The Weird Sisters

I started and finished The Weird Sisters so quickly but now it has taken me weeks to write about it...typical, right! The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown was sent to me by my lovely aunt who works at Tattered Cover Book Store (the absolutely most fabulous book store in the world, located in Denver).

It is about a family deeply entrenched in Shakespeare, enough so that each daughter is named after a Shakespearean lovely and, at times, takes on the traits of the character. Roselind, Cordelia and Bianca have very little in common--having no sisters myself I always see those of my friends who do have sisters as having a built in best friend, but these girls are not nearly so close. Anyway, the story is well told with each character growing, changing, and becoming better in the end.

Being the geeky English major who has at least one huge Anthology of Shakespeare on my bookshelf, I loved the connection to his plays, but that it wasn't overdone. (Well maybe a little at the beginning, but as the story goes on the characters take over the action). Brown gave enough background that if you hadn't read Shakespeare you could still enjoy the story completely, but if you happen to be a Shakespeare buff you will probably really love her book.

Eleanor Brown has an easy to read voice and a unique style. The story was told by a narrator that was a kind of omniscient combo spirit of all three girls. It was all told in 3rd person but at times would say things like, "If only we'd been there to talk to her, to sooth those fears, to tell her that no, we could not have done it without her all those years..."She was able to jump into each woman's fears, thoughts, and joys but still make you feel like the story was told by all three in unison. Neat work!

I think my favorite part was that each woman was struggling with a character flaw and in trying to overcome it, they each slide backward. It wasn't like, "Oh hey, I have learned that am a crazy control freak. Ok I won't do that anymore! Viola, all better!" Each woman comes to see what they need to change about themselves and in the end does a pretty good job of it, but not without backsliding, regret, confusion, and some necessary self-loathing. It made them all very real and easy to relate to.

I would recommend you check it out. I would lend you my copy but it is Autographed by the author thanks again to my lovely aunt, so paws off, get your own copy! Curl up with a cuppa tea and enjoy the story and voice of this delightful book.

The Marriage Plot

I am going to preface this, as my first book blog post, that I am not sure if my friends/family care what books I read and if I liked them or not. I know there are a few of you who do, and the rest probably won't read my book posts, which is totally fine. I just love books and love to talk about them--which is why I NEED a new book club--so here goes!

I always ask for books for Christmas and usually get at least one. Easy gift with maximum pleasure potential, right? This year the book on top of my list was The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. I have read his two other books, The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, so his new novel attracted my attention right away. Not to mention it was about love and an English major. I mean what's not to like?

I would recommend it if:

• You are/were an English major, especially fond of Victorian literature
• After college you were distressed at the thought of never hearing about Derrida again
• You absolutely love Jeffrey Eugenides
• You like books that end just as they should, but don't really shock/move you

I really wanted to love this book. I loved Middlesex (one of the few books I read more than once), I loved the Virgin Suicides.

It started out strong mixing the confusion of graduating college, going through a breakup, being a slightly unemployable English major graduate, and having undefined romantic feelings for a friend. All good things that I can relate to and Eugenides wove the stories and feelings together very well. The story was fluid and the characters were likable. Madeleine reminds me of myself though I hope I wasn't as naive as she is, but probably was more so.

The rest of the book was okay. I was fairly excited to read each night but it didn't keep me up later than it should. The character of Leonard interested me most in his battle being manic depressive, but he didn't get a lot of voice in the story and so we see him only through his Madeleine's eyes (which weren't all that open or worldly...yes very much like myself at 22). I would have loved to hear more about/from Leonard but at least he did keep the plot interesting.

Of course I won't give away the ending...I guess I will just say it was kinda a let down. No emotional punch. I am pretty sure Derrida would not approve of the book at all. (Completely off topic, the assignment I was most proud of in all my English college courses was inspired by Derrida. Maybe another reason I started off this book thinking it would be fabulous.)

So in the end I liked the book, but I would guess it isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea and it isn't my favorite of Eudenides. It is kinda strange to write a book review again, and I am confident my college professors wouldn't give me high marks, but it is fun!

(This is where Honey, my husband, would shake his head and call me a Nerd.)