Showing posts with label sisters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sisters. Show all posts

Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Story Sisters


The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman is described as a haunting novel. It is that. It is the story of 3 sisters (whose last name is Story) who, in the beginning of the book, look alike and share a imaginative language and life, complete with town, etc. Elv is the oldest and, possibly, most "damaged" of the 3 sisters. As to be expected, she is the leader and tells the stories of their made up lives to the other 2 sisters, Meg and Claire.

Early on, Meg seems to pick up on the fact that Elv is a bit over the edge, and she begins to withdraw from the sisterly pack. Claire shares a secret with Elv and seems to understand that Elv has a genuine need for a make-believe life. Claire continues to be her sister's advocate as Elv spirals into disaster.

The book is really good and, as I said/agreed, haunting. It tells probably about 10 years of the sister's lives, where each has to find her own way, good or bad.

This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. For some reason, I thought it was about some elderly sisters (must be another new/current book out about that) and so, I was not prepared for what I began reading! It is a strange book, yet I did really like it.