Quietly devastating,enormously moving
Nancy Jensen's debut novel is an emotionally weighty and melancholy portrait of two sisters forever separated by an event which ultimately reshapes their lives, characters and future. It is a well written, complex and compelling portrayal of family, unintended consequences and survival. I wanted to give this novel 5 stars, chapter by chapter, but I found it necessary to refer to the family tree quite often. Still highly recommend this book and look forward to more from this gifted author.
Rated of 5
by Beth K. (New York, NY)
A well written book that I couldn't really enjoy
It is hard for me to assign a numerical rating to this book because while I believe that it is very well written, with authentic characters and an interesting story, it was simply too bleak for me to enjoy it. The women in this story endure one tragedy after another, and are uniformly tortured souls. I can read and appreciate a sad book with the best of them, but this one had not one uplifting moment, with the exception of one section toward the end.
While reading this one, I couldn’t help but think of another novel that I read last year that I recommend often, The Quickening, by Michelle Hoover, which was also quite bleak in its tone and underlying story -- but I ended up really liking it because there were moments of pure joy expressed by some of the characters.
This was a fine book. It just wasn't for me.
Rated of 5
by Michele J. (Port Orchard, WA)
A Good Book Club Choice
The Sisters is a compelling story that spans several decades and follows the story of two sisters who, although separated, lead intertwining lives. While a few of the premises of the story seemed contrived, the exploration of family dysfunction and relationships is noteworthy and I suspect that this novel will prove quite popular with book clubs. This is the author's debut effort and I look forward to her future efforts as her style becomes more mature and refined.
Rated of 5
by Joan P. (Owego, NY)
The Sisters
I have rewritten this review three times and each time felt I hadn't put my finger on what disturbed me about this book. Was it the format with alternating narrators? Was it too many serious social problems superficially covered? Was it that there were too many characters and I had to keep referring to the family tree? The story was interesting and I am a fan of family sagas. My main problem was with character development. The author could have made the characters more three dimensional. The motivation for some of their actions seemed contrived and not consistent with who we had been led to believe they were.
I got it about secrets being corrosive and how they eat you up bit by bit, and how secrets destroy relationships for generations. I'm sure this book will be popular with book clubs but it's not for me.
Rated of 5
by Cheryl W. (Faribault, Mn)
The Sisters
A great many issues and events are included in Nancy Jensen's The Sisters — sexual abuse, family loss and sibling betrayal, love lost, the lives of women throughout the 20th century, politics and war; even detailed pages and pages about photography and jewelry/armor-making (symbolic or not, it did not always work). The initial story of Mabel and Bertie's (and Bertie and Wallace's) separation was not convincing. There were myriad ways in which all three characters could have come back together early in the story. Overall it was an interesting read; however, the wait to find out if the two sisters would reconnect was lengthy and dissatisfying.
Rated of 5
by Eileen F. (Ephrata, WA)
Everything is Broken
Sisters is a very interesting, complex story of what can go wrong because of secrets, life choices and misunderstandings in families. I was grateful for the family tree diagram, because the narrator, as well as the story line, shifted with each chapter.
Jensen was able to develop some great characters, while others were just mentioned. I would have like to see fewer characters.
I appreciated the opportunity to read this book. When I read a book, I always think, " Could I recommend this book to a friend as, a good read?" My answer would be no, because for me it was a depressing read.
Rated of 5
by Sharon A. (Tierra Verde, FL)
Sister to sister
I liked the concept of the book, although the elements were depressing. I had a hard time keeping track of the characters from chapter to chapter, having to make sure I read the chapter heading, character name, city and the changing time frames. Other readers may enjoy reading a story of details better than I did.
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
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of 5
by Robin M. (Corpus Christi, TX)
of 5
by Joan P. (Owego, NY)
