What do readers think of The Sisters by Nancy Jensen? Write your own review.

As I read this book superlatives kept coming to me. It is stunning, superb, astounding. The title could have easily been Secrets. So many family secrets. We see the story in chronological order by different women, all related to the sisters, as well as the sisters themselves. The story of the sisters is bittersweet. This is a book that I will recommend to our bookclub, as it is usually all women. In our small community, we are all sisters, and the story will resonate with all of us.

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 because I felt the mechanics of the book were lacking. I found myself needing to refer to the family tree at the beginning of the book. Thank goodness it was there. The theme and concept of the book was interesting especially to women and will definitely be a top pick among women's book clubs. It will make interesting discussion about secrets, sacrifice, forgiveness, and real love. Thoughts that came to mind while reading: Sacrifice without forgiveness and no concept of what love really is. Secrets born of sacrifices made out of love that's never explicitly expressed. Interesting book.

This is an entertaining novel, but don't start it on a day when you're feeling down. Through four generations, the female descendants of Imogene East Fischer hardly ever catch a break when choosing a mate or raising a child. You'll ask yourself, "How can these women be so clueless?" And be glad this is not your family.

There is nothing I love more than reading an author’s first novel. This is a wonderful story about two sisters, one trying to protect the other from a horrible secret that leads to a misunderstanding and throws both their lives on totally different paths. As the story unfolds, you can see how circumstances and decisions affect not only the sister’s lives but the lives of future generations. I predict this novel will become a book club favorite and provide a very interesting discussion.

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.

A masterfully written story that takes the reader through a series of colorful and often times painful snapshots illustrating the history of the modern woman's role in society from the 1920's to the present. At first I was struck by how different the role of yesterday's woman is compared to the apparent strength and freedom of today's. But then as I read on I realized that all of us, no matter the year of our birth, at some point share the burden of pain and the glory of transcending pain to become more of who we really are. The Sisters should be read by all women whether they are struggling to find their voice or not. I was a little frustrated that the whole story balanced on a simple miscommunication and I did not get the closure I was hoping for but the importance of the message more than makes up for this.

"The Sisters" covers a span of years from 1927 to 2007 in the lives of two related families. We see the years unfold through the lives of the female offspring of the two sisters. Even though years pass between chapters (the family tree certainly helps keep track of names, ages, etc.), the main characters are well developed, with their rich voices and strong unique natures. Various kinds of relationships are explored, besides sister to sister, with good effect. This is a book I would read again to capture more of its subtle symbolism and nuances.