ndfan19's review against another edition
Differnent; Mom is twin;daughters twin inherit aunt's London flat
darbyart's review against another edition
4.0
When I read The Time Traveler’s Wife last year, I really enjoyed it. So when I got the chance to read an advance reader copy of Audrey Niffenegger’s new book: Her Fear Symmetry, I was literally jumping up and down with excitement. (Thank you Regal Literary Agency!) I am very happy to report that I was not disappointed. It also dispelled any thought that The Time Traveler's Wife was just beginners luck. Ms. Niffenegger definitely knows how to write and how to capture her audience.
Her Fearful Symmetry is a gothic ghost story set in modern times. It’s the story of Elspeth Noblin who dies of cancer and ends up bequeathing her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. The girls never had a chance to meet their Aunt Elspeth who is their mother's twin. They are curious why their Mom never kept in contact with her twin when they themselves are inseparable. The girls move to Elspeth's apartment where the come to know the buildings other residents. The twins also get to learn more about the historical Highgate Cemetery that borders the building. Even more startling the girls discover that their aunt can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.
There was something about this book...it was entrancing, sudden, tragic, compelling and hard to pull myself away from it. I want to put it on the shelf and never read it again because I don't want the feeling I feel with the book to change. Just like how you watch a really good movie, but the second time you watch it you start to become more critical and start to see its flaws. But at the same time I want to start the book again because the story was so well written. I wanted to flip the book to the first page right after reading the last sentence.
So the good things for me...
* Her Fearful Symmetry lived up to the anticipation. The Time Traveler's Wife was such a hit that so often the expectations are just too high for a second book. But this book was incredibly creative. The plot kept me at the edge of my seat and I have never read anything close to it before. Ms. Niffenegger could’ve played it safe for her second novel, but she took the same risk as she did with her first book and the end result was amazing.
* I am making this it's own point because I think it just needs to be stated over and over again: Audrey Niffenegger knows how to write. Her words and prose enhances her plot and thought process. From the first few pages of I was sucked in as I was with The Time Traveler’s Wife and didn't want to put it down. I spent two sleepless nights captured with the plight of Julia and Valentina. It’s one of those books you simply don’t want to put down.
* One of the things I loved about The Time Traveler's Wife was how well Niffenegger wrote her characters. That talent carries over in Her Fearful Symmetry too. One of my complaints of The Time Traveler's Wife was that I didn't feel that the secondary characters were complete. They didn't feel like they were fully realized. In Her Fearful Symmetry, that all changed - you could feel that the secondary characters were much more invested in the story. Their part could have almost been their own story as I found that they were just as interesting in themselves.
* Which brings me to Martin....I really enjoyed him as a character. Martin is severely OCD and Niffenegger’s realistic portrayal enhanced the story. The distress of his illness is shown clearly.
* Niffenegger creates an incredible journey throughout London especially Highgate Cemetery. For me, it was also a character in itself in the book. It was beautifully captivating. I have no doubt that many that read this book will be putting it on their list of must see places in London as it is a real place.
* The story has several unexpected moments that I could’ve never anticipated or predicted. Of course there were some moments that I could anticipate what was going to happen, but those unexpected loops kept me from always figuring out what was going to happen next. It made for a very intriguing story.
* One topic of the book (that is even talked about on the book jacket) is the theme of identity and I really enjoyed how it played throughout the book.
* This book is a ghost story. I normally don’t read ghost stories and I liked this one because it wasn't spooky. It was compelling and quiet, not jump out of your shorts – I can’t get to sleep spooky. The whole book has a quietness to it. The Time Traveler's Wife was really emotionally engaging. Every page I turned, I was heavily invested in Henry and Clare. This book as I said captivated me but in a much quieter tone. Perhaps it was like there was this invisible aspect drawing me inside the pages - a ghost?
Okay there weren’t any really bad things about Her Fearful Symmetry, but there were some things I didn't like. These things didn't ruin the book for me, but attempting to do this without spoilers is very hard. I might do some spoilers on Goodreads.com because they allow for spoilers to be put behind a link.
* Although the characters to me were fully realized in Her Fearful Symmetry - I must admit that I didn't like them. None of them made me want to know them personally – if they happened to be real. In contrast, in The Time Traveler’s Wife I loved Henry and Clare. I mean I really LOVED them! I was so sad to see them go when I finished the book as I wanted the story to last just a little bit longer. They were the type of characters I wanted know and meet in real life. But in Her Fearful Symmetry while they were all interesting characters they simply weren’t the heart tugging-type characters I was spoiled with in The Time Traveler’s Wife. In fact, they actually even annoyed me at times. Maybe it was meant to be that way. I admit that if they had tugged at my heart then it would have most likely ruined the tone of the book.
* One of the things I didn't enjoy with The Time Traveler's Wife was how it ended. The ending felt rushed to me and unfortunately the same thing happened with Her Fearful Symmetry. I am not going to expand on that because I know it would spoil it for those that haven’t read the book yet.
* There were moments in the book where I felt the characters were rushed or that a part of their story got pushed out of the way so that Niffenegger could get on with other aspects of the book.
Even with these couple of points, the book was completely captivating and none of the negatives ruined my overall enjoyment of the book. I thoroughly enjoy Audrey Niffenegger’s books so far. I love her writing. There are authors who can write well and there are authors that simply have the gift of writing. Audrey Niffenegger falls in the latter category and look forward to reading her future works.
(Might come back and add some spoilers to this here at GoodReads.com but will put it behind a spoiler alert)
Her Fearful Symmetry is a gothic ghost story set in modern times. It’s the story of Elspeth Noblin who dies of cancer and ends up bequeathing her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. The girls never had a chance to meet their Aunt Elspeth who is their mother's twin. They are curious why their Mom never kept in contact with her twin when they themselves are inseparable. The girls move to Elspeth's apartment where the come to know the buildings other residents. The twins also get to learn more about the historical Highgate Cemetery that borders the building. Even more startling the girls discover that their aunt can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.
There was something about this book...it was entrancing, sudden, tragic, compelling and hard to pull myself away from it. I want to put it on the shelf and never read it again because I don't want the feeling I feel with the book to change. Just like how you watch a really good movie, but the second time you watch it you start to become more critical and start to see its flaws. But at the same time I want to start the book again because the story was so well written. I wanted to flip the book to the first page right after reading the last sentence.
So the good things for me...
* Her Fearful Symmetry lived up to the anticipation. The Time Traveler's Wife was such a hit that so often the expectations are just too high for a second book. But this book was incredibly creative. The plot kept me at the edge of my seat and I have never read anything close to it before. Ms. Niffenegger could’ve played it safe for her second novel, but she took the same risk as she did with her first book and the end result was amazing.
* I am making this it's own point because I think it just needs to be stated over and over again: Audrey Niffenegger knows how to write. Her words and prose enhances her plot and thought process. From the first few pages of I was sucked in as I was with The Time Traveler’s Wife and didn't want to put it down. I spent two sleepless nights captured with the plight of Julia and Valentina. It’s one of those books you simply don’t want to put down.
* One of the things I loved about The Time Traveler's Wife was how well Niffenegger wrote her characters. That talent carries over in Her Fearful Symmetry too. One of my complaints of The Time Traveler's Wife was that I didn't feel that the secondary characters were complete. They didn't feel like they were fully realized. In Her Fearful Symmetry, that all changed - you could feel that the secondary characters were much more invested in the story. Their part could have almost been their own story as I found that they were just as interesting in themselves.
* Which brings me to Martin....I really enjoyed him as a character. Martin is severely OCD and Niffenegger’s realistic portrayal enhanced the story. The distress of his illness is shown clearly.
* Niffenegger creates an incredible journey throughout London especially Highgate Cemetery. For me, it was also a character in itself in the book. It was beautifully captivating. I have no doubt that many that read this book will be putting it on their list of must see places in London as it is a real place.
* The story has several unexpected moments that I could’ve never anticipated or predicted. Of course there were some moments that I could anticipate what was going to happen, but those unexpected loops kept me from always figuring out what was going to happen next. It made for a very intriguing story.
* One topic of the book (that is even talked about on the book jacket) is the theme of identity and I really enjoyed how it played throughout the book.
* This book is a ghost story. I normally don’t read ghost stories and I liked this one because it wasn't spooky. It was compelling and quiet, not jump out of your shorts – I can’t get to sleep spooky. The whole book has a quietness to it. The Time Traveler's Wife was really emotionally engaging. Every page I turned, I was heavily invested in Henry and Clare. This book as I said captivated me but in a much quieter tone. Perhaps it was like there was this invisible aspect drawing me inside the pages - a ghost?
Okay there weren’t any really bad things about Her Fearful Symmetry, but there were some things I didn't like. These things didn't ruin the book for me, but attempting to do this without spoilers is very hard. I might do some spoilers on Goodreads.com because they allow for spoilers to be put behind a link.
* Although the characters to me were fully realized in Her Fearful Symmetry - I must admit that I didn't like them. None of them made me want to know them personally – if they happened to be real. In contrast, in The Time Traveler’s Wife I loved Henry and Clare. I mean I really LOVED them! I was so sad to see them go when I finished the book as I wanted the story to last just a little bit longer. They were the type of characters I wanted know and meet in real life. But in Her Fearful Symmetry while they were all interesting characters they simply weren’t the heart tugging-type characters I was spoiled with in The Time Traveler’s Wife. In fact, they actually even annoyed me at times. Maybe it was meant to be that way. I admit that if they had tugged at my heart then it would have most likely ruined the tone of the book.
* One of the things I didn't enjoy with The Time Traveler's Wife was how it ended. The ending felt rushed to me and unfortunately the same thing happened with Her Fearful Symmetry. I am not going to expand on that because I know it would spoil it for those that haven’t read the book yet.
* There were moments in the book where I felt the characters were rushed or that a part of their story got pushed out of the way so that Niffenegger could get on with other aspects of the book.
Even with these couple of points, the book was completely captivating and none of the negatives ruined my overall enjoyment of the book. I thoroughly enjoy Audrey Niffenegger’s books so far. I love her writing. There are authors who can write well and there are authors that simply have the gift of writing. Audrey Niffenegger falls in the latter category and look forward to reading her future works.
(Might come back and add some spoilers to this here at GoodReads.com but will put it behind a spoiler alert)
selachia's review against another edition
4.0
I'm actually really glad that I didn't read "The Time Traveler's Wife" before this book, because it seems like everyone who did ABSOLUTELY HATED THIS ONE. However, although I felt this book was creepy to the absolute max, I did enjoy it, and particularly enjoyed certain characters and their relationships. For example, although I wasn't sure what overall purpose Martin served to the overall storyline besides his own, I thought he was pretty great. Also, If you are interested by supernatural fiction, this book really pushed it to the next level with a level of creepiness I never expected. By the time I got to the last chapter, I was so skeeved out by what the characters had done, the hair was practically standing up on my arms. So, all in all, I thought it was a pretty great book, but not for everyone, and certainly not what you'd call light, uplifitng fiction.
sweetpea329's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
4.0
literarynessie's review against another edition
4.0
I read this several years ago and it still breaks my heart that people didn't like this book in comparison to The Time Traveler's Wife. In some ways, I found aspects of Her Fearful Symmetry to be better than TTW. It was written a bit more like literary but with the magical/paranormal elements. This book is one of the works that is currently inspiring my own novel that features a ghost.
I loved the twins, the cemetery setting, the other characters, the haunted flat. This wasn't a fast-paced love story. I actually liked the slower pace that others seem to hate. I wish this book wasn't overshadowed by the author's most famous work because the story was well-written, unique, and imaginative. I believe that Her Fearful Symmetry is a somewhat underrated gem of a novel that deserved a chance.
I loved the twins, the cemetery setting, the other characters, the haunted flat. This wasn't a fast-paced love story. I actually liked the slower pace that others seem to hate. I wish this book wasn't overshadowed by the author's most famous work because the story was well-written, unique, and imaginative. I believe that Her Fearful Symmetry is a somewhat underrated gem of a novel that deserved a chance.
bbqrplanting's review against another edition
4.0
the book was very well written, i found it a bit slow at first but perhaps that is because i read it over such a large span of time. however, still not sure how i feel about this book. i found it very disturbing...
corneliadolian's review against another edition
2.0
There were some lovely, even beautiful moments in this book. But most of it was pervaded by a coldness (a lack of warmth, really) that was unsettling and made it difficult for me to get into it or care much about the characters. Plus, the lack of depth and sense of some of them just floored me. Most of them were just very emo, with questionable maturity. And the writing was a bit awkward, especially when it came to the dialogue, which seemed forced and strained in more than a handful of scenes (and not in a purposeful way, in an inept way).
njkrisko's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to love this book, and I did until part three. Then it fell apart and got all creepy and weird. Too bad, I really loved the characters....even though they all had serious issues.
rocknrollfun's review against another edition
3.0
All of the wonderful writing, plot construction, and character development is lost in the weak ending.
erin887's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book, but also had a lot of wtf moments. To be fair, I had breakthrough covid with a 102 fever while reading this. What a story! Grief, toxic relationships, mental illness, and a ghost story all in one. I recommend it, just not while very ill on the 5th anniversary of your Mom’s death.
I’m changing this to 5 stars because this story has stuck with me in a way I never imagined.
I’m changing this to 5 stars because this story has stuck with me in a way I never imagined.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief