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82nd out of 616 books
—
601 voters
The Three Incestuous Sisters
by
Audrey Niffenegger (Goodreads Author)
The Three Incestuous Sisters is an evocative, illustrated book by the best-selling author of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger. Reminiscent of the gothic style of Edward Gorey, Niffenegger's visually stunning narrative affirms her genius as a storyteller. These rich pages present the tale of three very different sisters: one who is beautiful, one who is smart, a...more
Hardcover, 176 pages
Published
September 1st 2005
by Abrams
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Jan 18, 2008
Charissa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
freaks like me
Shelves:
incest,
graphic-novel
So, today is my birthday and my fans, Tracy and Amy have requested that I write a review of this demented book. I find it amusing that the directions for posting a review includes the phrase "What I learned from this book" (as if we're kindergarteners just back from summer vacation)... but in this case it's actually helpful...
One year ago at Christmas time I was shopping with my latest charming, psychotic, former crack dealer boyfriend... and suddenly the cover of this book loomed up at me from...more
One year ago at Christmas time I was shopping with my latest charming, psychotic, former crack dealer boyfriend... and suddenly the cover of this book loomed up at me from...more
Nice to be a first born.
Classic tale of sibling rivalry set in grotesque art. Funny at times and mundane sometimes. The story hits me since I have 2 sisters (and definitely Adler would have a field day interpreting our personalities). Though, unlike the book , I think the dynamics of our sibling relationship is way, way much better than those in the book and my sisters agree with me, after all, all of us read this.
A quick read, better admired for it's graphic art than its storyline, The Three In...more
Classic tale of sibling rivalry set in grotesque art. Funny at times and mundane sometimes. The story hits me since I have 2 sisters (and definitely Adler would have a field day interpreting our personalities). Though, unlike the book , I think the dynamics of our sibling relationship is way, way much better than those in the book and my sisters agree with me, after all, all of us read this.
A quick read, better admired for it's graphic art than its storyline, The Three In...more
3 likes · like · see review
Because I was enthralled by Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife , this book immediately caught my eye whilst browsing at Page One, this funky suite of a bookshop at Vivocity (Singapore). I am not in the habit of paying a 50 or more for illustrated books although I don't mind buying them (the pittance that I collect every month for slaving at my job affords me but one paperback every month). So I got one of the staff to rip away the plastic and I read it there and then.
Themes of loneliness, l...more
Themes of loneliness, l...more
3 likes · like · see review
Audrey Niffenegger, The Three Incestuous Sisters (Abrams, 2005)
Niffenegger's afterword for this “visual novel” (as she calls it, to make it distinct from a graphic novel; I fail to see the difference) says that she originally started with a full story and illustrations, and pared away bits of story until she got to where it is now-- essentially illustrations and captions (very little of the text that accompanies the illustrations runs more than one sentence). Which begs the question: why stop th...more
Niffenegger's afterword for this “visual novel” (as she calls it, to make it distinct from a graphic novel; I fail to see the difference) says that she originally started with a full story and illustrations, and pared away bits of story until she got to where it is now-- essentially illustrations and captions (very little of the text that accompanies the illustrations runs more than one sentence). Which begs the question: why stop th...more
So, so good.
When you are done make sure to read the AFTERWORD because in this she explains that she created aquatints for the images. If you don't know anything about this printing process, you should know that it is incredibly involved and really interesting to watch someone create images in this way. If you have ever seen the movie "Goya's Ghosts" it shows Goya going through the process. Also you can probably youtube it.
That fact alone makes this "visual novel" that much more interesting.
When you are done make sure to read the AFTERWORD because in this she explains that she created aquatints for the images. If you don't know anything about this printing process, you should know that it is incredibly involved and really interesting to watch someone create images in this way. If you have ever seen the movie "Goya's Ghosts" it shows Goya going through the process. Also you can probably youtube it.
That fact alone makes this "visual novel" that much more interesting.
I'm impressed with Niffenegger's flexibility--creating a picture book like this (what she refers to as a "visual novel") and then writing a novel like The Time Traveler's Wife. The illustrations remind me of Henry Darger's work (http://www.akimbo.biz/UserFiles/Image..., for example) with the thin, fine lines that Niffenegger uses to outline the characters' bodies. I enjoyed the detail she incorporated to reveal the texture of things--the yarn-looking fur of a black cat and the gravelly backgroun...more
Much better story than "The Adventuress". I thought the illustrations were more interesting, as well. I really enjoyed this, actually. It was a bit morbid in parts... but props to the author for managing to make a human fetus drawing look cute rather than creepy. Also.. I appreciate that it took her 14 years to make this.. but it seems kind of weird, since it only takes like.. 10 minutes to read/look at the pictures. It seems like her style of art (aquatone or something like that) is a bit more...more
I had been eyeing this book since Niffenegger became a household name among hipsters for her breakthrough novel. First thing that caught my attention were the weird drawings. Interesting, but the steep price turned me off
Maybe some other time
Several years and half of "The Time Traveller's wife later, I stumble upon this book again, this time on the sale bin. The gods must be smiling, methinks
I do not understand Audrey Niffenegger, which is code for I don't understand her work. The potential is t...more
Maybe some other time
Several years and half of "The Time Traveller's wife later, I stumble upon this book again, this time on the sale bin. The gods must be smiling, methinks
I do not understand Audrey Niffenegger, which is code for I don't understand her work. The potential is t...more
I read this in a few minutes at Hastings last night.
I let myself be dragged along while my girlfriend picked out a few movies to watch - although we have dozens of unwatched DVDs at home - somehow this trip was still needed?
Anyway, after a bit of digging through the movies, then trying without any luck to find a game to rent - I wandered to the books (gotta LOVE Hastings) and decided the 4 - 5 THOUSAND unread books I had at the house were enough for now.
I plopped in one of the end cap chairs and...more
I let myself be dragged along while my girlfriend picked out a few movies to watch - although we have dozens of unwatched DVDs at home - somehow this trip was still needed?
Anyway, after a bit of digging through the movies, then trying without any luck to find a game to rent - I wandered to the books (gotta LOVE Hastings) and decided the 4 - 5 THOUSAND unread books I had at the house were enough for now.
I plopped in one of the end cap chairs and...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Sure, at first you might be thinking a book with pictures is for kids, but this visual novel is so much more than something childish, not to mention the content is very mature. For a book of few words, Niffenegger has created an enthralling stories and characters with depth. Timeless themes of love, loss, jealousy and violence, among others, find careful treatment via the few, well-chosen words that are paired with the often intricate, at times disturbing aquatints.
As I read this book, I spent o
...more
I've read "Time Travelers Wife" and completely fell in love with it. It's one of my all-time favorite books. So after reading it a couple times, I thought I would look into the other works by Audrey Niffenegger. I bought "The Three Incestuous Sisters" over the internet, so I wasn't able to have a glimpse at it before purchasing it (I don't think there was even a cover picture of the book). But when I received my package and opened it up, first thing I noticed was the size and the cover art. It's...more
I picked this up because I read The Time Traveler's Wife, I vaguely remember liking that novel, and my friend Nikki Thomas ranked it recently on goodreads. I picked it up from the library on my way to get pho for dinner with my adorable wife and my precious stepson. Waiting for our pho, we read most of the book together. Thankfully it's short on words and the pictures are big and descriptive enough to fill the gaps in the story. It's sort of perfect, in that way, for sharing over the dinner tabl...more
GAH! When I rented this from the Library, my mind was on a blank and I did not even think of the fact that "INCEST" was inside of the word "INCESTUOUS". I'm not stupid and I do know that incest is when you do the nasty with a relative and if I had put two and two together I would never of rented this book. I swear, the only reason I picked it up in the first place was because I loved Audrey Niffenegger's book The Time Travelors wife.
IT SAID SHE STARTED WRITING THIS WHEN SHE WAS TEN! What kind of...more
IT SAID SHE STARTED WRITING THIS WHEN SHE WAS TEN! What kind of...more
Seems unduly influenced by Edward Gorey. This story is obviously a labor of love, but it didn't work for me at all. Creepy, pointless, and boring.
All I really have to say about this book is the following: I do not get it.
I guess the story could have been sort of interesting if it had actually been fleshed out a bit maybe. It was more like an outline for a story than a story. I looked through it at work, and must have had a most confused look on my face the entire time. Not only was there little point to the story, but I didn't find it to be beautiful art for art's sake.
Also, disturbing. Babies being blown up? Creepy. Now, I don't have any...more
I guess the story could have been sort of interesting if it had actually been fleshed out a bit maybe. It was more like an outline for a story than a story. I looked through it at work, and must have had a most confused look on my face the entire time. Not only was there little point to the story, but I didn't find it to be beautiful art for art's sake.
Also, disturbing. Babies being blown up? Creepy. Now, I don't have any...more
When The Time Traveler's Wife left me horribly disappointed for its obvious plot and melodrama I figured I was done with Audrey Niffenegger. Then on February 25, 2008, the late Dewey posted a loving review of Niffenegger's "visual novel" The Three Incestuous Sisters. Since her post I have been coveting the book and willing to give Niffenegger the artist a second chance.
It's somewhere between a graphic novel and a picture book for adults. It has the surreal matter-of-fact approach to story tellin...more
It's somewhere between a graphic novel and a picture book for adults. It has the surreal matter-of-fact approach to story tellin...more
I didn't even know this book existed until I saw an add for Niffenegger's new "visual novel. " I was so happy that the library had it (especially after I read it-don't think I want to own it.) On first glance it looks like a children's picture book but don't be fooled -although not likely with a title like this I guess. As one would imagine, the story is really twisted. Most of it is told through the pictures which are created through a process so elaborate I can't even begin to wrap my brain ar...more
Aug 16, 2012
Kristilyn (Reading In Winter & Winter Distractions)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
borrowed,
read-in-2011
Oh, Audrey Niffinegger, I appreciate you branching out and trying different techniques and different genres of books, but can we try and stick to the same realm, please?
When I checked out Niffinegger's "labour of love" from the library, I received a weird look from the librarian. Luckily, I was also buying The Time Traveler's Wife, a well-loved book by Niffenegger, which I pointed out was also by the author, hoping that that explained my reading choice. The librarian only had one thing to say, "...more
When I checked out Niffinegger's "labour of love" from the library, I received a weird look from the librarian. Luckily, I was also buying The Time Traveler's Wife, a well-loved book by Niffenegger, which I pointed out was also by the author, hoping that that explained my reading choice. The librarian only had one thing to say, "...more
Three sisters who live alone in an isolated house on the edge of town have their lives disrupted when a handsome young man falls in love with one of the sisters. The pair escape to town when one sister becomes jealous of the couple to the point where she plots to break up the union and take the man for herself. Things go badly, deaths occur, and out of the mess emerges a winged green boy.
The book feels like a dream or a fairy tale. There's minimal text to accompany the large and beautiful drawi...more
The book feels like a dream or a fairy tale. There's minimal text to accompany the large and beautiful drawi...more
I sort of feel bad for rating this a two, because I know it took an INSANE amount of work to create this book (14 years worth by Niffenegger's reckoning), but honestly, it really was just okay.
Told mostly through pictures (painstakingly created but still only 'ehh' most of the time), the text in this book is really just a series of captions for the pictures. The story is loosely held together through that, and even though it is there -- and a rather disturbing story it is, too -- it never feels...more
Told mostly through pictures (painstakingly created but still only 'ehh' most of the time), the text in this book is really just a series of captions for the pictures. The story is loosely held together through that, and even though it is there -- and a rather disturbing story it is, too -- it never feels...more
After reading "The Time Traveller's Wife" I was curious to check out some other stuff by Audrey Niffeneger, but this isn't actually a novel... the term Illustrated novel is an odd attempt to distinguish from a "graphic novel", which, to be fair, is something else the book isn't, at least not as the term is used. It's kind of a series of loosely narrative paintings, or plates, with a line or two of text associated with each one. It's quite beautiful, and the only comparison that comes to mind is...more
The three sisters Clothilde, Ophile, and Bettine live together in peace until Bettine falls in love and conceives a child. Ophile's jealousy sparks tragedy, and Clothilde communes with the unborn baby, beginning a strange sort of family drama. Told in minimal prose with large, sparse line drawings, The Three Incestuous Sisters is an interesting concept with haunting execution, but it remains insubstantial. With so little prose, the story begs better or more complex drawings to bring the it to li...more
Obviously, I didn't get this book. I'm trying to think of redeeming qualities for it and the only thing I can come up with is "unusual." It was definitely not what I expected. This is a picture book, but for some reason I expected more words. This book is about 176 pages long, on the left is a sentence and on the facing page is a picture. And honestly, I didn't think the pictures were very good. They were all done through a process called "aquatint," a process involving metal and acid followed b...more
Feb 24, 2008
Becky
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Maia; Allison
Recommended to Becky by:
Evan
Shelves:
age-adult-books,
graphic-novels
Liked this one slightly better than "The Adventuress," if only for the addition of color, especially Clothilde's bright red hair against the grays of the background.
This is another moody, surreal story which, in spite of the eyebrow-raising title, does not involve any incest that I can tell. Some of the pictures are stronger than others; the best are the ones which depict an emotional state ("Clothilde, horrified"; "Haunted") proving without a doubt that pictures can say things that words cannot...more
This is another moody, surreal story which, in spite of the eyebrow-raising title, does not involve any incest that I can tell. Some of the pictures are stronger than others; the best are the ones which depict an emotional state ("Clothilde, horrified"; "Haunted") proving without a doubt that pictures can say things that words cannot...more
I purchased this in NYC while attending Audrey's reading of Her Fearful Symmetry. Audrey is a visual artist as well as a fantastic author, and here we see the two mediums come together.
Illustrating the story with a unique art technique called Aquatints, Audrey introduces us to three sisters.. and the havoc they reek on each other.
Sometimes creepy and disturbing, always beautiful, her artwork grows in detail as the written words begin to diminish.. allowing the pictures to tell the story.
Illustrating the story with a unique art technique called Aquatints, Audrey introduces us to three sisters.. and the havoc they reek on each other.
Sometimes creepy and disturbing, always beautiful, her artwork grows in detail as the written words begin to diminish.. allowing the pictures to tell the story.
I read this book today at the library; I didn't think it was worth it to check it out since it could be read in a matter of minutes. It was pretty good, and I liked the illustrations, but the book is not actually the story. When I sat down and began looking at the book, the cutest old man asked me what I was reading, so I showed him. He was very interested in it, so we ended up reading it together. Yes, you got it. I read a book to a strange old man at the public library. It was awesome.
Since i liked AN's The Time Traveler's Wife, I figured I might like this one even better. I relished every page and would read it again from time to time.
Prior to reading the book, with its tone and colors, I know it has a dark plot somewhere that someone will die or something tragic like that. As I'm just starting to familiarize myself with visual novels and the likes, this one is a great add to one's collection.
Can't wait to discuss this book with friends in detail.
Prior to reading the book, with its tone and colors, I know it has a dark plot somewhere that someone will die or something tragic like that. As I'm just starting to familiarize myself with visual novels and the likes, this one is a great add to one's collection.
Can't wait to discuss this book with friends in detail.
Wow. This little picture book has got me thinking. It's like a fairy tale with really cool pictures and I found myself thinking, "Why did she do that?" Can't wait to ask the author at ALA Annual next week! The artwork is sparse and hauntingly beautiful--so glad she explained the process in the back of the book for idiots like me. I'm even wondering why the word incestuous is in the title--did I miss something? Can't wait to have some friends read this one and see what they think!
Okie doke...have NO clue what I was reserving at the library when I did so on line. I saw this book online and it was by the author of The Time Traveler's Wife (which I loved). So I thought I would read it...
What I got was the size of a coffee table book, about (according to the title) incestuous sisters (not something I would put on MY coffee table~!) So I read it...found out at the end it is an Art book, not a novel and it made no sense to me...strange, strange story...
What I got was the size of a coffee table book, about (according to the title) incestuous sisters (not something I would put on MY coffee table~!) So I read it...found out at the end it is an Art book, not a novel and it made no sense to me...strange, strange story...
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Why is it titled this way? | 4 | 108 | Oct 13, 2012 02:25pm |
Audrey Niffenegger (born June 13, 1963 in South Haven, Michigan) is a writer and artist. She is also a professor in the Interdisciplinary Book Arts MFA Program at the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts.
Niffenegger's debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife (2003), was a national bestseller. The Time Traveler's Wife is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a stra...more
More about Audrey Niffenegger...
Niffenegger's debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife (2003), was a national bestseller. The Time Traveler's Wife is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a stra...more
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Apr 14, 2012 12:47pm
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