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SandyPP, August 20, 2012 (view all comments by SandyPP)
Niffenegger is a superb storyteller. I'm not into ghost stories, not into fantasy, but she is so good I read her anyway.
I picked up this one because I didn't want The Time Traveler's Wife to end. I wasn't in mourning after it as I was after other but I loved it. Her characters are so good and her imagination so rich.
This time she takes us to London with twins, the daughters of a twin. There's a dark secret I doubt you'll guess and other surprises as well. Bonus for already knowing Highgate Cemetery.
loves2read, January 4, 2012 (view all comments by loves2read)
Is it a twin story? Is it a ghost story? Is it a tale of romance which surmounts death? This novel is deliciously difficult to classify and will keep your attention riveted until the final page is turned. It is fresh -- if I'd read "Time Traveler's Wife" and "Her Fearful Symmetry" from anonymous manuscript submissions, I could not have guessed they were the same author -- aside from being thoroughly engaged by each story, of course. Niffenegger can wait six years between books if she continues to provide us with novels this engaging!
KateH, January 3, 2011 (view all comments by KateH)
Early on in your reading of this novel, you may feel you know where the story is headed. But Niffenegger's plotting will surprise you, and her masterful prose will make it an enjoyable journey to the end.
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Boooooookworm, January 1, 2011 (view all comments by Boooooookworm)
A delicious read for folks who appreciated "The Time Traveler's Wife". Filled with intrigue, drama, romance and conflicted twins and has a jaw dropping twist. Enjoy!!
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Boooooookworm, January 1, 2011 (view all comments by Boooooookworm)
A delicious read for folks who appreciate "The Time Traveler's Wife". Filled with drama, romance and conflicted twins with a surprising, jaw dropping twist. I couldn't wait to pass it on to my sister!
Enjoy!!
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Product details
416 pages
Scribner Book Company -
English9781439169018
Reviews:
"Staff Pick"
by Dianah,
After six long years, Audrey Niffenegger gives us a gem of a ghost story. Based around two sets of twins, Highgate Cemetery in London, a haunted flat, and long-buried secrets, this story proves even better than The Time Traveler's Wife. With a shocking and seemingly impossible twist, this fabulous novel is worth the very long wait. I loved it!
by Dianah
"Review"
by Martin Rubin, Los Angeles Times,
"Niffenegger piles on plenty of action....The book's end [is] a genuine surprise....Elspeth's death...is moving, as is Robert's surprising immediate reaction to it....[Martin] is intricate and fascinating, especially because of Niffenegger's ability to get inside his head....Niffenegger is especially good on the subject of twins....[She] deftly plumbs the depths of her subject, showing a profound and imaginative understanding."
"Review"
by The New Yorker,
"The endurance of love animates this gothic story set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. Niffenegger's prose can be wearyingly overblown, but she has a knack for taking the romantic into the realm of creepiness, and she constructs a taut mystery around the secrets....It's no small achievement that the revelations are both organic and completely unexpected."
"Review"
by Good Housekeeping,
"An intriguing look at kinship and the danger of getting what you wished for."
"Review"
by People (Starred Review),
"A compelling modern-day ghost story set in and around London's atmospheric Highgate cemetery....An engrossing love story that crosses to the 'other side,' Symmetry offers an inventive take on sibling rivalry, personal identity and what it's like to be dead."
"Review"
by O, the Oprah magazine,
"[A] gravely buoyant new novel of phantom loves and all-too-tangible fears."
"Review"
by Susann Cokal, New York Times Book Review,
"Bewitching....Lovers of Niffenegger's past work should rejoice...Her Fearful Symmetry is as atmospheric and beguiling as a walk through Highgate itself."
"Review"
by Ron Charles, Washington Post,
"Frighteningly smart....Millions of readers who enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife...will find a similar theme in Her Fearful Symmetry: romance that transgresses all natural barriers....Deliciously creepy."
"Review"
by Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times,
"Following up a phenomenal blockbuster is not easy, but Niffenegger rises to the task with Her Fearful Symmetry. Fans will find plenty of rewards in her clever...[and] unique modern ghost story....Her descriptions transport the reader directly into a moody Victorian landscape of beauty and death....Mesmerizing....A deeply moving story filled with unforgettable characters....A beautiful testament to Niffenegger's fertile imagination and love of storytelling."
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