At last ---another brilliant, original and moving novel from the author of THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE. Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers - normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cozy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London. They feel that at last their own lives ...
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At last ---another brilliant, original and moving novel from the author of THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE. Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers - normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cozy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London. They feel that at last their own lives can begin ... but have no idea that they've been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt's mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them, and even to their aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the twins' mother - and who can't even seem to quite leave her flat.... With Highgate Cemetery itself a character and echoes of Henry James and Charles Dickens, HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY is a delicious and deadly twenty-first-century ghost story about Niffenegger's familiar themes of love, loss and identity. It is certain to cement her standing as one of the most singular and remarkable novelists of our time.
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Add this copy of Her Fearful Symmetry to cart. $144.56, good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2010 by Vintage.
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Seller's Description:
Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Missing jacket. The dust jacket of the book is missing.
I love this book and have read it 4 times! It is a interesting way to talk about ghost.
Madison C
Apr 11, 2013
Audrey at her best
If you liked Time Travler's Wife, you'll find this an equal joy.
COVER2COVER
Mar 17, 2010
I enjoyed reading this book, though not as much as The Time Travelers Wife. Like that book this has a slightly complicated twisty plot. It involves ghosts, a historic cemetery, two sets of twins, and a macabre plan for a reincarnation/resurrection. It's an interesting story, but also a frustrating and sad one. The (younger) twins, Valentina and Julia, are a little strange. Valentinas' issue with her sister which leads to great tragedy here, is a problem that could so easily been dealt with in a much less bazar way. And the ending (??) was EXTREMELY frustrating. BUT, even with these drawbacks, I'm glad I read it and enjoyed it. There just seem to be too many loose ends and or unfinished issues.
HeidiCL
Nov 30, 2009
Time Traveler's Wife Was Better
Ghosts, body snatching, two sets of twins, multi-generational family mysteries; a quick plot synopsis of Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffeneger sounds like the plot of an old-fashioned gothic romance. This book has been anxiously awaited by fans of Niffeneger?s bestselling The Time Traveler?s Wife. Unfortunately, Her Fearful Symmetry lacks the substance and vision which made Niffeneger?s first novel so compelling.
The main characters in Her Fearful Symmetry (two sets of twins, the younger of whom are ?mirror twins?) are self-destructively narrow minded, and the resulting chaos seems contrived; Niffeneger?s excellent prose does little to rescue this plot. Where TTW was a beautiful story of people fighting to make a life for themselves under extremely bad circumstances, Her Fearful Symmetry is a tale of people who create their own hell by tangling their family and friends in a web of deceit which ultimately results in several terrible and unnecessary tragedies.
The only character who really shone in the plot of HFS was Martin, a mentally ill linguist who spends most of the book trying to overcome agoraphobia in order to reunite with his wife. Unlike the other characters in the book, he rises to the occasion and shows true strength of character in his battle against himself.
Overall, the book was a bust. Niffeneger?s writing is excellent, but the plot felt contrived and the characters weren?t believable. Even a genetic time traveling disorder is more plausible than this ridiculous ghost story.
