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Definitely not for meReview: The Sister
Arthur: How can you tell a cannibal?
Vivi: Well, they’re the only ones left, silly.
Arthur: No, before they’ve eaten the others.
Vivi: Oh, that. They’ve just got a look about them.
I received this arc from the Barnes and Noble First Look Book Club. It is so wonderful to be a part of this program because the authors are also on the message boards and will answer questions from readers. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed reading Poppy Adams’ responses to the questions posed. I will definitely be reading more of her work when it comes out. The Sister is her first novel.
Originally titled The Time of Emergence, and called The Behaviour of Moths in the UK, The Sister is a book where, after reaching the end, the reader may be left with more questions unanswered than answered. There are multiple interpretations that could be made about several different occurrences in the book. For me, that’s what makes this story so fascinating. I know that may be more of a frustration to some, though.
Vivien (Vivi) and Virginia (Ginny) are two sisters who grew up in a countryside mansion with lepidopterist ancestors. Their maternal grandfather and father were both lepidopterists, and Ginny becomes a lepidopterist. What is a lepidopterist? It’s a person who studies moths and butterflies. There is much discussion of the behavior of moths in this book, but it is an essential aspect of the story. While reading and after finishing the book, I realized many parallels between the behavior of moths and the behavior of the characters in the novel. This is a book I’ll probably re-read at some point to catch all the connections between the two.
Vivi and Ginny have been separated for decades, and the reasons why become apparent as the story unfolds. Very different from each other, Vivi is outgoing and leaves home for London at a young age, while Ginny is an introvert and a homebody. In fact, as the novel opens, we get the sense that Ginny hasn’t left her home for many, many years. Vivien decides to come back to the house, stating to Ginny that as sisters, they should spend their old age together. The entire novel only takes place over a few days, but as each day unfolds, we are also given glimpses from the past and why they have been separated for so long. All of this is told from Ginny’s perspective, though, and as Ginny and Vivi discuss their history together, they both realize that they saw their childhood in distinctly different ways. These differences are crucial to figuring out what is going on in the story.
What is going on in the story? I don’t want to tell you much, because it has a really good, creepy, gothic, Hitchcock feel to it that is better left to finding out by reading the story. If you don’t mind not having everything wrapped up in the end, and if you like having multiple interpretations of a storyline, you’ll love this book. I really enjoyed it, and the more I think about it, the more I love it.
2008, 275 pp.
Rating: 4.5/5
Popularity: 32% [?]
Topics: 'a' authors, 's' titles, 150-299, 2000's, 4.5 stars |
April 6th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
You did a great job with this review. I am glad you enjoyed this one, and thanks for the lively discussion about it. =)
Jill
April 6th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
[…] lukewarm reviews of it. But, this week Michelle at 1 More Chapter indicated she loved the book (read Michelle’s review), and I often agree with Michelle’s impression of books - so now I’m a little more […]
April 6th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
This one sounds great. I’m a huge fan of ambiguous endings, and the cover is great, so that’s just an added bonus.
April 6th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
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April 6th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
This sounds interesting. I wonder why it has a different title in the UK.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
It is weird that it has a different name in the U.S. and England. I could see myself reading it twice and being really confused! You make it sound like a ‘must’ read.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Hi there, I also participated in the First Look program. I enjoyed The Sister very much, too, but I think you and I might be in the minority!! Seems a lot of people didn’t like it too much. Did you notice that on the boards over at B & N? I loved having access to the author and the publisher. She (Poppy) answered a couple of my questions personally, and I thought that was so cool. She was great and I would definitely read more of her work.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
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April 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
[…] The Sister by Poppy Adams […]
April 17th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Great review Michelle.
This is one I’ve been thinking about adding to my TBR, but it has been receiving pretty mixed reviews. I’m glad to see you enjoyed it. I think I will add it to my TBR and judge for myself.
Teddy
April 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
[…] The Sister by Poppy Adams […]
April 27th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
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April 30th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
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May 4th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
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May 6th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
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