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juushikaTitle: Her Fearful Symmetry
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Published: New York: Scribner, 2009
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 401
Total Page Count: 104,035
Text Number: 299
Read Because: personal enjoyment, borrowed from the Corvallis library
Review: In her will, Elspeth leaves her London flat to the identical twin daughters of her own estranged identical twin, on the condition that they live there for a year. In London, outgoing Julia and quiet Valentina discover a new city, strange flatmates, and perhaps even the ghost of the aunt they never knew. Her Fearful Symmetry has a promising atmosphere and some intriguing relationships, but it's dragged down by inconsistent execution. Valentina and Julia are the book's heart and greatest strength: their intense dependency and frail blonde waifishness are blatantly idealized but nonetheless enjoyable to the sort of audience that has that sort of ideal, and what goes on between them is satisfyingly ambiguous, complex, and compelling—although, unfortunately, not convincing enough to support the book's major plot twist. The supporting cast is unfortunately prone to slipping in and out of character, or at least varying to such a degree that they never quite correspond to how other characters perceive them—which, given the immense amount of headhopping, means that characters appear to wobble and waver. The second set of twins promises to provide a hint of danger, strong characterization, and shrouded intrigue, but offer so little that even the secret of their estrangement is revealed with nary a whisper, and is in fact so localized that it has no effect on the book's protagonists.
Yet Her Fearful Symmetry is still quite consumable. It has a ghostly atmosphere and quaint setting (and Niffenegger's love for Highgate Cemetery is blatant but charming) which goes unexploited but is nonetheless enjoyable. There's a touch of whimsy, a hint of magic (and while I'm no big fan of ghost stories, this one has a dreamy atmosphere and careful pacing which make it enjoyable), and a constant promise of things to come. That promise often goes unfulfilled, but it nonetheless makes the bulk of the book compelling. The problem with Her Fearful Symmetry isn't its premise or process, but rather its end result: as the book's conclusion approaches—comparatively hasty and choppy, given the erstwhile slow and careful pace—the parts add up to an unimpressive sum. There's too much inconstancy, too little conviction where it's needed, and the book's atmosphere is never fully exploited. What makes this worse is that these are these same weaknesses are the strengths that set Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife apart: whatever other flaws the book had, it pushed its premise to the limits with conviction. Niffenegger can do better than she does here, and so while Her Fearful Symmetry can make for some hours of dreamy distraction, it's little more than that—and that's a pity. I don't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Published: New York: Scribner, 2009
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 401
Total Page Count: 104,035
Text Number: 299
Read Because: personal enjoyment, borrowed from the Corvallis library
Review: In her will, Elspeth leaves her London flat to the identical twin daughters of her own estranged identical twin, on the condition that they live there for a year. In London, outgoing Julia and quiet Valentina discover a new city, strange flatmates, and perhaps even the ghost of the aunt they never knew. Her Fearful Symmetry has a promising atmosphere and some intriguing relationships, but it's dragged down by inconsistent execution. Valentina and Julia are the book's heart and greatest strength: their intense dependency and frail blonde waifishness are blatantly idealized but nonetheless enjoyable to the sort of audience that has that sort of ideal, and what goes on between them is satisfyingly ambiguous, complex, and compelling—although, unfortunately, not convincing enough to support the book's major plot twist. The supporting cast is unfortunately prone to slipping in and out of character, or at least varying to such a degree that they never quite correspond to how other characters perceive them—which, given the immense amount of headhopping, means that characters appear to wobble and waver. The second set of twins promises to provide a hint of danger, strong characterization, and shrouded intrigue, but offer so little that even the secret of their estrangement is revealed with nary a whisper, and is in fact so localized that it has no effect on the book's protagonists.
Yet Her Fearful Symmetry is still quite consumable. It has a ghostly atmosphere and quaint setting (and Niffenegger's love for Highgate Cemetery is blatant but charming) which goes unexploited but is nonetheless enjoyable. There's a touch of whimsy, a hint of magic (and while I'm no big fan of ghost stories, this one has a dreamy atmosphere and careful pacing which make it enjoyable), and a constant promise of things to come. That promise often goes unfulfilled, but it nonetheless makes the bulk of the book compelling. The problem with Her Fearful Symmetry isn't its premise or process, but rather its end result: as the book's conclusion approaches—comparatively hasty and choppy, given the erstwhile slow and careful pace—the parts add up to an unimpressive sum. There's too much inconstancy, too little conviction where it's needed, and the book's atmosphere is never fully exploited. What makes this worse is that these are these same weaknesses are the strengths that set Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife apart: whatever other flaws the book had, it pushed its premise to the limits with conviction. Niffenegger can do better than she does here, and so while Her Fearful Symmetry can make for some hours of dreamy distraction, it's little more than that—and that's a pity. I don't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
