Book 27: Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld
Book 27: Sisterland.
Author: Curtis Sittenfeld, 2013.
Genre: Contemporary. Relationship Drama. Psychics.
Other Details: Hardback. 400 pages.
For identical twins, Kate and Violet are about as unlike as two peas from the same pod can be. Except in one respect - they share a hidden gift they call ‘the Senses’, a special kind of intuition that can allow them to see things that are yet to come. After Kate inadvertently reveals their secret when they are thirteen years old, they are set on diverging paths into their adult lives.
Twenty years later Kate is a suburban housewife who suppresses her premonitions in the hope of leading a normal family life, while Violet lives alone and works as a psychic medium. Then one day Violet ignites a media storm by predicting a major earthquake in the St Louis area where they live. As the day Violet has announced for the earthquake draws nearer, the sisters must grapple with the legacy of the past, the confusion of the present, and the unsettling glimpses they both have of the future. -synopsis from UK publisher's website.
I felt this was a deeply perceptive study of the relationship between siblings; in this case identical twins who have grown apart over the years. A major factor in this is their psychic gifts, which Violet has embraced and Daisy/Kate has distanced herself from. Daisy/Kate is the novel's narrator and recounts the unfolding events in the present as well as her personal history, which includes her relationships with her parents and sister, her marriage and the birth of her children. I did find over the course of the novel that I felt closer to Violet than Daisy/Kate and admired her willingness to be herself, flaws and all.
The novel also had a personal dimension as my mother was psychic, something she kept quiet most of her life (though I did accidentally 'out' her in something I wrote but everyone in the family was quite aware of her 'gift' it just wasn't acknowledged). Like Daisy/Kate when we were young Mum had confided in a work colleague with a similar result to that in 'Sisterland'; the woman became very dependant upon Mum and would contact her all the time asking about developments in her love life. Of course, I learned this later in life when Mum shared why she was so secretive.
Despite the psychic aspects this actually proved to be a very down-to-earth drama that touches on a number of themes about marriage, getting older and the choices we make and their consequences. I felt that it was an intelligent, well-written novel and enjoyed it very much. Even though not a thriller, it actually was quite a page-turner. Its multiple layers makes it the kind of novel I would likely recommend as a reading group choice.
Curtis Sittenfeld's page on 'Sisterland' - includes links to excerpt, discussion questions and interviews.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.