debi_g's review against another edition
4.0
Bullet points for this one:
+ It was interesting to read a book set on my home turf. Gone Girl is also based in familiar places, but with liberties taken. Where We Belong takes place largely in St. Louis, but with a vibe that feels more researched than inhabited. Sisterland brings the setting to center stage. I found myself wondering how Manhattanites and Southerners respond to the plethora of novels set in places they know so well.
+ The familiarity of the setting helped to hold my interest, and to strengthen my relationship with the characters. In particular, the events at Children's Hospital mirrored an experience we had with our son when he was just ten days old. I could relate all too well to Kate's compulsion to sleep in presentable loungewear and to keep supplies at the ready for the emergency situations of parenthood.
- Although it's true to the character's voice and personality, I respectfully dislike the narrative distance at which Kate holds the audience. Her disclosures feel too reluctant and not enigmatic enough.
+ The book is crafted well. A satisfactory ratio of red herrings to surprises, even pacing, lifelike characters and believable events combine in a pleasing way.
- Daisy/Kate is the least likable character. Her (mostly) easy-to-fix problems are self-built mountains made of molehills.
Bottom line: 3.5
4 stars for writing quality
3 stars for my level of enjoyment
+ It was interesting to read a book set on my home turf. Gone Girl is also based in familiar places, but with liberties taken. Where We Belong takes place largely in St. Louis, but with a vibe that feels more researched than inhabited. Sisterland brings the setting to center stage. I found myself wondering how Manhattanites and Southerners respond to the plethora of novels set in places they know so well.
+ The familiarity of the setting helped to hold my interest, and to strengthen my relationship with the characters. In particular, the events at Children's Hospital mirrored an experience we had with our son when he was just ten days old. I could relate all too well to Kate's compulsion to sleep in presentable loungewear and to keep supplies at the ready for the emergency situations of parenthood.
- Although it's true to the character's voice and personality, I respectfully dislike the narrative distance at which Kate holds the audience. Her disclosures feel too reluctant and not enigmatic enough.
+ The book is crafted well. A satisfactory ratio of red herrings to surprises, even pacing, lifelike characters and believable events combine in a pleasing way.
- Daisy/Kate is the least likable character. Her (mostly) easy-to-fix problems are self-built mountains made of molehills.
Bottom line: 3.5
4 stars for writing quality
3 stars for my level of enjoyment
karieh13's review against another edition
3.0
“Sisterland” is a bit of a misnomer. This novel felt more like the story of one woman and her relationships with other people. How the effect of those relationships led her to make the choices she had throughout her life. True, one of the most important of those between Kate (Daisy) and her twin sister Violet, but more emphasis was placed on Kate’s marriage to Jeremy and her role as a mother to her two children. The twin/psychic twin aspect of the book that led me to choose it and that is the focus of the blurb on the back of my copy of the book is almost more of a plot device than a central theme of the book.
Kate, born Daisy, comes across as the stereotypical “good daughter” throughout much of the book. In her life choices, true (which eventually lead her into a college degree, a happy marriage with two children, a nice home, and the freedom to choose to stay home with them) but more so in the attitude she has about herself. While in her perspective, the reader finds that she seems to be critical of and look down upon almost everyone she knows (although not her husband throughout much of the book). There’s an underlying tone, a smugness, that she considers herself better than anyone else. Certainly better than her sister Vi.
While Vi certainly leads a less conventional life than Kate, she seems a far more genuine person. She calls Kate out for her perfection, her judgmental nature…and after a while I found myself cheering her on. Especially in a scene where Jeremy heads out on a business trip. “I’d been sorting laundry on the dining room table when he came to say goodbye after setting his wheeled suitcase by the front door. (A suitcase filled with only the belongings of an adult; because I’d never, since their births, traveled without our children, such a prospect was unthinkable.”
Unthinkable to ever take a little break from your children? Even for a business trip? At that point, Kate had crossed the line into insufferable for me.
And then the novel reaches the climax of the action, when the psychic predictions do actually come into play in a very interesting way, and Kate falls from her pedestal. Especially because it was through actions she chose to make, it made the last bit of the book extremely satisfying.
This was an interesting character study, in the end, of a woman who does not seem to understand who she really is, yet thinks herself far better that the people around her who are very secure in who they are.
Kate, born Daisy, comes across as the stereotypical “good daughter” throughout much of the book. In her life choices, true (which eventually lead her into a college degree, a happy marriage with two children, a nice home, and the freedom to choose to stay home with them) but more so in the attitude she has about herself. While in her perspective, the reader finds that she seems to be critical of and look down upon almost everyone she knows (although not her husband throughout much of the book). There’s an underlying tone, a smugness, that she considers herself better than anyone else. Certainly better than her sister Vi.
While Vi certainly leads a less conventional life than Kate, she seems a far more genuine person. She calls Kate out for her perfection, her judgmental nature…and after a while I found myself cheering her on. Especially in a scene where Jeremy heads out on a business trip. “I’d been sorting laundry on the dining room table when he came to say goodbye after setting his wheeled suitcase by the front door. (A suitcase filled with only the belongings of an adult; because I’d never, since their births, traveled without our children, such a prospect was unthinkable.”
Unthinkable to ever take a little break from your children? Even for a business trip? At that point, Kate had crossed the line into insufferable for me.
And then the novel reaches the climax of the action, when the psychic predictions do actually come into play in a very interesting way, and Kate falls from her pedestal. Especially because it was through actions she chose to make, it made the last bit of the book extremely satisfying.
This was an interesting character study, in the end, of a woman who does not seem to understand who she really is, yet thinks herself far better that the people around her who are very secure in who they are.
traveldanie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jxg255's review against another edition
2.0
The longest BOA. The story seems to be all over the place with flashbacks and different relationships/themes. Many times, the sisters are not the central story.
lrc52's review against another edition
2.0
it really doesn't help a book when the main character is a unlikable (racist, homophobic) selfish boor. add tedious details and an equally boring and oblivious spouse, and boom. recipe for blah book. the characters that could have been interesting--the father, vi, courtney, even hank were completely undeveloped. i actually like vi and thought she was a great counterpoint to what's-her-name kate. ironically, vi wasn't nearly as selfish as kate and that could have been a compelling subject. (co-narrators?)
other:
1. what was the meaning behind the comment that "some people do recover" at kate's wedding regarding the kidnapped kid? i mean, who in this book has recovered from anything?
2. husband never mentioned that his parent's divorce screwed him up. in fact, the book seems to play up the amiable divorce of his parents.
3. big destructive earthquake =metaphor for a selfish mistake?
4. why does kate think sex has to be efficient? especially when she is so overcome with lust for hank? and bonus in that scene: why does it have to be mentioned that hank's (black) penis is indeed bigger? unless this is to once again point out kate's racism.
5. wouldn't we all like to know more about why kate's messenger is a dark presence and vi's is a kind guide?
6. why does she ignore what seems to be indications of rosie's having "senses"?
7. what is the point of having rosie refer to herself as "rosie"?
8. just like to point out that all hell is going to break loose when hank and courtney discovers that gabe is his.
9. why bring marisa back into the story?
so much could have been explored in this book, and yet, we just get to read boring details of kate's stupid life.
other:
1. what was the meaning behind the comment that "some people do recover" at kate's wedding regarding the kidnapped kid? i mean, who in this book has recovered from anything?
2. husband never mentioned that his parent's divorce screwed him up. in fact, the book seems to play up the amiable divorce of his parents.
3. big destructive earthquake =metaphor for a selfish mistake?
4. why does kate think sex has to be efficient? especially when she is so overcome with lust for hank? and bonus in that scene: why does it have to be mentioned that hank's (black) penis is indeed bigger? unless this is to once again point out kate's racism.
5. wouldn't we all like to know more about why kate's messenger is a dark presence and vi's is a kind guide?
6. why does she ignore what seems to be indications of rosie's having "senses"?
7. what is the point of having rosie refer to herself as "rosie"?
8. just like to point out that all hell is going to break loose when hank and courtney discovers that gabe is his.
9. why bring marisa back into the story?
so much could have been explored in this book, and yet, we just get to read boring details of kate's stupid life.
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
2.0
So much potential wasted. The premise of twin sisters with psychic abilities is a fertile one, and one of them publicly sharing a premonition early on nicely fuels the plot. It's too bad that the story is relayed by the dull sister who chooses to hide her abilities, and the book builds toward a rather disappointing climax and ending.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
I’m always a bit skeptical of books about sisterhood, mainly because I only have a brother, and I don’t like feeling left out of the club. My relationship with my brother could be characterized in its early days by lots of arguing and yelling, but now it’s evolved into this great, jokey rapport where he constantly brings up how I dropped a tray of his birthday treats (dirt and worms, of course) on the sidewalk outside school when he was in third grade, and I text his wife pictures of him from his fanny-pack-wearing era.
So yeah, I like my brother, and I don’t want to be made to feel like I’m missing out just because he’s a man with man parts.
The title of this book is disingenuous, I think, because it is about sooooooo much more than sisterhood. Yes, the narrator, Kate, has an identical twin named Violet, and a fair amount of the action centers around their childhood and the complicated relationship they forge as adults. But there’s also marital discord, parental baggage, racial tension, working moms vs. stay-at-home moms, an earthquake, a lesbian relationship, a child abduction…oh, and Kate and Violet are psychic. Woohoo, right?!
Perhaps it’s just my stage in life, being myself a stay-at-home mom with a working husband, but I found Kate to be incredibly relatable and sympathetic. At the beginning, she is an almost painfully normal housewife and mother of two, who spends her days in the predictable ways—going to parks, dispensing Cheerios, and changing diapers. It turns out, though, that Kate has painstakingly cultivated that normality, and has tried to shut herself off from her psychic powers. (It sounds super cheesy, but I promise it doesn’t come off that way.) Violet, on the other hand, is going on the Today show to warn people that she foresees an earthquake coming to St. Louis.
Things get weirder and weirder, but Sittenfeld brilliantly unrolls the crazy so slowly and sneakily that by the end of the book, when Kate makes a series of increasingly destructive and outlandish decisions, I found myself still staunchly on her side, even as I saw how terrible her choices were. Even in suburbia, it seems, shit can get out of control. Watching Kate bring about her own downfall and then cobble together a makeshift solution, I felt a lot of Big Feelings, and I’m still sifting through them even after finishing the book. All I can say with certainty at this point is, I’m glad I have a brother, and not a psychic lesbian identical twin sister.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
So yeah, I like my brother, and I don’t want to be made to feel like I’m missing out just because he’s a man with man parts.
The title of this book is disingenuous, I think, because it is about sooooooo much more than sisterhood. Yes, the narrator, Kate, has an identical twin named Violet, and a fair amount of the action centers around their childhood and the complicated relationship they forge as adults. But there’s also marital discord, parental baggage, racial tension, working moms vs. stay-at-home moms, an earthquake, a lesbian relationship, a child abduction…oh, and Kate and Violet are psychic. Woohoo, right?!
Perhaps it’s just my stage in life, being myself a stay-at-home mom with a working husband, but I found Kate to be incredibly relatable and sympathetic. At the beginning, she is an almost painfully normal housewife and mother of two, who spends her days in the predictable ways—going to parks, dispensing Cheerios, and changing diapers. It turns out, though, that Kate has painstakingly cultivated that normality, and has tried to shut herself off from her psychic powers. (It sounds super cheesy, but I promise it doesn’t come off that way.) Violet, on the other hand, is going on the Today show to warn people that she foresees an earthquake coming to St. Louis.
Things get weirder and weirder, but Sittenfeld brilliantly unrolls the crazy so slowly and sneakily that by the end of the book, when Kate makes a series of increasingly destructive and outlandish decisions, I found myself still staunchly on her side, even as I saw how terrible her choices were. Even in suburbia, it seems, shit can get out of control. Watching Kate bring about her own downfall and then cobble together a makeshift solution, I felt a lot of Big Feelings, and I’m still sifting through them even after finishing the book. All I can say with certainty at this point is, I’m glad I have a brother, and not a psychic lesbian identical twin sister.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
cheyenneisreading's review against another edition
2.0
As a Curtis Sittenfeld fan I was excited to see Sisterland on the shelf in the book store. I was disappointed when I didn't love this story like I hoped to. I just felt that it lacked that special drama and shock that I found within her other novels.
louisawilliams's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
maricat82's review against another edition
3.0
File under: good, trashy plane read. But the kind you sort of hate yourself for, like that person you always end up sleeping with even though you don't actually like them. ALSO: I want to have a good long conversation with this author about abortion.