IT’S ABOUT a pair of twin American girls who move into their dead aunt’s London flat and learn a lot about themselves, the city and their new building’s kooky and spooky residents.
POSITIVES: The book is undeniably chilling at points, and contains enough intrigue and drama to keep you turning pages. Niffenegger’s characters and dialogue are, like Time Traveller, comfortingly real and personable. The author’s time spent guiding tourists around Highgate Cemetry feed her descriptions and background of that setting, making them very well-informed and interesting.
NEGATIVES: For me, the book lacks a ‘strong male lead.’ The speculation about the afterlife felt unoriginal. There was much foreshadowing throughout the story, which made it predictable. After the mind-blowing grandiose of The Time Traveller’s Wife, I was disappointed with the smallness of the concepts in Her Fearful Symmetry.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on her second novel. I absolutely loved Time Traveler's wife and I was looking forward to reading this but when I read the blurb I was no so excited. Thanks for your succinct review.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Lindon