Review: The Weird Sisters

Today I read a review in my local paper for 'The Weird Sisters' by Elenor Brown. The reviewer gave a positive review. I totally disagreed with her review, so I am repeating my Goodreads review here. If you've read the book, I'd love to hear what you thought of it. Just post your comments below, and a link to your review, if you have one online.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really did not enjoy this book. In fact, I almost didn't read it. After 30-50 pages, I really didn't like it. But I have a 'rule' about discarding a book without giving it a fair chance so decided to read 100 pages before I put it down. Around about 100-130 pages, it became interesting enough that I wanted to see how it ended. It was enough to escape my 'didn't finish' list, but I still have to say it was just 'ok'.

My first problem was with the style of writing. The author wrote referring to 'we' but referred to all three sisters by name. It was confusing trying to figure out if it was one of the three sister talking, or a 4th sister. The characters were not particularly likeable. The father is a professor of Shakespear and the entire family are readers....nothing wrong with that....but they toss out Shakespeare quotes as a form of communication. Particularly with the father, the meaning is not clear. The mother is undergoing treatment for breast cancer and the girls return home; on the surface to care for her. It turns out they are all running from something. The oldest, Rose, is engaged and afraid to leave home. The middle, Bean, has 'slept her way up the ladder' and has thrown away a successful career in the big city when she was caught embezzling from her employer. The youngest, Cordy, is happy go lucky, and returns after a long time away during which she experimented with drugs and sex. The sisters are not particularly close and are not comfortable discussing their problems with one another. The whole family is uncomfortable discussing mom's illness. This is the story of a very literate family who is unable to communicate effectively.

I'd like to tell you that if you stick with it, you will be rewarded with an interesting story. But unfortunately, I can't. This is a forgettable story. There are many better reads to spend your time on.

Update: it's now about 3 weeks after I finished this book. I read a review today in our local paper, and my reaction was that I must have read a different book, because 3 weeks after I read this one, I can't even remember how it ended. I can only remember that it is not a book that I would read again, or recommend that any one read once. If you want to read the newspaper review, it is available here.

View all my reviews