Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?– William Blake, “The Tyger”
It was a year ago, now, that I first read The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I enjoyed the book immensely, both for its wonderful story and for its fantastic writing style. I loaned it to my mom, who loved it even more. So, when I wandered through the aisles of Chapters and saw that she had a new book out, I had to get it.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. Going into Wife, I had a basic idea of what the plot was. There was a time traveller. He met a woman, and fell in love, and married her. Of course, there were unexpected twists to the story, but I don’t remember being completely shocked by anything in that novel. Her Fearful Symmetry was a different case. I knew nothing, and the back of the book didn’t tell me much. There were twins, and romance, and someone had OCD. That was most of what I gathered.
As it turns out, Her Fearful Symmetry is a novel about death. It’s about what happens to our souls after we die, it’s about what happens to those who love us, it’s about the place where the bodies of the dead rest.
In Symmetry, ghosts are real. After death, the souls of the departed come back, haunting their old homes until they figure out how to leave. This causes problems, as twins Julia and Valentina turn out to be sharing their inherited apartment with their aunt Elspeth.
At first, I thought I had this book figured out. I thought the upstairs neighbour would be reunited with his wife. I thought that Valentina and Robert would fall in love, Julia and Elspeth be damned. I thought that Julia would accept her twin’s independence, and do some growing up herself.
I was wrong. Yes, some of those things happened, but there were a lot of twists in the story, not all of them good.
Without spoiling the novel for those who have yet to read it, the story is twisted and flawed, mirroring the characters themselves. Some of the actions taken by said characters are stupid and selfish, but that’s the point. Not a single character is perfect, all are raw and real.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but probably won’t go back to reread it. It was interesting, but I spent far too much time wanting to yell at the characters for me to wish to re-experience it.
7.5/10
The next book on my list is 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. This time, I won’t even pretend to promise a speedy review, as school is rather time-consuming.
Love,
Catherine
“What do you read my lord?”
“Words, words, words.”
– Polonius and Hamlet, Hamlet
I thought I should put something down in the empty space where words go. Staring at it makes me feel disappointing and lonely, somehow, so I need to fill it with something, anything.
I’ve decided that the first book I’m going to review is Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, since that’s what I’m reading right now. Expect that sometime, probably soon. Hopefully soon.
Love,
Catherine
A Clever Literary Reference 