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Her Fearful Symmetry

by Audrey Niffenegger (Goodreads Author), Bianca Amato (Narrator)

3.21 of 5 stars 3.21 · rating details · 54,592 ratings · 9,567 reviews

Six years after the phenomenal success of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.

When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only kn...more

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Published by Recorded Books (first published September 29th 2009)

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Nov 30, 2011 Mark rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, fantasy

I was a huge fan of Niffenegger's first book, Time Traveler's Wife. I loved that book so much that I avoided the movie like the plague because, from the trailer, I could tell it would not due the book justice and I didn't want to spoil my feelings towards it. Needless to say, I was eager to read Niffenegger's next work, Her Fearful Symmetry. Be forewarned if you haven't read the book, this will include spoilers.

Following twins Julia and Valentina, they inherit their aunt's flat after her death u...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Aerin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ghosts, twisty-turny

There are few things more magical in this mundane world than when the right book comes into your life at precisely the right time. But for me, at least, most of the books I read come at the wrong time. I'll read marvelous children's books as an adult, and more than anything they make me sad because I know how much more they would have meant to me when I was younger (Oh, His Dark Materials. Oh, Holes.) Or I've read books much too young, hated them, and now am unable to erase that terrible first i...more

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Oct 19, 2009 Teresa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read Niffenegger's first novel before the days of GR; and I remembered when I decided to rate it, I wavered between 3 (liked it) and 4 stars (really liked it). I ended up opting for 4 stars, because I did remember so much of it due to its sense of place and its unique storytelling. Her second novel has these same elements -- her strengths are obviously her imaginative story lines, which she roots in concrete reality. But the story, which started out strong, lost its way long before the weak en...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Wow, disappointing! Kept waiting for this to get good, and it never quite did. The two major "surprises" are painfully transparent well before they actually happen (I was hoping that I was being misled, because it couldn't be that obvious, could it?), most of the characters aren't very sympathetic, and the pacing is slow. Glad I didn't give into the impulse to buy a copy for myself, and instead borrowed it from the library - I'd be even more upset...

And of course, I'd be more forgiving if I hadn...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Scarlet rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: annoying-characters, disappointing, psycho-freaks, put-me-to-sleep, unintentionally-funny, waste-of-time

Here’s a question: What would you do if you had an overbearing, bossy twin sister whom you needed to get away from??

a. Bear with it – she’s family after all.
b. Elope with your middle-aged boyfriend.
c. Get your parents involved and have a long family chat.
d. Willingly die, and then try to resurrect yourself without her knowledge.

?
?

The meek twin in this story... she goes for option d.

...
...

This book was full of really absurd people doing really absurd things. The only way I managed to finish this...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another Audrey Niffeneger book where I'm not sure what or who I'm supposed to root for. (Reading the Time Traveler's Wife I often thought the words "BREAK UP WITH HIM, ALREADY" while the rest of the world was weeping over DOOMED LOVE).

Also, soulmates aren't real, and you don't have one.

Back to the book at hand...I had lunch in a local cafe while Niffenegger was being interviewed about this book at the next table, and it made for GREAT eavesdropping, and I got hooked on the premise of this book....more

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Jan 28, 2010 Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, fiction, f-fantasy-scifi, f-literary

This is a very tricky book to review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Her Fearful Symmetry. Having heard plenty of mixed reviews about this one, I wasn't sure how I would find it. On top of that, it was soon due back at the library, and I had 4 other library books calling my name desperately. I needn't have worried. This book definitely got me thinking and I like it when a book does that - when it stays in my mind for a long time after I actually finished reading it.

Her Fearful Symmetry is definitely a cha...more This is a very tricky book to review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Her Fearful Symmetry. Having heard plenty of mixed reviews about this one, I wasn't sure how I would find it. On top of that, it was soon due back at the library, and I had 4 other library books calling my name desperately. I needn't have worried. This book definitely got me thinking and I like it when a book does that - when it stays in my mind for a long time after I actually finished reading it.

Her Fearful Symmetry is definitely a challenging book. Challenging not because of writing style or incoherent ideas. Challenging because it questions a lot of accepted conventions that you might have. At least it did for me. I remember feeling the same after reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I would say that is the only similarity between the two books, that and Audrey's beautiful writing style.

This book got me thinking about a lot of things, but primarily about the relationship between twins. I have never known any twins, so I can't say how accurate Her Fearful Symmetry is on this topic. But I like to believe she took an extreme case for telling her story. The twins, first Elspeth and Edwina, and then Edwina's twin daughters, Julia and Valentina, are highly inseparable. After being together for years, cracks are bound to appear. What I found interesting, was how each set of twins responded to the troubles in their tightly-woven fabric. When the reason for the estrangement of Elspeth and Edwina was revealed however, I was a bit disappointed, since that wasn't something I would expect to drive close sisters apart, not after being so close and sharing everything for almost 25 years. Maybe I am seeing it differently, but I expected something more severe. It just didn't seem a reasonable excuse to drive two twins apart, and worse, stay apart for years and not let any communications between the two parties. I almost got the sense the twist was included as an afterthought, like it didn't really fit in there. This was the only problem I had from this otherwise riveting read.

Another huge element of this book is the relationship between lovers. How far are you willing to go to keep your other half from finding some secret? Especially if that secret is built on a lie. Do you never wonder if your husband or boyfriend really loves you for who you are or for who he imagines you to be? I found this question come up many a time in the relationships of both sets of twins. It is tragic because it leads to a lot of doubts that could have been avoided. It is sad because no one knows what's true anymore, and something the twins' father, Jack, asks Robert towards the end gives an idea of the enormity of this predicament.

This whole story is set around a graveyard, and as expected, we have ghosts too. Elspeth returns as a ghost and is stuck in her apartment. Valentina especially gets to know her better, and in the process the two make some very unpleasant discoveries. I wouldn't go into that since it's a spoiler, but it's definitely a very strong issue and I think, unethical (even in a haunted world). The particular incident literally left me shell-shocked and, to use the expression, gasping for air. It's been a long time since a book did that to me. I've never been able to forgive the character responsible for it, but then Audrey Niffenegger's books don't really go in the directions you want them to. They more likely leave you with questions, tears sometimes, but in a strange way, satisfaction too, since they get you thinking more than if circumstances had taken a much "beaten" path.

There were some questions that I found unanswered as I read this book though, and one was, why only Valentina could see Elspeth's ghost (eventually), or even sense it, while the rest could only feel the coldness of her touch. It felt like a tantalizing mystery whose answer I waited for.

I love Audrey Niffenegger's writing style. That's something I enjoyed in The Time Traveler's Wife, as well, and I just found myself turning page after page, no matter how slow the story might be going. Not that the story is slow, but there were a few chapters, that I didn't care much for when I was reading. Like, one chapter showing Robert's nightly habit of sitting by the cemetery for a long time. Another one, detailing Martin's disease and how he behaves. After finishing the book though, I did realize they were important chapters since those attributes of the characters had great bearing on the story to follow.

As in The Time Traveler's Wife, the one thing I struggled with in this book was the ease with which the characters accepted that which is not normal. In the former, we didn't really have any one shriek with fright when a man came about saying he travels through time. I doubt I would sanely accept someone telling me that. In Her Fearful Symmetry, we have characters accepting that ghosts can exist. Sure, I know there are a lot of people who believe in ghosts. But wouldn't you still get that fierce creepy chill that emanates from your back? Here I just noticed acceptance. Maybe it is just as well, since the characters stay near a graveyard or work in it. But I would have loved it if someone just shrieked and ran out of the house, once, just once.

Overall, I loved this book and have a new respect for Audrey Niffenegger for writing about very unconventional issues. I think you need a great deal of courage to write some of the things she wrote about, since they are issues you will either be yay and nay for, and we readers can't very easily accept everything we read about, just because it is written in print. This one is a very different type of book from The Time Traveler's Wife, but nevertheless, a good one in its own right.(less)

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Oct 19, 2009 Kathy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like so many other readers, I was enchanted by The Time Traveler’s Wife. There was a willing suspension of disbelief on my part (which goes against my skeptical and cynical nature) but the story was sweet and engaging enough to pull it off. Not so much with Her Fearful Symmetry. Again, through at least the first 2/3 of the book, I was willing to suspend disbelief and go with the story. But then it just got ridiculous beyond the point where I enjoyed the story anymore.

Essentially a ghost story,...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Wealhtheow rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

When Elspeth dies, she leaves her papers to her boyfriend and her flat to her twin's children, the twin sisters Julia and Valentina. J&V are very pale, very slim, and although they're nearly 21, very unformed. They have no friends, no lovers, little education, and no interests besides watching tv together. They are astoundingly boring.

Meanwhile, their upstairs neighbor is struggling with OCD and a passionate love for his wife, who has left him because of it. And their downstairs neighbor is...more When Elspeth dies, she leaves her papers to her boyfriend and her flat to her twin's children, the twin sisters Julia and Valentina. J&V are very pale, very slim, and although they're nearly 21, very unformed. They have no friends, no lovers, little education, and no interests besides watching tv together. They are astoundingly boring.

Meanwhile, their upstairs neighbor is struggling with OCD and a passionate love for his wife, who has left him because of it. And their downstairs neighbor is Robert, Elspeth's grieving boyfriend. And their own flat seems to be haunted...

Niffenegger has a beautiful writing style, and her characters always feel precise and real to me. She knows the specifics of their lives--what kind of wine they like, how they brush their teeth, what they feel at 3 in the morning. She knows every inch of their environments, and describes them with a casual fluidity. But although every other character felt real and probable to me, I never bought Julia and Valentina. For one thing, they flop around in their lives like limp fish. For another, they are SO DUMB that they even infect other characters with stupidity. (view spoiler) I think Niffenegger was trying to write a book about codependency and secrets, but the secrets were so dumb (view spoiler) and we were mostly told, not shown, the codependency. There are kernels of a much better novel in this book (Robert and the cemetary, or Martin and Marjike), but they are overtaken by the gothic grand gestures of the two sets of twins. (less)

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Nov 18, 2009 Molly Magro rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 12, 2009 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The fact that this book is titled after a line in one of my least favorite poems ever* should perhaps be a strike against it, but the title is quite fitting and somehow makes even more sense in this context than in Blake's use of it. This is the story of two sets of twins (hence the symmetry) who have an extremely odd system of relationships -- "system," because the story explores the highly varied and yet remarkably similar relationships between the four twins. To say too much about these relat...more The fact that this book is titled after a line in one of my least favorite poems ever* should perhaps be a strike against it, but the title is quite fitting and somehow makes even more sense in this context than in Blake's use of it. This is the story of two sets of twins (hence the symmetry) who have an extremely odd system of relationships -- "system," because the story explores the highly varied and yet remarkably similar relationships between the four twins. To say too much about these relationships would be to give away bits of the plot, but let me just say it was not at all what I expected, and the title word "fearful" is definitely apt.

While this story lacked (for me, at least) some of the magic of The Time Traveler's Wife, it is just as artfully written and explores the intricacies of relationships with the same deftness and insight as Niffenegger's earlier work. I would have liked to learn a bit more about Jessica and James, whose characters seemed to be placeholders and whose stories were never fully developed, but otherwise Niffenegger does a phenomenal job of developing a very intriguing cast of characters. Some of the traits are a bit extreme, perhaps -- there was certainly room for a bit more gray area on the black-and-white spectrum -- but overall the people seemed real and their actions were largely believable. (Whether or not you believe in ghosts, of course, remains up to you.)

One of the things that delighted me most about this story was that the text did not seem to "Americanized" -- the British slang remains intact, and the text makes reference to London life without apology to a clueless American audience. I'm by no means an expert here, so perhaps one of my non-American friends can chime in on the veracity of Niffenegger's use of British English, but hey, at least she spells "bollocks" correctly (*nudge* Shannon).

On the other hand, one of the things that delighted me least was how unabashedly straightforward all the characters were. Julia even points out that "American" may be a euphemism for "rude," so it seems that Niffenegger was conscious of how straightforward all the characters were, but it seems that perhaps she couldn't help herself and had to use this sort of brashness to progress the plot and explain some of the intricacies. Given that we see so many characters' perspectives in the narration, this seemed like a bit of a cop out.

I can't say the ending was totally a surprise -- I could see it coming a few chapters in advance, especially coming as it did on the heels of so many characters' questioning and extrapolating. And to be honest, I have to wonder how much of her idea for this story came from talking to Neil Gaiman as he was writing The Graveyard Book. There are some interesting parallels between the stories, and in some ways this seems to be almost a grown-up version of the same (not a bad thing, but still...). But overall, I loved the story, and very much enjoyed the fact that Niffenegger continues to be unconstrained by the strictures of reality as we know it. Her writing remains a delight.

* Tiger, tiger, burning bright / In the forests of the night, / What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry? William Blake "The Tyger" (1794).(less)

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Dec 11, 2009 David Jay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was difficult to put down but I deliberately tried to read slowly beause it was such a pleasure to read. Niffenegger is one of the finest contemporary writers and noone does longing and stymied love better than she does.

This book reminded me of "Time Traveler's Wife" as well as "The Lovely Bones." The stories center on an apartment building right off of Highgate Cemetery in London. One apartment belongs to Elspeth Noblin who dies on the first page of the book and bequeaths the apartment to...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Katy McAulay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I agree with what Teresa wrote (in her 2009 review). Niffenegger's jittering and jumping points-of-view were distracting - I had to make an effort to shrug it off, even from the beginning, to see where the book went.

In particular, I was irritated when two characters were in the same room - point-of-view followed the one who left the room to go upstairs and go do bed. A bit of internal thoughts for the character who is now in bed. Next sentence is back downstairs with a character who we left to...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Marigold rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: most-unattractive-characters-ever, mysteries, set-in-england

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My initial reaction was that I really disliked this book. On reflection, I still really dislike it but for a different reason than I thought! I think what Niffenegger was trying to do here was present a group of deeply dysfunctional characters & put them in a ghost story & let nature take its course. Why anyone would want to read such a thing is beyond me, but there it is.

Elspeth Noblin dies & leaves her London flat, which overlooks Highgate Cemetery, to her nieces, 20-year-old Amer...more

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Feb 07, 2011 Natalie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, magical-realism

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Time Traveler's Wife is among my favorite books ever.

Her Fearful Symmetry, however, was just pretty bad. I'll just make a list of reasons:

1. Niffenegger gets too caught up in describing every minute physical detail of Highgate, I guess because she works there in real life, and it's excruciating. I ended up skipping over most of these parts.

The parts about the history of the place were only moderately more interesting, but there was too much of it so that grated after a while too. I want a s...more

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May 22, 2010 Nancy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The Time Traveller's Wife" this is not; TTW was a poignant story about normal people trying to live in, and make sense of, an abnormal situation. In contrast, "Her Fearful Symmetry" has a shortage of even moderately well-adjusted, let alone likable, characters and a storyline that resulted in a significant number of eye rolls and sighs of "good grief" (simultaneously, on occasion) particularly in the first ~1/3. I thought the 2nd 1/3 was more enjoyable as the twins became more individual, Rober...more

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Nov 04, 2009 Kathleen Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who likes a good ghost story..

Recommended to Kathleen by: several blogs I read...

Shelves: finished

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This story is a ghost story but not your typical malevolent ghost story, at least I didn't think so. The story started out at Elspeth's funeral, who died young of cancer and it started telling a bit about each character in attendance. Neighbors Martin, who has a crippling obsessive compulsive disorder and his wife Marjike who you get the feeling loves her husband very much, but is having difficulty with her husbands disorder as he will not leave the house and she is overwhelmed by the other issu...more This story is a ghost story but not your typical malevolent ghost story, at least I didn't think so. The story started out at Elspeth's funeral, who died young of cancer and it started telling a bit about each character in attendance. Neighbors Martin, who has a crippling obsessive compulsive disorder and his wife Marjike who you get the feeling loves her husband very much, but is having difficulty with her husbands disorder as he will not leave the house and she is overwhelmed by the other issues that he is compulsive about.Then there is Robert who was Elspeth's younger friend, lover who is absolutely devasted with Elspeth's death. Elspeth is entombed in a mausoleum in Highgate Cemetery in London right next to where these people live.

Julia and Valentina are 20 year old twins who both had graduated high school and attempted to go to college but both dropped out and really not doing anything with their lives such as getting jobs or even going back to school. So they stay living with the parents in Chicago. The were also very attached to each other and each did the same thing and wore the same clothes etc.

Elspeth and her twin sister Edie (who is the twins mother) have not spoken for 20 years. I do not want to go into the why because that would give some of the story away. Elspeth left her flat in her will to the Julia and Valentina with the requirement that they live in the flat for one year.

As the girls get settled in the flat the ghost of Elspeth starts showing herself to the girls in odd ways until she is strong enough to show herself completely. It appears that she is not able to leave the flat and the girls are the only ones to see Elspeth in her ghostly form. It also appears that there is a motive to her showing herself to the girls but again I do not want to spoil the story. Although for one fact that I never realized could happen as the twins were mirror images of each other, Julias heart was where it was supposed to be and Valentina's heart is on the right side. Valentina also suffers from asthma and Julia does not.

The story goes back and forth between the characters but not a lot regarding the girls parents. It focuses a lot on Martin and his obsessive behaviors and how these said behaviors affect his marriage. Robert not only lives next to the cemetary but also works at Highgate Cemetary doing tours there. He was doing a dissertation on the people buried there. He would give tours during the day and at night he would sneak inside. Karl Marx, George Eliot, and Lizzie Siddal are a few of the Victorians buried at Highgate.

All in all I liked the story, although I was not crazy about the ending at all, it kind of made me uncomfortable and was not what I was expecting at all. I still would recommend this book if you like a good eerie ghost story.(less)

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Oct 06, 2009 Margo Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh my - this is the BEST book I have read in AGES! If I could give it more stars in the rating I would. Having just finished this book, I'm having flash-backs to the "Women in Literature" classes I took at the University of Puget Sound. I loved those classes because we would debate/discuss the significance of women and their relationships with other women and with men. I wish I could have one of "those" discussions regarding this book!

This book is excellent on so many different layers and levels...more

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Jan 06, 2010 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: un-put-downable

Update-1/6/10. I'm amending my review of this book, and making a new rule that I will not do reviews for at least a day once I've finished. What changed for me here was a lack of connection with the characters. I can't rate this as five stars because I really, in retrospect, didn't like any of them all that well or how they behaved.

I awaited this novel with eager anticipation and read it so fast, I will have to revisit it. I hate plot summaries, that is what Amazon and book jackets are for, so...more Update-1/6/10. I'm amending my review of this book, and making a new rule that I will not do reviews for at least a day once I've finished. What changed for me here was a lack of connection with the characters. I can't rate this as five stars because I really, in retrospect, didn't like any of them all that well or how they behaved.

I awaited this novel with eager anticipation and read it so fast, I will have to revisit it. I hate plot summaries, that is what Amazon and book jackets are for, so let me synopsize. London, Highgate Cemetery, Twins, Love, Death, OCD, Grief, Ghosts. Again, Niffenegger's theme is love. There are two love stories at the heart of this novel: the love of twins, and love that is cracked, but not broken.

At first, I thought there was a third: love that is broken by death. But as I write this review, having finished the novel a mere half an hour ago, I have to take it back. All of the lines of the novel point out love that is changed by death, but never broken.

Again, Niffenegger turns our expectations of a ghost story and a love story inside out, and leaves this reader with a new perspective on familiar concepts. In particular, the title, which I puzzled over for the vast majority of the book, became completely clear in the end. The characters are rich and well-drawn, each was an individual, and vividly portrayed. As with The Time Travelers Wife, each character makes moral choices that make sense within the narrative, but one has to question in the broader sense.

However, it is this complexity of choice that has fascinated me about Neffenegger's writing. She makes the fantastical so real, and her characters so clear, that how her characters react is completely understandable. In short, I loved this book almost as much as The Time Travelers Wife, my second favorite book of all time. In presenting a view of life beyond the veil it reminded me of The Lovely Bones, as a new take on what happens after you die. As a story of twins, I gained insight into a world that Isn't part of my experience. As a novel of love, I am reminded: love is never perfect, love changes over time, but it is seldom broken.(less)

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Oct 13, 2009 *Christie* rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I'm vascilating between three and four stars. I lean towards three only because The Time Traveler's Wife is one of my favorite books of all time and so my expectations were high.

What a creepy, twisted book! So fun! This is the story of enmeshed twins who live in their aunt's haunted flat in London. I especially enjoyed the sub-plot of Martin and Marijke. I think my favorite part had to be the history of Highgate Cemetary that was woven in throghout the book. Also, the poetry references in the b...more

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Nov 29, 2010 Micha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Edward Gorey, Brandon Smith,

Recommended to Micha by: Zoe Francesca

Shelves: books-2010, to-be-acquired

May I just say that I realy love Audrey Niffenegger as a writer! I have only read a few characters and already I am completely invested into this story. I think her humaness is my favourite aspect of her characters and her wrting - I truly feel for each one already and I am awed by the scenes of these characters lives that she has chosen to show us. Everytime I read one of her stories, even in each new chapter or scene, I think "not every author would think to show/tell us this. I really feel c...more

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Jul 27, 2009 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, i-own-it

Just some thoughts: I loved this novel...but in a completely different way than I love The Time Traveler's Wife. I wasn't sure what to expect so I tried not to have any expectations, which is exactly the attitude to have going into this book. It has what now seems to be Niffenegger's style of writing that's smart & funny & quirky but somehow all seems to come together easily. It has a few curveballs, so don't bother reading ahead (like I did...only to confuse myself until I read straight...more

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Oct 06, 2009 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, signed-by-author, arc-reviewers-copy

Many thanks to Regal Literary for sending me an ARC, and also to Audrey for accepting my invitation to appear here for a Q&A session!!

I don't think there is a more fitting time of year for curling up with this novel - Chilly mornings, Damp afternoons, wrapped in a blanket watching the leaves change color and fall to the ground....

It's a ghost story but so much more.

It's a story about transition, about love, about separation, about strength, about deciet, about abandonment. It's hopeful, and...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Mrs. Bowers rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Let me be clear: I am perfectly willing to partake in a suspension of reality while reading fiction. Vampires and werewolves battling for the love of one woman? Sure! A guy with a genetic disorder that causes him to travel through time? Of course! Ghosts, paranormal activity, and specters? Why not? Thus, it is not the subject matter of this novel that causes it to be so unforgivably unbelievable. It is the fact that virtually every single person you come to know in the first two-thirds of Her Fe...more Let me be clear: I am perfectly willing to partake in a suspension of reality while reading fiction. Vampires and werewolves battling for the love of one woman? Sure! A guy with a genetic disorder that causes him to travel through time? Of course! Ghosts, paranormal activity, and specters? Why not? Thus, it is not the subject matter of this novel that causes it to be so unforgivably unbelievable. It is the fact that virtually every single person you come to know in the first two-thirds of Her Fearful Symmetry behaves in completely uncharacteristic -- and therefore unacceptable -- ways in the last third.

The book officially careens downhill when Valentina comes up with the most ridiculous plan in the world: in order to gain an identity that is different from her twin, Julia, she must die and then be resurrected. Um, what? That's the ONLY way this can possibly be accomplished? What about dyeing your hair, wearing different clothes (for a change), moving to a different city? Staunch Niffenegger fans may argue that such things simply weren't options for meek little Valentina, but I find it VERY difficult to believe that a girl who can hit her sister (which, by the way, is never fully explained) just can't bring herself to pack a suitcase and go off to college.

To add to the lunacy, everyone on earth actually agrees to this plan, which seems even more insane once Elspeth tries and fails with the Kitten. The image of Robert stealthily lugging a floppy dead girl back to his flat just sealed the deal for me; and once Elspeth inhabits Valentina's body -- which, if done differently, would have made for a pretty cool story -- I was infuriated. Almost every major character was or became incredibly selfish, which made me feel cheated: I'm supposed to care MORE about them as the story goes on, not less.

By the end, everyone is left in shambles for no reason, except for Valentina, who shrinks her ghostly self into miniature and flies away on a crow. Oh yes, and Martin and Marijke, although their story seemed implausible by the end, too. Martin can't make it to Valentina's funeral, but pretty much the next day he hops in a cab and takes a train to Amsterdam? What is going ON here?! And don't even get me started about the predictable Edie/Elspeth switch, which became too complicated for even the author to keep straight once their real names were revealed.

When Robert leaves Elspeth at the end, even THAT rang disappointingly false. I mean, understandably, he can't bear to be around his Dead-Lover-Inhabiting-the-Body-of-Her-Secret-Daughter-Who-Robert-Also-Found-Kind-of-Attractive; but somehow, he was not bothered by this enough to avoid sleeping with her for a few months and subsequently knocking her up. The end ruined the sweetest moment in the book, which happened in the very beginning -- Robert, so consumed by grief, wraps himself around Elspeth's body in the hospital. That's real, raw emotion, and that tenderness is what the reader wants to hold on to; thus, it just doesn't feel like a triumph when Robert leaves her, especially after the rest of the convoluted story. If this book had ended on page 2, I would have been more satisfied.(less)

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May 26, 2013 Sam Sattler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

As one of the central characters in Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry puts it, one of the worst things about dying is not being around "to find out what happens next." But, much to her surprise, when Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer at age 44, she is still very much aware of what comes next. She, in fact, gets to influence much of what will happen - and not just because she willed her London flat to the nieces she has not set eyes upon since they were babies.

The nieces, Julia and Valentina,...more As one of the central characters in Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry puts it, one of the worst things about dying is not being around "to find out what happens next." But, much to her surprise, when Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer at age 44, she is still very much aware of what comes next. She, in fact, gets to influence much of what will happen - and not just because she willed her London flat to the nieces she has not set eyes upon since they were babies.

The nieces, Julia and Valentina, are twenty-year-old mirror-image (literally) twins living with their parents in Chicago. Because Elspeth has been estranged from their mother (who is Elspeth’s own twin sister) for their entire loves, the girls and their parents are somewhat shocked by the letter announcing their inheritance. But there are a couple of catches: in order to claim the property, the girls must live in it for one year and their parents must not enter the apartment for that entire time. Julia and Valentina, not a particularly ambitious pair, jump at the opportunity to live in London and, with the reluctant approval of their parents, accept their deceased aunt's proposition.

When they arrive in London, Julia and Valentina are somewhat surprised that their new flat borders London's famous Highgate Cemetery, the final home to Karl Marx and George Eliot, among others. But, despite the seeming reluctance of their neighbors to make contact with them, the girls manage to navigate their way around the city quite nicely on their own, determined to make the most of their unexpected windfall. Soon enough, however, they begin to suspect that they are not the only residents of their new apartment. Their dead aunt may still have some secrets she wants to share with them.

Make no mistake: Her Fearful Symmetry is a ghost story. For that matter, despite its lack of blood and guts, it is a superb horror novel. But really it is Niffenegger's way with fictional characters that transforms the novel into such a memorable reading experience. Julia and Valentina do eventually meet the people occupying flats in their building. Robert, their aunt's lover is an independently wealthy man able to spend much of his time as a volunteer guide at Highgate Cemetery. Martin is a brilliant crossword puzzle "setter" with such a terrible obsessive compulsive disorder that his wife has finally given up on him and moved back to the Netherlands. Even the characters not as directly connected to the twins, especially Martin's wife Marijke, are vivid and well constructed. And best of all, the workings of Highgate Cemetery are presented in such sympathetic detail, that the cemetery itself is almost another key character in the novel.

Bottom Line: Her Fearful Symmetry is a compelling ghost story. It is impossible to read the novel without a growing sense of dread at the realization that, as the book begins to draw to a close, all is not likely to end well for many of Niffennegger's characters.
(less)

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Aug 06, 2010 Rhonda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was somewhat anxious to read this work having enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife and was immediately reminded of how beautifully she wrote. The opening scenes of Elspeth's death were touching, elegant and oddly reaffirming. I expected to be on the verge of quite a wonderful tale.
However when we came to the American side of the story, the description of the twins was more than just a bit odd. It was especially lovely when they simultaneously give the finger to the television when George Bush is o...more I was somewhat anxious to read this work having enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife and was immediately reminded of how beautifully she wrote. The opening scenes of Elspeth's death were touching, elegant and oddly reaffirming. I expected to be on the verge of quite a wonderful tale.
However when we came to the American side of the story, the description of the twins was more than just a bit odd. It was especially lovely when they simultaneously give the finger to the television when George Bush is on. Just what this story needs: another dotty liberal-assed attitude towards things! Still all in all it made me laugh and I couldn't help wondering whether either of these girls had ever looked in the mirror: they seemed like a bad scene from a horror movie about zombies.
I had a feeling that the author was attempting to explain something but in a word, all it was was creepy. When one of the twins gets her father a cup of coffee, I was half expecting it to be something like the following: "She set the coffee down quietly in front of her father and waited as he took a sip. It would be only a few minutes before the poison would take effect."

Had I been an editor with this book, I would have had no trouble at all taking pages by the dozens out of this book. Perhaps this willy-nilly approach is considered artistic, but all I could think that it was just confused. Finally when I discovered that it was going to be a ghost story, I almost gave up reading it. But, after all, Henry James wrote ghost stories so maybe this would get better.
In fairness, one of the sub plots was very well written indeed, with a very detailed description of OCD. One doesn't find much out about Martin except for the surface issues, but he is by far the most human of all the characters in the book. In fact, I think the author would have been better off skipping the utterly silly and twisted ghost story and sticking to the wife leaving the brilliant man with OCD. I also think that he would have pills for panic attacks, even if he didn't want his OCD pills (because they ostensibly made him impotent.) She did make a slight error, however, in that he was an expert in old languages and she had him translating something Assyrian in Aramaic (by which I assume she meant Syriac.) The language of the Assyrians was, predominantly, Akkadian. I see that there is some neo-Syriac, so maybe I should give her a pass on that.
By the time the twins got to London, I didn’t like them any better, but the relationship started to change and I thought that certainly this was a good thing. However it then proceeded to run around in circles, everyone missing big clues and Robert the pathetic whining do-nothing cemetery docent, for some reason, won’t read the journals which Elspeth left him. God help us but that might make things clear! Personally I would have been gratified because that alone would have knocked about 200 pages off the turmoil.
All was not horrid, however because the descriptions of Highgate cemetery were simply wonderful and one felt like he/she were there. Each of my few visits to London has always missed this treasure mostly because when I suggest it, my companions look at me as if I am a ghoul. Still with this book, I get the feeling that at least I have been there, not completely but partially.
The really big issues, besides the twins living in the flat next to the cemetery which their Aunt Elspeth left them who happens to be a ghost locked inside said flat is that one of the twins wants to have her own life and naturally the other doesn’t want to let her go. Briefly a sensible option is discussed, like getting the solicitor to divide the estate and then going off on one’s own. But what kind of story would that be? Instead the twin decides that she must kill herself to get away from the other. Ummm, what happened to dividing the estate and moving elsewhere? In addition, Elsbeth is really the twins' mother! Gee, what this story needs is further complication.
When Elspeth the Ghost kills the kitten, I admit that I almost lost it and gave up on the book. Of course she is so sorry and all, but really! You can kind of see this is going to lead to one of the geniuses thinking: “Hey! Let’s do this with a real person!” It was so silly I only continued because I wanted to know what other absurdities awaited me. When she takes over her own daughter's body, I only wanted to get to the end.
The only part I liked toward the end was when Martin overcomes his OCD through taking drugs which one of the twins feeds him and goes to visit his estranged wife. Frankly I think that should have been the whole book. I kept hoping that there would be some sort of parallel with the other story but none was made.
I wanted to give this book 3 stars but just couldn’t do it. The author writes beautifully but the whole thing was so disjointed and confused that by the end I really didn’t care that Robert the whiner had finished his thesis or not. The fact that he leaves his reincarnated wife and new baby just seemed equally incongruous.
Please do not bother reading this!(less)

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Nov 21, 2009 Malcolm rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
--William Blake, "The Tyger"

When an acclaimed author (Audrey Niffenegger) takes a phrase from an inscrutable poem ("The Tyger"), readers (such as myself) are apt to expect a great story. Without a doubt Niffenegger's prose is elegant, her place descriptions (London and Highgate Cemetery) are exceptional, and her intricate plot has great promise.

That promise is not fulfilled.

Niffenegg...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Kelsie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The thing is, after reading Audrey Niffenegger, you really start to think about quality writing. I began thinking back to the last couple books I've read and realized how unspectacular their writing was. Her Fearful Symmertry is quality writing. It is well thought out. The setting, the characters, their story lines... all professionally done.

I don't think you have to like all of the characters to like a book. These characters surprised me for the better and for the worse. Toward the end of the b...more

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Oct 07, 2009 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this book is like an episode of the twilight zone on crack combined with a shakespeare tragedy.

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Sep 24, 2010 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

5 likes · like · see review

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About Audrey Niffenegger

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

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“There are several ways to react to being lost. One is to panic: this was usually Valentina's first impulse. Another is to abandon yourself to lostness, to allow the fact that you've misplaced yourself to change the way you experience the world.” — 124 people liked it

“Listen, sometimes when you finally find out, you realize that you were much better off not knowing.” — 116 people liked it

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