Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown  320 pp.

Rosalind (Rose), Bianca (Bean), and Cordelia (Cordy) Andreas all end up living back in their parents' home to regroup after their individual disappointments in life. Their father, a professor of Shakespeare, tends to speak in quotes from the Bard. Their mother is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Rose has always been the homebody, and, unasked, has taken over caring for her parents frequently to the annoyance of the rest of the family. The always glamorous Bean has returned home from New York emotionally damaged but keeping it all inside. Cordy, the youngest, has returned after wandering the country like a gypsy and carrying a secret of her own. Each must come to terms with the fact that their lives have not turned out the way they expected and must figure out the direction they need to go now. Should Rose leave the safety of her small town existence with the man she loves? Can Bean change her addiction to the high life and high spending to be happy in small town Ohio? Will Cordy be able to change her wandering ways and still stay true to herself? How can you not like a family who believes "there is no problem a library card can't solve?"

This book is written in a kind of collective first person. The point of view is that of all the sisters and occasionally a single sister. It takes a little getting used to. It was also very obvious to me that the author has had experience with cancer treatment either personally or in caring for someone with cancer. The descriptions of what the mother went through were spot on and brought back many memories of my own chemo treatments.

 

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