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I See You Everywhere
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the bestselling, National Book Award–winning author of Three Junes comes a tender, riveting book of two sisters and their complicated relationship.
Louisa Jardine is the older one, the conscientious student, precise and the one who yearns for a good marriage, an artistic career, a family. Clem, the archetypal youngest, is the committed to her work saving animals, but not to the men who fall for her. In this vivid, heartrending story of what we can and cannot do for those we love, the sisters grow closer as they move further apart. All told with sensual detail and deft characterization, I See You Everywhere is a candid story of life and death, companionship and sorrow, and the nature of sisterhood itself.
Louisa Jardine is the older one, the conscientious student, precise and the one who yearns for a good marriage, an artistic career, a family. Clem, the archetypal youngest, is the committed to her work saving animals, but not to the men who fall for her. In this vivid, heartrending story of what we can and cannot do for those we love, the sisters grow closer as they move further apart. All told with sensual detail and deft characterization, I See You Everywhere is a candid story of life and death, companionship and sorrow, and the nature of sisterhood itself.
304 pages, Paperback
First published October 14, 2008
238 people are currently reading
3475 people want to read
About the author
Julia Glass
15 books832 followersJulia Glass is the author of
Three Junes
, which won the 2002 National Book Award for Fiction, and
The Whole World Over
. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Her short fiction has won several prizes, including the Tobias Wolff Award and the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society Medal for the Best Novella. She lives with her family in Massachusetts.
Her new novel, I See You Everywhere is scheduled for release October 14, 2008.
Her new novel, I See You Everywhere is scheduled for release October 14, 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,048 reviews
December 24, 2008
It seems you really like Julia Glass or you really don't, judging from other reviews. I fall into the really likes group. I inhaled this book, a series of snapshots told alternately by two sisters. I find Glass's characters believable and layered, and her short story-like style suits my taste. It helps that this book is about one of the themes I find most fascinating - the inability to really live outside ourselves and understand others as more than who they are in relation to ourselves, and the way we reduce those closest to us to a series of short cuts and assumptions and stop seeing them in their complexities. I think it is interesting that Glass, who writes complex and realistic characters returns to this theme so often. Some people quibble at the sudden turn the plot takes at the end of this book, but I would argue that life DOES that.... I do think that like Three Junes, this book does not really end, but peters out, but that doesn't bother me. We leave the character of Louisa mid-life, when she is still living on. How many of us reach some point and are "done?" Beautifully and effortlessly written.
October 30, 2008
This book was very, very disappointing. I enjoyed both her previous books immensely, but I just couldn't go where this book was trying to take me. Firstly, the book is set up almost like a collection of connected short stories, and I'm not really a fan of short stories, so perhaps that's why my initial reaction wasn't positive. But I stuck with it and began to find myself invested in this tale of two sisters, even though the prose seemed mostly distant and cold...and then the book takes this radical turn that actually prompted me to go back and re-read certain segments to see if I missed something (which I don't think I did). The book just makes this leap that is wholly unjustified by all that we have read and learned of the characters up until that point. I finished the book, mostly hoping to find answers that were never there. Perhaps some will find this book clever or complex...I just found it unbelievable and rather dull.
February 8, 2010
I appreciated how this book honestly portrayed the complexity of relationships between sisters. Rather than presenting sisters who are best friends, who talk all of the time, etc., this book delves into the ups and downs, jealousies, regrets, and love/hate behaviors that characterize most sibling relationships over the course of a lifetime. The book begins in 1980, when Clem and Louisa are in their 20s, and spans the course of 25 years (chapters jump ahead one, five, and 10 years). Each chapters (both literally and figuratively) reveals something new about the girls - their past, their careers, their choice in male companions - as they take turns "speaking" throughout the novel. Anyone who has a sister will feel the the heartache of unspoken words and silent judgment, the frustration of competition, the joy of breakthroughs and shared moments, and the bond that comes from seeing each other through all that life throws at you.
August 6, 2024
Plot what plot?
I found this story subtlety brutal about two sisters Louisa and Clem who have a very contentious relationship as they move through their lives, who are able to love each other through their differences. Tragedy strikes them both one very unexpected and painful. This was an audio book, the author narrated Louisa and Mary Stuart Masterson was Clem, which was done very well and helped me to finish this book. Just not enough here for me, needed more from the relationships in the book since it lacked any plot.
I found this story subtlety brutal about two sisters Louisa and Clem who have a very contentious relationship as they move through their lives, who are able to love each other through their differences. Tragedy strikes them both one very unexpected and painful. This was an audio book, the author narrated Louisa and Mary Stuart Masterson was Clem, which was done very well and helped me to finish this book. Just not enough here for me, needed more from the relationships in the book since it lacked any plot.
August 15, 2014
I took two weeks to read this story, about Clem (loved that shortened name for Clement) and Louisa, where we hear alternatively from each sister, from their adolescence to their thirties. I wasn't really liking the change of voice as it was confusing to me, but this ended up being a small issue compared to my general dislike of the book. The whole way along, I was trying to feel a closeness to the two sisters, but I was consistently thinking to myself 'they're trying to tell me something, trying to get their stories across to me, but I don't know what it is', I just couldn't grasp it. I wasn't connected to them in the slightest, I wasn't enjoying them, while I felt they weren't entirely unlikeable, they just were bland, flat, without any substance. Toward the end a character surfaced again, I couldn't even remember his first appearance, or maybe that was because it took me so long to read?! I think many readers would have given up if they had the same interest level as me, but one of my foibles is to finish, I just have to. Julia Glass was able to develop characters well enough, plot was ok, but I just wasn't captured. I don't know how these sisters saw each other 'everywhere', I couldn't find them at all!
July 10, 2011
This is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The cover and title seemed very interesting to me, but this book was anything but. From the very start of this book, I just found it dull and I couldn't get into it. Though it did get a little more interesting around the midway point, it was still nothing captivating. I found the writing to be a little erratic, like the author was just moving from one event to the other, disregarding anything else - I felt the same with the two sisters relationships, too. I felt distanced from the characters and I just couldn't seem to get absorbed into it. Definitely not something that I'd recommend.
December 18, 2017
I read this in two days. I really adore Julia Glass' writing style.It's so smooth and full of beauty. I was surprised to see that the pieces in the book had originally been published as stories in other places, because they feel so cohesive. The only peeve I have with it, which is why it doesn't get 5 stars is that the first chapter has these really annoying POV shifts between the two sisters, both are in first person and the name of one of the characters is, bothersomely, Clement. So it is really, really distracting. But don't let this put you off. The rest of the book is a beautiful account of what it's like to be sisters.
February 11, 2009
Julia Glass’ new book is a beautiful balance of accessibility and artistry.
This skillful combination of readability and craft is a welcome turn from the author who won the National Book Award with her intricate first novel Three Junes. Her second novel, The Whole World Over, shot for a wider audience only to feel mired in formulaic soap opera mediocrity.
So I See You Everywhere is quite an achievement on so many levels. First of all, most “popular” and “accessible” works achieve these labels because they are also just plain and simplistic and often cliché. Their “accessibility” grabs their audiences by dealing in platitudes and bland commonalities.
I See You Everywhere is about siblings sisters, their shared love and hate. The combination of sibling rivalry and familial connection is intimate and familiar. Yet Glass’ approach is superbly artistic and unique. The first-person narration alternates between each woman. And yet there is an overall arc—a rich history—for both women; Glass achieves this by encapsulating a story in each of the book’s chapters.
The first story—the 1980 tale of a very old maiden aunt’s funeral—is told by each sister taking turns. The younger, fiery and passionate sister has spent her summer caring for the ancient old lady. The more staid sister only comes in late to pay her respects and obtain a small piece of the aunt’s jewelry she has always coveted. In the first few pages, we believe the older sister is unduly materialistic, only to come to understand later what that piece of jewelry means to her, especially in relation to her often reckless and yet more beloved younger sister.
The rest of the stories rotate between these two sisters’ viewpoints. The overall effect is a prismatic picture of their adult lives with and without each other. And even though the themes of family love and conflict are common, Glass exposes the questions and metaphors so deftly in each chapter—each tale—that the sum of the book is complex and fascinating. And because each chapter is its own story, I See You Everywhere is extremely easy for a reader to delve into; in fact, you might find the book goes from being a comprehensible and manageable read to being an addictive one.
This brings me to the strongest quality of I See You Everywhere. Anyone who knows Glass’ biography knows she is writing from a distinctly personal perspective here. This novel so easily and skillfully plumbs Glass’ own experience; for what she and her own sister have been through together, we would expect denser, less clean writing. We’d expect more pain, a lack of comprehension and a tendency to wallow in darkness, depression and ugliness. And yet, Glass writes of their tumultuous relationship with a transparent ease that flows from page to page.
Which brings me to the HUGE turning points of the book: some readers unfamiliar with Glass might assume that four chapters from the end, the author pulls a fast one on her audience, creating two certain massive plot twists. These events are so surprising and shocking; it’s easy to believe that Glass is going for a dramatic but low blow, whipping up melodramatic chaos for effect. And yet, Glass is writing pretty close to the bone here; these things really did happen to the author.
Some audiences become frustrated because the novel’s significant events don’t come with easy explanations. I promise you, if you’ve ever been through anything like what Glass has been through (and I have), you know that there really are no pat explanations.
In fact, it’s that final quality-one of deep understanding and even comfort in the midst of devastation—that makes I See You Everywhere so achingly beautiful.
This skillful combination of readability and craft is a welcome turn from the author who won the National Book Award with her intricate first novel Three Junes. Her second novel, The Whole World Over, shot for a wider audience only to feel mired in formulaic soap opera mediocrity.
So I See You Everywhere is quite an achievement on so many levels. First of all, most “popular” and “accessible” works achieve these labels because they are also just plain and simplistic and often cliché. Their “accessibility” grabs their audiences by dealing in platitudes and bland commonalities.
I See You Everywhere is about siblings sisters, their shared love and hate. The combination of sibling rivalry and familial connection is intimate and familiar. Yet Glass’ approach is superbly artistic and unique. The first-person narration alternates between each woman. And yet there is an overall arc—a rich history—for both women; Glass achieves this by encapsulating a story in each of the book’s chapters.
The first story—the 1980 tale of a very old maiden aunt’s funeral—is told by each sister taking turns. The younger, fiery and passionate sister has spent her summer caring for the ancient old lady. The more staid sister only comes in late to pay her respects and obtain a small piece of the aunt’s jewelry she has always coveted. In the first few pages, we believe the older sister is unduly materialistic, only to come to understand later what that piece of jewelry means to her, especially in relation to her often reckless and yet more beloved younger sister.
The rest of the stories rotate between these two sisters’ viewpoints. The overall effect is a prismatic picture of their adult lives with and without each other. And even though the themes of family love and conflict are common, Glass exposes the questions and metaphors so deftly in each chapter—each tale—that the sum of the book is complex and fascinating. And because each chapter is its own story, I See You Everywhere is extremely easy for a reader to delve into; in fact, you might find the book goes from being a comprehensible and manageable read to being an addictive one.
This brings me to the strongest quality of I See You Everywhere. Anyone who knows Glass’ biography knows she is writing from a distinctly personal perspective here. This novel so easily and skillfully plumbs Glass’ own experience; for what she and her own sister have been through together, we would expect denser, less clean writing. We’d expect more pain, a lack of comprehension and a tendency to wallow in darkness, depression and ugliness. And yet, Glass writes of their tumultuous relationship with a transparent ease that flows from page to page.
Which brings me to the HUGE turning points of the book: some readers unfamiliar with Glass might assume that four chapters from the end, the author pulls a fast one on her audience, creating two certain massive plot twists. These events are so surprising and shocking; it’s easy to believe that Glass is going for a dramatic but low blow, whipping up melodramatic chaos for effect. And yet, Glass is writing pretty close to the bone here; these things really did happen to the author.
Some audiences become frustrated because the novel’s significant events don’t come with easy explanations. I promise you, if you’ve ever been through anything like what Glass has been through (and I have), you know that there really are no pat explanations.
In fact, it’s that final quality-one of deep understanding and even comfort in the midst of devastation—that makes I See You Everywhere so achingly beautiful.
July 13, 2009
In her novel Julia Glass explores the lives and the interrelationship of two sisters over a period of twenty years, picking up the story when the two women are in their early twenties. Chapters alternate between the first person voice of each sister, capturing the point of view of Louisa and Clem, as the author fleshes out the character and growth of each of the sisters, each woman choosing totally different lifestyles and yet the bond of sisterhood and connective thread remains.
I enjoyed the story partly due to the fact that I enjoy stories dealing with the relationships between women and how family plays such a part in all our lives. What is it that Robert Frost wrote in “Death of A Hired Hand” - “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” The words came to mind as I read about the lives of the two women. The lifestyles, the struggles of both sisters to find the ultimate ‘what makes me worthwhile as a person’ is interesting. Chapters might intertwine; they might break away totally and bring the reader into a new scene years later, leaving the activities of the previous chapter as just a distant memory. On occasion a seemingly small bit of family history shared by a great aunt with one girl becomes a strong question for the other sister years later. I never sensed a feeling of closure in this story; perhaps as in real life, issues and relationships are not necessarily resolved.
I enjoyed the story partly due to the fact that I enjoy stories dealing with the relationships between women and how family plays such a part in all our lives. What is it that Robert Frost wrote in “Death of A Hired Hand” - “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” The words came to mind as I read about the lives of the two women. The lifestyles, the struggles of both sisters to find the ultimate ‘what makes me worthwhile as a person’ is interesting. Chapters might intertwine; they might break away totally and bring the reader into a new scene years later, leaving the activities of the previous chapter as just a distant memory. On occasion a seemingly small bit of family history shared by a great aunt with one girl becomes a strong question for the other sister years later. I never sensed a feeling of closure in this story; perhaps as in real life, issues and relationships are not necessarily resolved.
January 3, 2010
I really liked Julia Glass's first two novels -- the characters touched me, the storylines were engaging. However, something went terribly awry with this book. It's like Julia was kidnapped by Jodi Picoult, spoonfed some kind of noxious character-withering pablum, and then released to finish up this book while still in some state of disorientation.
This is to say, "I See You Everywhere" was churning along OK until one horrible twist in the storyline. You've had this happen, I'm sure. You're reading along, and then **wham-o!** The author pulls a literary move on you that resembles something Hulk Hogan might have executed in his heyday with the World Wrestling Federation. Once you pull the folding chair off your face, and you pull yourself up by the ropes on the ringside, you turn back to the author and mutter, "That's a load of hooey. That character would have *never* done that. You're jacking with me."
I suggest that if you read this book, you should have the ice pack ready once the plot twist plummets into the ring. Try to keep the swelling down, and hopefully the whole episode won't leave a permanent mark. I'm willing to go back to Glass one more time, but I'm no glutton for punishment. If her next book has the same ridiculous twist, I'm moving on and not looking back.
This is to say, "I See You Everywhere" was churning along OK until one horrible twist in the storyline. You've had this happen, I'm sure. You're reading along, and then **wham-o!** The author pulls a literary move on you that resembles something Hulk Hogan might have executed in his heyday with the World Wrestling Federation. Once you pull the folding chair off your face, and you pull yourself up by the ropes on the ringside, you turn back to the author and mutter, "That's a load of hooey. That character would have *never* done that. You're jacking with me."
I suggest that if you read this book, you should have the ice pack ready once the plot twist plummets into the ring. Try to keep the swelling down, and hopefully the whole episode won't leave a permanent mark. I'm willing to go back to Glass one more time, but I'm no glutton for punishment. If her next book has the same ridiculous twist, I'm moving on and not looking back.
December 28, 2009
I liked "Three Junes" when I read it, but couldn't finish "The Whole World Over." Halfway through "I See You Everywhere" I started skimming, and stopped reading altogether when I got to, oh, the twist.
The vignette format was jarring and it was often not apparent which sister was narrating which story. While the dates assigned to the vignettes suggested that the sisters were aging, they never seemed to actually learn anything or gain any insight into themselves or anyone else, making them very static characters. It seemed like Glass had just taken stick figures and assigned attributes (and men) to them: Clem is wild! Louisa is, um, not! Louisa is married! Now she's left her husband! Now she's back with him! Why'd she go back? Who knows? I just didn't get any sense of anyone's motivations. It's like all these objects and men and settings and pastimes were supposed to add up to larger Literary or Poetic meaning, but it just didn't happen.
And so many of the vignettes go nowhere: what was the point of Aunt Lucy's secret (which I'd assumed, not unreasonably I don't think, would have something to do with the rest of the book)? Of Tighty's stealing the dogs? Of Clement's amnesia? At one point, later in the book, Clem muses about all the kitchens she's cooked in with men over the years. The paragraph closes with the question: "How much spaghetti, [she wondered:], have I shared with how many men?" (p. 198) So, was the spaghetti supposed to be, like, a metaphor, a stand-in for some part of herself? Or something, anything, beyond just... spaghetti? And if it was meant to be meaningful, why isn't it developed at all? Why use all the mishmash of image categories -- food! animals! art! venerable Southern family heritage! illness (amnesia, yet)! -- if you aren't going to develop those images or connect them with anything?
Also, one mistake that made me crazy (especially given the current of foodiness running through the book: the Girl Scouts do NOT sell cookies called "Samosas." The term was used several times. They're called "Samoas"... unless the implication is that the Girl Scouts had branched out into savory Indian food. (And again, what's the point of focusing for that moment on those cookies? You could do so many interesting things literarily with a box of Girl Scout cookies, all gone to waste... mmm.... Samoas...)
The vignette format was jarring and it was often not apparent which sister was narrating which story. While the dates assigned to the vignettes suggested that the sisters were aging, they never seemed to actually learn anything or gain any insight into themselves or anyone else, making them very static characters. It seemed like Glass had just taken stick figures and assigned attributes (and men) to them: Clem is wild! Louisa is, um, not! Louisa is married! Now she's left her husband! Now she's back with him! Why'd she go back? Who knows? I just didn't get any sense of anyone's motivations. It's like all these objects and men and settings and pastimes were supposed to add up to larger Literary or Poetic meaning, but it just didn't happen.
And so many of the vignettes go nowhere: what was the point of Aunt Lucy's secret (which I'd assumed, not unreasonably I don't think, would have something to do with the rest of the book)? Of Tighty's stealing the dogs? Of Clement's amnesia? At one point, later in the book, Clem muses about all the kitchens she's cooked in with men over the years. The paragraph closes with the question: "How much spaghetti, [she wondered:], have I shared with how many men?" (p. 198) So, was the spaghetti supposed to be, like, a metaphor, a stand-in for some part of herself? Or something, anything, beyond just... spaghetti? And if it was meant to be meaningful, why isn't it developed at all? Why use all the mishmash of image categories -- food! animals! art! venerable Southern family heritage! illness (amnesia, yet)! -- if you aren't going to develop those images or connect them with anything?
Also, one mistake that made me crazy (especially given the current of foodiness running through the book: the Girl Scouts do NOT sell cookies called "Samosas." The term was used several times. They're called "Samoas"... unless the implication is that the Girl Scouts had branched out into savory Indian food. (And again, what's the point of focusing for that moment on those cookies? You could do so many interesting things literarily with a box of Girl Scout cookies, all gone to waste... mmm.... Samoas...)
January 19, 2013
One reviewer noted that the chapters of this book seemed like individual short stories; that's probably the most positive spin one could put on this book. The early chapters seemed discontinuous, with the chapters told alternately in the voice of one of the two sisters, Clem and Louisa. The very first chapter, and a rather boring one, seemed to have little to do with the rest of the book. What was all that about the sisters' family tree, the great-aunts, Great-Aunt Lucy and her coveted cameo? After a couple chapters, this storyline was not mentioned again-- until the very end, when the author inserted a mention of Great Aunt Lucy that had no effect on the story ending.
Each chapter seemed like a non-sequitir from the preceding one. The sisters were always in a different place, in a different situation, with different love interests that hadn't flowed from the previous chapter. At the beginning of each chapter, I'd have to say 'huh?' Did I miss something? Was I supposed to know that? The author took her time setting it all straight. It seemed to me the author had little regard for the reader's sense of following a story.
About halfway through the book, the chapters were spaced closer together in time, and thence began a storyline I could follow more easily. although in chapter "Coat of Many Colors" the first page talks about a 'machine' Louisa is having a 'relationship' with. Several pages later, it turns out-- oh, she's undergoing radiation treatments. Of course, no previous mention of an illness; this was all to come later. And another frustrating chapter beginning earlier: Clem has amnesia and is in the hospital; a mysterious stranger comes into her room with roses. Clem has no idea who he is; neither does the reader. And the explanation is interrupted by side comments on the doctor, Clem's mother's visit, etc. Plus the mystery is made more unclear to the reader, when the stranger is identified as Barney, although his real name is Larney. I wondered-- typos? There was really no excuse for all this befuddlement on the reader's part.
I do admit to reading to the end, although skimming many paragraphs that seemed extraneous, totally unnecessary. I'm still not sure what this story was all "about." The writer could have had several theme in mind. I think this book could have done better with more editing.
Each chapter seemed like a non-sequitir from the preceding one. The sisters were always in a different place, in a different situation, with different love interests that hadn't flowed from the previous chapter. At the beginning of each chapter, I'd have to say 'huh?' Did I miss something? Was I supposed to know that? The author took her time setting it all straight. It seemed to me the author had little regard for the reader's sense of following a story.
About halfway through the book, the chapters were spaced closer together in time, and thence began a storyline I could follow more easily. although in chapter "Coat of Many Colors" the first page talks about a 'machine' Louisa is having a 'relationship' with. Several pages later, it turns out-- oh, she's undergoing radiation treatments. Of course, no previous mention of an illness; this was all to come later. And another frustrating chapter beginning earlier: Clem has amnesia and is in the hospital; a mysterious stranger comes into her room with roses. Clem has no idea who he is; neither does the reader. And the explanation is interrupted by side comments on the doctor, Clem's mother's visit, etc. Plus the mystery is made more unclear to the reader, when the stranger is identified as Barney, although his real name is Larney. I wondered-- typos? There was really no excuse for all this befuddlement on the reader's part.
I do admit to reading to the end, although skimming many paragraphs that seemed extraneous, totally unnecessary. I'm still not sure what this story was all "about." The writer could have had several theme in mind. I think this book could have done better with more editing.
May 4, 2009
This was a choice for our local book club, so I dutifully read it. I'm not sure it's one I would have been wild about reading if it were not for the necessity of doing so. Author Glass has some good moments (she's an award winner for a previous book that I have not yet read), but at times the writing seemed a bit "clunky" to me, and after awhile, the vast numbers of Clem's boyfriends became hard to keep track of. Clem and her older sister, Louisa, make their way through life with Clem as the wild, magnetic one and Louisa the more restrained sister. Much of this book seemed to be about their sexual encounters with various men, and the events of their lives seem to center on which man they are with at the time--not really the best message I could envision in this post-feminist world. Frankly, I was more intrigued with the story of the great-great-aunt at the start of the book and wouldn't have minded much if the whole thing were about her. SO, I guess what I'm saying is if you previously read some of Glass' works and liked them, give this a whirl--or if you'd like to fantasize about having sex with about 10 different types of men, this might help get you there--but otherwise, I could take or leave this one.
November 13, 2008
As posted in [http://www.amazon.com]:
I really tried to like this book since it was written by Julia Glass. I've heard so much about Glass and "The Three Junes". However, I just could not connect to this story.
*I See You Everywhere* is about 2 sisters, who have grown apart through the years. Yet, they remain in touch or even visit, especially during tragic events. Louisa, the elder sister, is the stable one with a rooted job and a consistent love interest. Chem, the other one, travels the world, as a biologist, studying and saving the animals. She goes through men like underwear.
The sisters' perspectives are tag-teamed throughout the book...that is, until one of them dies. And the story should have stopped there because it was already dead before then. Unfortunately, Glass continues the story and it was just pointless.
Basically, this story is just about sisters picking on each other on why they aren't like the other (being stable vs. being free). They only band together when it comes to their parents.
I really tried to like this book since it was written by Julia Glass. I've heard so much about Glass and "The Three Junes". However, I just could not connect to this story.
*I See You Everywhere* is about 2 sisters, who have grown apart through the years. Yet, they remain in touch or even visit, especially during tragic events. Louisa, the elder sister, is the stable one with a rooted job and a consistent love interest. Chem, the other one, travels the world, as a biologist, studying and saving the animals. She goes through men like underwear.
The sisters' perspectives are tag-teamed throughout the book...that is, until one of them dies. And the story should have stopped there because it was already dead before then. Unfortunately, Glass continues the story and it was just pointless.
Basically, this story is just about sisters picking on each other on why they aren't like the other (being stable vs. being free). They only band together when it comes to their parents.
July 13, 2017
Glass is aptly named: she reflects life back at us in in ways we can't help but admire. She is one of the authors I go to when I can't stand half-baked, poorly paced, draft-like writing that passes for literature more often than not. Glass is more than a writer, as all really good writers should be: she's an artist of communicating the subtle features of life that make it both beautiful and tragic and of capturing elements of humanity that we deal with daily but, as a species, continue to be confused by.
This is the story of two sisters, a relationship wrought with competition, misunderstanding, envy, and deep love. Glass pieces together a story that skips entire years, fast-forwarding through the lives of the two sisters to get to the next stages in their personal development. One theme Glass explores is the power of genetics and how siblings can take completely opposite tracks in life but still feel a strong bond. The sisters are each others' constants through a string of romantic relationships.
This is the story of two sisters, a relationship wrought with competition, misunderstanding, envy, and deep love. Glass pieces together a story that skips entire years, fast-forwarding through the lives of the two sisters to get to the next stages in their personal development. One theme Glass explores is the power of genetics and how siblings can take completely opposite tracks in life but still feel a strong bond. The sisters are each others' constants through a string of romantic relationships.
August 26, 2017
If you ever had a sister, if you ever longed for a sister this book is a magnificent portrayal of those tortured, heart breaking, soul slashing and rejuvenating, mystical and warming relationships between siblings. Read in small doses to capture all Glass's prose!
June 18, 2019
This is actually a collection of short stories about two sisters. Each chapter, narrated by first one then the other sister, could stand on its own, which means there is some repetition from chapter to chapter. I liked it but the short story style put me off a bit. On the other hand, kudos to the author for pulling that off.
Louisa is the older, more uptight sister – a failed artist and Clement is the younger free spirit who works in wildlife conservation. They have a complicated relationship which morphs and develops as the book progresses across their teens, twenties, thirties and forties
Louisa is the older, more uptight sister – a failed artist and Clement is the younger free spirit who works in wildlife conservation. They have a complicated relationship which morphs and develops as the book progresses across their teens, twenties, thirties and forties
May 27, 2010
My older daughter was given a book as a present on her little sister’s birthday, Big Sister and Little Sister, by Charlotte Zolotow, that I find a little hard to read right now. It tells the story of a big sister who always took care of her little sister and always told her what to do and always comforted her when she cried. I myself am a big sister, but I don’t have a little sister. I have a little brother. Nonetheless, the parallels still apply. One day, the little sister, tired of being told what to do, runs away and hides in the meadow among the tall grass. The big sister looks for her and cannot find her, even though the little sister is right there – close enough to touch. The big sister, devastated, starts to cry. Finally, the little sister reaches out and comforts her big sister.
The reason I find this book so hard to read is that my little brother, at age 33, has run away from us, from our family, just as surely as that little sister did. And I keep waiting for him to step out and reveal himself from among the tall grass, and comfort me – who is missing him so much. (Thank God for Facebook; based on his status updates and the very occasional text message, I do know he’s alive).
And so if I can barely bear to read this sweet children’s book with its happy ending, is it any wonder that I could hardly stand to finish Julia Glass’s I See You Everywhere? Ms. Glass tells the story of two sisters over a time span of many years. The big sister, Louisa, like me, is steady and plodding. The little sister, Clem, like my little brother, is a little wilder and less focused. And Clem, for reasons that Louisa does not know but tries to imagine, to figure out, and to articulate, chooses to kill herself at age 33.
We read books for many reasons: we seek entertainment, solace, instruction, mystery, and wonder. We read books because we’re made to, whether that compulsion be inwardly or outwardly directed. I can harp on characterization, plot, or writing style as much as I want, but when it really comes down to it the subject matter matters. And so, missing my little brother and fervently hoping he will come home to us, I cannot like, I cannot enjoy Ms. Glass’s I See You Everywhere, nor can I be objective enough to judge whether this is a very good or a very bad book.
All I can do is frantically page through the last two chapters and try to piece together clues from Clem’s suicide as to whether my brother will come home, that is, to treat this novel, written by a woman who has never met me or my brother, as an instruction manual for my life. Like Louisa, who composed her own litany: “Clem was brilliant, she was accomplished, she was passionate, she was loved, but she was …ill,” I run through my brother’s characteristics and history and try to imagine, to comprehend, why he has run away from us and to guess whether he will come home. That is our province: Louisa’s and mine. What with Clem’s death, and my brother’s silence, “the last word is mine, and it is a gift.”
And so with my last word, with my gift, I choose to believe that my brother will come home. I choose to use E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End as the instruction manual for my life, rather than I See You Everywhere. There, too, is the story of two sisters. The older sister, Margaret, is steady and plodding like me and Louisa. The younger sister, Helen, is a little wilder and less focused, like my brother and Clem. Helen runs away from her family the same way that my brother has done: refuses to see her family, sends only the briefest and most unsatisfying of notes. It turns out, of course, that Helen, a young unmarried woman in Edwardian England, had gotten herself pregnant. Knowing that she would not be accepted in society, nor yet by her sister Margaret’s husband, Helen chose instead to absent herself and planned to live in Germany after the baby was born. Owing to a happy confluence of most unhappy incidents, Helen and the baby end up living with Margaret and her husband – not welcome in society, perhaps, but loved and embraced by her family. “All over the world men and women are worrying because they cannot develop as they are supposed to develop. Here and there they have the matter out, and it comforts them. Don’t fret yourself, Helen. Develop what you have; love your child….Don’t you see that all this leads to comfort in the end? It is part of the battle against sameness. Differences – eternal differences, planted by God in a single family, so that there may always be colour; sorrow perhaps, but colour in the daily grey.”
Maybe my brother is worrying because he cannot develop as he is supposed to develop; he has no degree, no career, no spouse nor child, but he shouldn’t fret. He and I are different, sure, but we’ve been planted by God in a single family so that there may always be colour. He is a beloved son, beloved brother, beloved uncle, beloved nephew, beloved cousin, beloved grandson, and beloved friend to many, many people. And so I hope that my brother has the sense enough to realize it and come home.
The reason I find this book so hard to read is that my little brother, at age 33, has run away from us, from our family, just as surely as that little sister did. And I keep waiting for him to step out and reveal himself from among the tall grass, and comfort me – who is missing him so much. (Thank God for Facebook; based on his status updates and the very occasional text message, I do know he’s alive).
And so if I can barely bear to read this sweet children’s book with its happy ending, is it any wonder that I could hardly stand to finish Julia Glass’s I See You Everywhere? Ms. Glass tells the story of two sisters over a time span of many years. The big sister, Louisa, like me, is steady and plodding. The little sister, Clem, like my little brother, is a little wilder and less focused. And Clem, for reasons that Louisa does not know but tries to imagine, to figure out, and to articulate, chooses to kill herself at age 33.
We read books for many reasons: we seek entertainment, solace, instruction, mystery, and wonder. We read books because we’re made to, whether that compulsion be inwardly or outwardly directed. I can harp on characterization, plot, or writing style as much as I want, but when it really comes down to it the subject matter matters. And so, missing my little brother and fervently hoping he will come home to us, I cannot like, I cannot enjoy Ms. Glass’s I See You Everywhere, nor can I be objective enough to judge whether this is a very good or a very bad book.
All I can do is frantically page through the last two chapters and try to piece together clues from Clem’s suicide as to whether my brother will come home, that is, to treat this novel, written by a woman who has never met me or my brother, as an instruction manual for my life. Like Louisa, who composed her own litany: “Clem was brilliant, she was accomplished, she was passionate, she was loved, but she was …ill,” I run through my brother’s characteristics and history and try to imagine, to comprehend, why he has run away from us and to guess whether he will come home. That is our province: Louisa’s and mine. What with Clem’s death, and my brother’s silence, “the last word is mine, and it is a gift.”
And so with my last word, with my gift, I choose to believe that my brother will come home. I choose to use E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End as the instruction manual for my life, rather than I See You Everywhere. There, too, is the story of two sisters. The older sister, Margaret, is steady and plodding like me and Louisa. The younger sister, Helen, is a little wilder and less focused, like my brother and Clem. Helen runs away from her family the same way that my brother has done: refuses to see her family, sends only the briefest and most unsatisfying of notes. It turns out, of course, that Helen, a young unmarried woman in Edwardian England, had gotten herself pregnant. Knowing that she would not be accepted in society, nor yet by her sister Margaret’s husband, Helen chose instead to absent herself and planned to live in Germany after the baby was born. Owing to a happy confluence of most unhappy incidents, Helen and the baby end up living with Margaret and her husband – not welcome in society, perhaps, but loved and embraced by her family. “All over the world men and women are worrying because they cannot develop as they are supposed to develop. Here and there they have the matter out, and it comforts them. Don’t fret yourself, Helen. Develop what you have; love your child….Don’t you see that all this leads to comfort in the end? It is part of the battle against sameness. Differences – eternal differences, planted by God in a single family, so that there may always be colour; sorrow perhaps, but colour in the daily grey.”
Maybe my brother is worrying because he cannot develop as he is supposed to develop; he has no degree, no career, no spouse nor child, but he shouldn’t fret. He and I are different, sure, but we’ve been planted by God in a single family so that there may always be colour. He is a beloved son, beloved brother, beloved uncle, beloved nephew, beloved cousin, beloved grandson, and beloved friend to many, many people. And so I hope that my brother has the sense enough to realize it and come home.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2023
Two sisters get along pretty well, but are not often together. Enough sarcasm from both of them, helps to keep them apart. In unhappy or serious times, they rely on each other. Their story is told in 3 year segments, the chapters of the book. As each chapter starts, the reader figures out which sister is the narrator, and we learn the highlights of the past three years. It was odd to me at first, but I enjoyed the book.
August 31, 2011
I was thrilled when I saw this book at the library, and snatched it up. This was one of the first books I borrowed with my NYPL library card, and is definitely a worthy book. This book is incredible- once again, Julia Glass manages to bring such depth to her characters. This time around, her main characters are two sisters who have almost nothing in common except for the fact that they are related and they love each other. This book alternates between the sisters’ point of views and spans over a 10 year (approximate) time frame. You really get to know and to love each character, and to wish that these sisters would trust each other more often. You watch them live parallel lives, that occasionally overlap through major events such as a wedding, a life-threatening injury, a vacation, a break-up. Ultimately, this book breaks your heart but does it in such a beautiful and poignant way. This is one of those reads that you can’t put down, and once you’re finished, you just have to sit down for a few minutes and take in the events in the story. Anyone who has a sister will relate to the complex relationship between the two main characters; in short, this is a tribute to sisters everywhere- a tribute to the unique bond of love that sisters share no matter how different they are or where they go in life.
The moral of the story: Life is short. While you don’t pick your family, they are a vital part of your existence and who you are as a person. Even if you are completely different from your siblings, you should make more of an effort to get together, to make unique memories and develop a better relationship. More likely, you won’t become best friends but you can strengthen your bond. But never doubt this, the love is always there, no matter how much siblings may differ or disagree.
The moral of the story: Life is short. While you don’t pick your family, they are a vital part of your existence and who you are as a person. Even if you are completely different from your siblings, you should make more of an effort to get together, to make unique memories and develop a better relationship. More likely, you won’t become best friends but you can strengthen your bond. But never doubt this, the love is always there, no matter how much siblings may differ or disagree.
June 6, 2009
I found the book to be well written and a pleasant read. I didn't identify really strongly with either character and was thinking that it was one of those books that just didn't grab me - but I must admit I in no way shape or form saw the suicide coming - I remember rereading the sentence and thinking where the H did that come from? It seemed really out of character. I wondered what I missed - then wondered if that was the point - the sister never saw it coming either. That the urban sister was ascribing these personality traits of her sister's to being confident and grounded when it might have been just the opposite. But I didn't get that feeling from Clem's voice.
I do not have a sister - so I am lacking some insight that competitive sister's might have. I have wondered sometimes why two people in the same family don't see that they sometimes make their life decisions based on always doing the opposite of their family "nemesis" and end of barreling away from each other just to crash together on the other side of the circle.
I do not have a sister - so I am lacking some insight that competitive sister's might have. I have wondered sometimes why two people in the same family don't see that they sometimes make their life decisions based on always doing the opposite of their family "nemesis" and end of barreling away from each other just to crash together on the other side of the circle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2009
Julie Glass' characters are super-believable. I loved this novel--the dynamic between two complicated sisters was utterly real and intriguing to me. As someone with a younger sister who's been a friend into adulthood, I would've detected a false note in a heartbeat--and never did. The mother character is hilariously authentic. As the two rival sisters waver from strained resentment of each other to a deep and utter need for sisterhood, this book is about seized opportunities, missed chances, passion for men, passion for career, and the role commitment plays in our destined happiness.
If you liked "Three Junes" by Julia Glass, you'll recognize the same fabulous character development, engaging plot twists, and meaty stuff to think about later.
If you liked "Three Junes" by Julia Glass, you'll recognize the same fabulous character development, engaging plot twists, and meaty stuff to think about later.
March 14, 2009
It's been a long while since I've read such a breathtakingly beautiful novel. One that captivates me to stay up late to read, makes me rejoice at the use of language and elegant writing, and keeps me wanting to read every single page without skipping ahead. I found this book to be just that. I mean, here's just a sample from this novel, told from two sisters, about the love/hate relationships found between sisters, their parents, and their lovers:
"No one belongs to us, and we belong to no one -- not in that sense. This should free us, but it never quite does."
Every woman -- make that, every human -- can relate to the story unfolding in this book: how much we love our sisters, even if it doesn't look the way we thought it would turn out.
"No one belongs to us, and we belong to no one -- not in that sense. This should free us, but it never quite does."
Every woman -- make that, every human -- can relate to the story unfolding in this book: how much we love our sisters, even if it doesn't look the way we thought it would turn out.
Read
November 25, 2008I gave up on this one about half way through. I didn't like and couldn't relate to either of the 2 main characters at all, but I stuck with it longer than i should have because I loved Julia Glass' other two books. When one of the sisters is diagnosed with cancer, I gave up; why bum myself out when I don't like the character anyway.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2017
The first 5/6 of the book were very captivating and I enjoyed the progression as the years went on per chapter. However, the ending felt disconnected and thrown in there, which changed the whole "vibe" of the book.
June 25, 2019
I could not stop sobbing.
July 21, 2024
I loved this story of the relationship between two sisters. Julia Glass does a beautiful job of character development. Louisa and Clem are seemingly opposites, and they definitely can get on each other's nerves, but I think the love is always there. Particularly as they get older, it really is there. “On the phone, we argue. In person, we tend to become sarcastic. Our letters, though, have a touch of romantic collusion.”
Glass's prose is beautiful, and she has such a knack for dialogue and skill at character development.
There's a lovely scene in which Louisa is caught in the current of a river during a swim, and Clem helps to guide her from the shore to help her get out of the strong current:
“There you are, diligently swimming a straight line, minding the form of your strokes, when you look up and see, always a shock, the currents you can't even feel have pulled you off course.” (Isn't this the perfect way of describing how life can be??)
At one point Clem is having a conversation with Great-great-Aunt Lucy, who says: “My tastes, like my bones, fossilized decades ago. Reach a certain age and you are obliged to become an anthropologist. It's the only way to ignore that the rest of the world regards you as an artifact, that your culture has faded beyond the horizon, leaving you adrift on your tiny, solitary life raft.”
I can so relate to her comment there, even though I am much younger, because it starts earlier, maybe in your 60's, when you begin to be less visible to other (younger) people and less important to institutions like shops, offices, the government...
Louisa expresses how lonely she has become at one point, having lost someone close to her: “Seven years ago, I joined a support group. The loneliness .... had become so acute that I could feel it pulling me away, like an undertow, from the people I loved who were still alive. (I angered easily. I wanted to yell at them, “You don’t fucking know!”—not just about what they might lose but about anything, everything: politics, art, laundry, taxes. I saw them as not just ignorant but smug, not just naïve but stupid.”
A passage I just liked, could visualize: “It's odd to spend your vacation with someone else's music especially when you're alone. You're free to let loose, unobserved, but someone else has chosen the words you belt out in private, the rhythms you can dance to like a fool.”
I like when stories like this one have first-person narrators that alternative from chapter to chapter. In this case, it would have helped me to just have the narrator's name at the start of the chapter. Things I especially loved: the description of various artists' work - especially Esteban's knitted sculptures; the descriptions of working with wildlife like grizzly bears.
“Rich, intricate and alive with emotion…. An honest portrait of sister-love and sister-hate-interlocking, brave and forgiving-made whole through art.” —The New York Times Book Review
There's a really good reader's discussion guide at the penguin random house website.
Glass's prose is beautiful, and she has such a knack for dialogue and skill at character development.
There's a lovely scene in which Louisa is caught in the current of a river during a swim, and Clem helps to guide her from the shore to help her get out of the strong current:
“There you are, diligently swimming a straight line, minding the form of your strokes, when you look up and see, always a shock, the currents you can't even feel have pulled you off course.” (Isn't this the perfect way of describing how life can be??)
At one point Clem is having a conversation with Great-great-Aunt Lucy, who says: “My tastes, like my bones, fossilized decades ago. Reach a certain age and you are obliged to become an anthropologist. It's the only way to ignore that the rest of the world regards you as an artifact, that your culture has faded beyond the horizon, leaving you adrift on your tiny, solitary life raft.”
I can so relate to her comment there, even though I am much younger, because it starts earlier, maybe in your 60's, when you begin to be less visible to other (younger) people and less important to institutions like shops, offices, the government...
Louisa expresses how lonely she has become at one point, having lost someone close to her: “Seven years ago, I joined a support group. The loneliness .... had become so acute that I could feel it pulling me away, like an undertow, from the people I loved who were still alive. (I angered easily. I wanted to yell at them, “You don’t fucking know!”—not just about what they might lose but about anything, everything: politics, art, laundry, taxes. I saw them as not just ignorant but smug, not just naïve but stupid.”
A passage I just liked, could visualize: “It's odd to spend your vacation with someone else's music especially when you're alone. You're free to let loose, unobserved, but someone else has chosen the words you belt out in private, the rhythms you can dance to like a fool.”
I like when stories like this one have first-person narrators that alternative from chapter to chapter. In this case, it would have helped me to just have the narrator's name at the start of the chapter. Things I especially loved: the description of various artists' work - especially Esteban's knitted sculptures; the descriptions of working with wildlife like grizzly bears.
“Rich, intricate and alive with emotion…. An honest portrait of sister-love and sister-hate-interlocking, brave and forgiving-made whole through art.” —The New York Times Book Review
There's a really good reader's discussion guide at the penguin random house website.
July 21, 2020
3.5 stars. I really like this author, the Widower’s Tale, being my favorite so far. I truly thought I would eat this book up with a spoon, but something was missing for me. I do not feel that the two sisters were fleshed out, so to speak. Their relationship did not coalesce for me. Perhaps the way it was written-in snapshot style through the years- did not allow for that. There were beautiful words and passages, but things were terribly scattered, in my mind. What happened to the sisters through the years just did not gel, especially with Clem. Some things made zero sense. However, it is worth reading, and thinking about how we can make a difference in our lives, how we touch other people, how we cope.
February 26, 2024
Heureusement que tout un groupe de #gallmeisteraddict à décidé d'organiser une lecture commune de ce livre parce que sans leurs retours, j'aurai probablement abandonné.
Le livre est divisé en plusieurs chapitres correspondant à une année, une période dans la vie des sœurs. Jusqu'en 1993 à peu près, l'alternance des points de vu m'a complètement perdu.
Chaque paragraphe correspond à une sœur, mais le paragraphe en question n'a rien à voir avec ce qui était en train de se passer juste avant. Je suis sûre d'être passée à côté de détails tellement ces premiers chapitres ont été laborieux.
Et puis d'un coup, la magie opere. Un chapitre devient un point de vu, et j'ai eu bien plus de facilité à m'attacher à Louisa et Clém. Comme si l'autrice avait volontairement voulu nous embrouiller, comme le Chaos dans les vies des filles, avant de passer à quelque chose de plus "posé".
Chacune va vivre sa vie, avec son lot de bonheur et de malheur. Les hommes de passages et ceux qui restent, les nouvelles amitiés, les problèmes de santé, les accidents, l'épanouissement professionnel, à défaut du personnel, ou parfois l'inverse. La vie en générale fait qu'elles vont se rapprocher et construire une vraie belle relation.
Si vous avez une sœur, vous serez touché. Comment deux personnes si différentes peuvent s'aimer autant ? C'est un mystère que tente de résoudre ici Julia Glass.
Le livre est divisé en plusieurs chapitres correspondant à une année, une période dans la vie des sœurs. Jusqu'en 1993 à peu près, l'alternance des points de vu m'a complètement perdu.
Chaque paragraphe correspond à une sœur, mais le paragraphe en question n'a rien à voir avec ce qui était en train de se passer juste avant. Je suis sûre d'être passée à côté de détails tellement ces premiers chapitres ont été laborieux.
Et puis d'un coup, la magie opere. Un chapitre devient un point de vu, et j'ai eu bien plus de facilité à m'attacher à Louisa et Clém. Comme si l'autrice avait volontairement voulu nous embrouiller, comme le Chaos dans les vies des filles, avant de passer à quelque chose de plus "posé".
Chacune va vivre sa vie, avec son lot de bonheur et de malheur. Les hommes de passages et ceux qui restent, les nouvelles amitiés, les problèmes de santé, les accidents, l'épanouissement professionnel, à défaut du personnel, ou parfois l'inverse. La vie en générale fait qu'elles vont se rapprocher et construire une vraie belle relation.
Si vous avez une sœur, vous serez touché. Comment deux personnes si différentes peuvent s'aimer autant ? C'est un mystère que tente de résoudre ici Julia Glass.
June 15, 2019
I found this book to be very emotional. The story revolves around 2 sisters who live far apart and are different in character, but are still close to each other. The elder sister is an art critic and is married while the younger one is a field biologist and spends her career in the wild observing animals. Neither are close to their mother who is selfish and completely absorbed in her hobby of fox hunting. The novel follows the lives of both sisters, their love affairs, their careers and their crises. A very good read.
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