∎ Download Free Her Fearful Symmetry Audrey Niffenegger 9780224085618 Books

Her Fearful Symmetry Audrey Niffenegger 9780224085618 Books

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Her Fearful Symmetry Audrey Niffenegger 9780224085618 Books

I quite enjoyed this book. I've not read The Time Traveler's Wife, so I'm not colored by any disappointment of this not living up to Niffenegger's earlier work. Normally I don't care for books that tread into the fantastic, but I was taken with this one.

Twins Julia and Valentina Noblin inherit their estranged Aunt Elspeth's flat, on the border of London's Highgate cemetery. The girls move in and quickly discover that there is something mysterious about the flat; it appears to be haunted by Aunt Elspeth's ghost. In addition to Elspeth the ghost, the girls are introduced to their troubled neighbors, including an obsessive-compulsive agoraphobic, and Elspeth's boyfriend, obsessed with the cemetery and crippled by grief. The twins are rather odd too, and they fit in well to this troubled lot.

This story drew me in because it was just strange enough to be interesting and fresh. The setting in and around Highgate Cemetery was delightful, and Niffenegger's writing is atmospheric. Perhaps if I read more ghost stories I would be more critical of this one, but the fact is that I do not. For the reader who stays within the realm of realism, this book makes a nice diversion. I was not at all disappointed by the ending, and I will surely seek out more of Niffenegger's books.


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Her Fearful Symmetry Audrey Niffenegger 9780224085618 Books Reviews

Well, this was certainly a good choice for this month's book club book since it sparked a lot of interesting discussion! Though, I must admit, that I personally, did not like this book very much. It felt like a Victorian Sweet Valley Twins ghost story... And I must add add that SVH plots had more mature motivations that sheer selfishness like the characters in this book. I just found it unsettling that a book intended for a more literary audience than 12 year olds had a less sophisticated character structure and plot. Julia and Valentina were too emotionally stunted to be believable as characters, and this obsessive love between them was somehow coldly absent of love.
I do not really want to compare this to _The Time Traveler's Wife_, but I do not see a way to avoid it. Had I not known they were written by the same author I do not know that I would have guessed it. Mostly because _The Time Traveler's Wife_ was such an emotional, "warm" book and _Her Fearful Symmetry_ was dispassionate and cold. I did like the intricate backdrop (the Highgate Cemetery) for this latest novel, but I prefer the characters to have more charm and appeal than the setting.
There were definite aspects to this book that I did enjoy, such as Elspeth's acclimation to her new situation, as well as Martin's OCD (though I was not satisfied with the resolution). The pacing of the beginning of the book was so different from the end of the book, that the two halves most certainly did not display symmetry. Niffenegger's research was quite evident, but for her third book, I hope that she spends less time in the library and more time on construction believable and sympathetic characters and a more intricate plot.
This is a captivating ghost story, although I hesitate to use that label, because this is also a multiple thread novel in which the threads are well-woven together. Niffennegger's gifts are plotting and storytelling, and she is excellent at both. Her strongest character is Martin, a victim of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The other characters are less convincing, but above adequate. Niffennegger has wisely written strength and weakness, goodness and shortcoming into each character, which is what saves them from mediocrity. The story is set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. Historical facts about it and the people buried there are included in the story and make the setting almost a character itself. The narrator is a unique example of a fully omniscient narrator. Niffennegger has handled this uniquely and deftly to the advantage of the story.
The story centers around adult twin women, one of whom lives in Chicago and the other in London, and the people who live in the three apartments in a building adjacent to the cemetery. The twins have been estranged since they turned 25. The one in Chicago has twin daughters who come to live in one of the apartments. This is a book you won't want to put down. It moves.
I quite enjoyed this book. I've not read The Time Traveler's Wife, so I'm not colored by any disappointment of this not living up to Niffenegger's earlier work. Normally I don't care for books that tread into the fantastic, but I was taken with this one.

Twins Julia and Valentina Noblin inherit their estranged Aunt Elspeth's flat, on the border of London's Highgate cemetery. The girls move in and quickly discover that there is something mysterious about the flat; it appears to be haunted by Aunt Elspeth's ghost. In addition to Elspeth the ghost, the girls are introduced to their troubled neighbors, including an obsessive-compulsive agoraphobic, and Elspeth's boyfriend, obsessed with the cemetery and crippled by grief. The twins are rather odd too, and they fit in well to this troubled lot.

This story drew me in because it was just strange enough to be interesting and fresh. The setting in and around Highgate Cemetery was delightful, and Niffenegger's writing is atmospheric. Perhaps if I read more ghost stories I would be more critical of this one, but the fact is that I do not. For the reader who stays within the realm of realism, this book makes a nice diversion. I was not at all disappointed by the ending, and I will surely seek out more of Niffenegger's books.