Jonathan Arnold reviewed Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Neffenegger
At last: another brilliant, original and moving novel from the author of THE TIME TRAVELER'S …
Review of 'Her Fearful Symmetry' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Book Review: Her Awful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Niffenegger blew me away with her debut novel, [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1380660571l/18619684.SX50.jpg|2153746] and so I was anxious to get started with her followup novel, Her Awful Symmetry. It starts of with a bang, but then just kind of wanders around, telling the story of twins in London. In the end, while a reasonably interesting read, it didn't tell a very interesting story.
The book is mostly centered on Julia and Valentina, twin daughters of Edie. The girls inherit the London flat of their Aunt Elspeth, who is Edie's twin. There is a strange set of characters there, as well as living across the street from the famous Highgate Cemetery. The girls struggle to stay together and somehow work apart. There are some strange (and usually sad) things happening, including ghosts and stories untold.
While the writing was very good, there really wasn't much there there. None of the characters was particularly nice and so you couldn't really bond with any of them. OCD, self absorbed, selfish, whiny, you name, they ran the gamut of annoying emotions. I did love the incredibly sad start to the novel, but then things take a weird turn and then the book ends. So I did finish it but I would find it hard to figure out who, if anyone to recommend it to.
Niffenegger blew me away with her debut novel, [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1380660571l/18619684.SX50.jpg|2153746] and so I was anxious to get started with her followup novel, Her Awful Symmetry. It starts of with a bang, but then just kind of wanders around, telling the story of twins in London. In the end, while a reasonably interesting read, it didn't tell a very interesting story.
The book is mostly centered on Julia and Valentina, twin daughters of Edie. The girls inherit the London flat of their Aunt Elspeth, who is Edie's twin. There is a strange set of characters there, as well as living across the street from the famous Highgate Cemetery. The girls struggle to stay together and somehow work apart. There are some strange (and usually sad) things happening, including ghosts and stories untold.
While the writing was very good, there really wasn't much there there. None of the characters was particularly nice and so you couldn't really bond with any of them. OCD, self absorbed, selfish, whiny, you name, they ran the gamut of annoying emotions. I did love the incredibly sad start to the novel, but then things take a weird turn and then the book ends. So I did finish it but I would find it hard to figure out who, if anyone to recommend it to.