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swrrlgrrl's review against another edition
2.0
The Dark Sister was a complicated novel, often hard to read. It gets off to a very slow, plodding start, especially when we meet the figure of William James. In a twist of irony, late in the book, the novelist-character Hedda's literary editor points out that no one has the time to read the kind of winding and self-indulgent sentences that describe William's wandering the countryside, etc. I wish Rebecca Goldstein had followed the fictional editor's guidance.
Once you get over the hump of the first half of the book, it does become an interesting mash-up of a story, borrowing from Victorian thrillers like the Lady in White, as well as both James brothers' works and styles. However, the final feeling I was left with was that this was more a college professor's literary self-indulgence than a true novel written for actual readers.
Once you get over the hump of the first half of the book, it does become an interesting mash-up of a story, borrowing from Victorian thrillers like the Lady in White, as well as both James brothers' works and styles. However, the final feeling I was left with was that this was more a college professor's literary self-indulgence than a true novel written for actual readers.
msjoanna's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. There were lots of interesting threads that I felt should be coalescing, but somehow it never quite worked for me. I also felt lost in the Henry James allusions and references; perhaps if I were more up on my James, some of the writing style and references would have resonated more.
The author seemed to have interesting thoughts about personality, the possibility of multiple personalities, the relationship between sisters and between daughters and their parents, and feminine identity in general. But at the end of the day, I can't really tell you exactly what those ideas were and they didn't ever take recognizable shape in the characters of the novel.
I wish I'd read this one with a book group because I have the sense that perhaps another reader would have picked up on things that I missed and would have generated fascinating conversation. I hope I can interest someone else in reading this one because I'd love to read more reviews of it.
The author seemed to have interesting thoughts about personality, the possibility of multiple personalities, the relationship between sisters and between daughters and their parents, and feminine identity in general. But at the end of the day, I can't really tell you exactly what those ideas were and they didn't ever take recognizable shape in the characters of the novel.
I wish I'd read this one with a book group because I have the sense that perhaps another reader would have picked up on things that I missed and would have generated fascinating conversation. I hope I can interest someone else in reading this one because I'd love to read more reviews of it.
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