No matter how busy or distracted life gets, I like to keep a few books at hand. They keep me sane. I love the idea of having different books that require different concentration levels, so I try to have at least one “deep” read, as well as a good fiction story that holds my attention. My most recent read in the latter category is a novel called The Weird Sisters.  Since we’re always (lovingly) calling each other “weird” here in our home, I decided to read it as soon as I saw the title. Thankfully, I enjoyed the book, which is not always the case when choosing based on title alone! 😉

This is the first novel by author Eleanor Brown, and interesting (to me, anyway!) was her use of plural first-person narration. I can’t recall ever reading a book told from this point of view. At times it felt slightly awkward, merely because I noticed it, but it did allow much more insight into each character’s personality.

The story is about three grown sisters who love each other, but have never really learned to like each other. These sisters were raised in a very academic family in a small mid-western down, and grew up putting on their own little Shakespearean plays and learning to quote the Bard in ordinary conversation because their college-professor father was quite possibly the world’s biggest Shakespeare fan. For various reasons, Rose, Bianca, and Cordelia (all named after Shakespearean heroines) end up moving back home and finally begin to appreciate each other — and themselves.

A few more points: there is some profanity in this novel, and quite a bit of “worldly” behavior, some deemed NOT okay (like embezzeling) and some deemed okay (pre-marital sex in dating relationships). However, this doesn’t claim to be a Christian novel, so I was not surprised by this. I did find it lovely, however, that no matter how messed up the sisters’ lives became, they all admired and longed for a marriage as loving and devoted as their parents’, and they admired their parents’ faith because it was something they’d always seen lived out rather than just talked about.

BlogHer’s Book Club has a Weird Sisters page with more about the author, the novel, and other online book-clubby discussions. Worth checking out if you enjoy that sort of thing!

(Note: I was compensated for this review but all opinions expressed are my own.)

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »