full and then occasionally translated below (a gimmick which smacks of arrogance), thoughts are typed haphazardly in italics and some sentences simply fall flat.
Overall, an extraordinary second novel.