After devouring "The Time Traveller's Wife" my hands were itching to get a copy of "Her Fearful Symmetry". I grabbed this from the bestseller section of my local library(www.wcl.govt.nz).
The book took me on a roller coaster ride of feelings - interesting, creepy, suspenseful, sad. The book revolves around a few stories in parallel-the twins Julia and Valentina;Robert and Elspeth;Elspeth and Edie;Martin and Marijke. As the book progresses, these stories converge in surprising ways and other tales spin off from these.
The book takes off with the twins in Chicago but the reader is pleasantly surprised to be walking through the streets of London as it progresses. For someone like me who has not been to London and rate it as one of the top cities in the "Should Visit in my Lifetime" list, I could not agree more with the twins as they were taken in by the Englishness of all things London. The vivid description of the alleys and streets of London including the famed 'Underground' leaves one gawking.
Highgate cemetry occupies a central location throughout the book and the reader has a feeling of being haunted as the story takes shape. It is quite obvious that the author has gone into great details to create the graveyard scenes and the descriptions are so real that I caught myself looking over my shoulder as I progressed through the book. There is an underlying sense of suspense that hangs throughout the book which adds to the reader's interest. She touches upon the supernatural themes in a perfectly natural tone which leaves the reader musing.
Martin and Marijke make for very interesting characters in the book but I wish there were more glimpses into their life. The character of Robert has also been vividly etched out.
On the whole this book is a great addition to your bookshelf and if I have done my job my readers should be rushing to get their hands on this book.
Book Rating - 4/5
Stay tuned for my next review - The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffeneger
Hi Suchitra,
ReplyDeleteNice to meet another book-blogger! and also interesting to read another opinion on Her Fearful Symmetry. I agree with you that it would have been nice if Martin had more stage time, I loved his character.
Your shelfari bookshelf looks fun, I've never heard of it before.
Julie
www.readinglikerabbits.com
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI am indeed glad to discover another book enthusiast and we can definitely compare notes on books we have read and enjoyed. It looks like we share the same feelings towards why we started these sites in the first place.
Do checkout www.shelfari.com and www.librarything.com. They are some fun online sites and not only can you catalog the books as you read them but you can also socialise with other book enthusiasts.