About this title: The author of the phenomenally successful novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" returns with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second book set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: Good. Cover and pages may have some wear or writing. Binding is tight. We ship daily Monday-Friday. Delivery Confirmation included on all domestic orders. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
Date Published: 01/10/2009
ISBN-13:9780224085618ISBN:0224085611
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: VINTAGE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780224085618ISBN:0224085611
Description: BRAND NEW HARDBACK. 400 pages. 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. (Hardback) read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Edition: LARGE PRINT ED
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: ROYAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BLIND PEOPLE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781444501650ISBN:1444501658
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. This publication is not for sale to libraries. julia and valentina poole are normal american teenagers. 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. edition large print ed (Paperback) read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: New. The author of the phenomenally successful novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" returns with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second book set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. read more
Description: New. PLEASE NOTE: All books are promptly imported from the UK using International Priority Airmail. Delivery is typically 5-10 working days. Please do not select expedited shipping. Heavier and more expensive items have tracking number. Professional and reliable bookseller (est.1987). read more
Binding: Audiobook CD
Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781846572302ISBN:1846572304
Description: New. Love, despite everything, e Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers-normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in anything outside their cozy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice tha... read more
"While certainly not the romantic tour de force that "The Time Traveler's Wife" was, "Her Fearful Symmetry" is a thoughtful book that I had a hard time putting down. There were points where the characters were quite lovable and then there were points where they...weren't. Most characters have interesting journeys throughout the story arc and each one of them are incredibly flawed. There are some interesting twists throughout, and while some can be somewhat predictable, the language and imagery is so striking that it doesn't really matter. It's pretty apparent to me that Niffenegger is not a one-trick pony.
I did really like this book and am actually thinking of re-reading it just to get some of the additional details that sort of all came to a head during the last couple of hundred pages. That being said, it still didn't have the impact that "The Time Traveler's Wife" had. That particular book destroyed me.
"Her Fearful Symmetry" is much darker in tone (both in subject matter and in the choices that the characters make) than "The Time Traveler's Wife", but one of the major themes seems to be love and how it never seems to follow the rules of our physical world. I am a big fan of how the layer of science-fiction, supernatural, and even a bit of horror interweaves flawlessly with the mundane, everyday drudgery for the characters in both of these books. Very well crafted storytelling.
If you're expecting "The Time Traveler's Wife", then you will probably be a bit disappointed. If you're ready to see what else Niffenegger has to offer, then I definitely recommend this book. I'm looking forward to seeing what else she has up her sleeve."
"***you don't want to read if you haven't already read this book** First of all the end of this book did not leave me with a particularly satisfied feeling. I think I was more awestruck at the ending - although awestruck can often equate to meditation. Why did the author choose to end the book this way instead of tying everything up with a neat little bow? I found myself craving for a question and answer section in the back of the book and didn't find one. Of course because Ms. Niffenegger seems to have a habit of letting us draw our own conclusions about the purpose.
Firstly, I like some of the other reviewers did not care for many of the characters in this book. I felt we did not really get to know *Edie* and Jack except through Elspeth's eyes so I could not draw a fair conclusion about them - except possibly foolish and bland. I do not believe that *Elspeth* was to be a particularly likeable character. She was controversial at best. From the start of the book where she puts stipulations on the passing of her assets to when she opens her eyes and enlightens Robert to the fact that it is she, not Valentina, who is inhabiting the body of what looks like one of her daughters (that was probably the creepiest moment in the entire book for me). I also don't feel that Elspeth really loved her twins. It may have been because she never really wanted them to begin with, they represented a dark secret that she held resentment against for half her life or maybe it was because she had not gotten the opportunity to raise them. Who knows. Although she may not have loved them I do believe she was curious about them. Elspeth was a very curious woman - leaving them the flat gave her an opportunity to play sport against her sister and that was entertaining to her.
I think that the reason that some of the characters (if not all with the exception of quirky Martin & Marajike) were unlikeable was because they represented truly selfish human behaviors. Everyone had their own agenda. Elspeth of course - who I really do believe knew that Valentina's plan would not work, if Valentina did not want life (and she appeared not to) then Elspeth who adored to live would take it from her. Robert found himself in the middle of two women he cared for and he knew that entertaining a relationship with Valentina would hurt Elspeth (ghost or not) and yet he chose to engage in it anyway (she was tangible and Elspeth was not). Valentina refused to share a life with Julia, even if it meant hurting her twin in the worst possibly way. I do think V was my least favorite character because I could not understand her. She was willing to let her whole family believe she had died just to get away from her twin. I suppose she paid for that.. Julia could not let go of her twin and emotionally suffocated her in an attempt to hold on. I liked Julia though. perhaps my favorite character and strangely enough I related to her the most. In the end she did let her sister go and she learned to live her own life. Valentina was free of the binds of being a twin and was able to live without the scrutiny of always being the weaker twin so in the end I believe Julia became one of the least selfish characters.
Unlike others, I don't think that her fearful symmetry was a love story. I think it borderlined it in many ways between M&M, Julia & V, Elspeth & Robert and Robert & Valentina but I think the selfish tones were too strong (M&M were a little treat and closest to an actual love story but even then, the theme was more about conquering fears). In the end, I think Robert realized he was more in love with the idea of Elspeth than Elspeth herself and he was too overcome with guilt to jump onto the new life that Elspeth eagerly embraces as Valentina. I am not sure if the end of the book was a tragedy or simply dark comedy. Did everyone get what they deserved in the end?"
"Six years after the phenomenal success of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt; they only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers -- with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another. The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive former lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including -- perhaps -- their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind. Niffenegger weaves a captivating story in Her Fearful Symmetry: about love and identity, about secrets and sisterhood, and about the tenacity of life -- even after death.
****Rate this as 4/5. The first 3/4 of the book were priceless, and kept my rapt attention. Then I was totally disappointed by the last few chapters, as well as the end. It just did not comply or fit in with the beginning of the story. I liked The Time Traveler's Wife so much better. I felt like the ending of the book was somewhat rushed on this one, which is a shame since the first 3/4 were excellent and I loved the characters."
"I would give it better than a 3 star because I think the author was successful with the telling of the story. It was appalling, sad, tender, and surprising. I did not love everything about the end, but I wasn't turned off by it. I've read a few reviews that are really upset with the end or the story in general and I think it just wasn't what people were expecting from her. Niffenegger writes very rough characters, meaning they are real and imperfect. I don't relate to them, but I find myself trying to understand them better and wanting to know them and why they do things. Things I loved about the book: the descriptions of London. Oh how I love London. I loved how they ate digestives for breakfast. For those of you who don't know these are little cookies that are delicious. I loved living in London through the two girls. I also loved the cemetary. What a rich history and I wish I could go there just to take a tour through the cemetary. Things the book made me glad I don't have: A mental illness, well at least one that has been diagnosed. A twin, or even knowing identical twins. They are always creepy in books and really creepy in this book. A ghost haunting me. I would suggest reading this book like any other scary story or horror story. You just never know what is going to jump out at you or what they will take from you. (insert evil laugh)"
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