Friday, April 30, 2010

Her Fearful Symmetry

by Audrey Niffenegger
(who wrote The Time Traveler's Wife which I did not read or see)
I actually liked this book enough to finish it--a feat I was worried I was not going to accomplish because of my decision not to waste time on books that weren't really good.  A selling point was the setting.  The story takes place mainly in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.  I do love cemeteries... (and who wouldn't be interested in the burial place of Karl Marx and Michael Faraday?)
One of my favorite books from last year was The Graveyard Book.  We even used a cemetery as the backdrop for our family Christmas card photo one year. 
Her Fearful Symmetry was good in the way a creepy movie is good.  I also felt as though the characters were more actors/actresses than actual people.  I got sucked in and wanted to know how it would end.  I made a few friends with the characters, was interested in the part of the plot that involved twins (have I mentioned before that I am a twin?) and really grew to like Martin, the upstairs neighbor with an over-the-top obsessive-compulsive disorder.  The NY Times review states, "Obsession is the order of the day. Niffenegger digs deep into various forms of love, including the oppressive closeness between both pairs of twins and the beyond-the-grave ardor of Elspeth and Robert."  If you're not already trying to read thousands of books, try it.  You might like it.  Interestingly, this book was not on any of my to-read lists--I just happened by it at the library, and somehow it ended up in my pile of things to check-out.  I'm probably not going to run and read her other books, but this one, altho' uniquely strange, I did enjoy (except for one major detail at the end--no spoilers here).  I'm more excited about reviewing the book I'm currently reading.  Coming soon!

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