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Her Fearful Symmetry
by Audrey Niffenegger
There was an awful lot written about this book around the time of its publication last year. I generally prefer to miss all the hullaballoo, to let things settle down for a bit and read books at the time of my choosing. This autumn, I decided to include it in my Season of the living dead as it is a ghostly tale. This turns out to be timely as the paperback has recently been released. By the way, I think the hardback cover (left) is far more atmospheric than the fluffier paperback one (right).
The novel centres around the occupants of a large house converted into flats adjoining Highgate Cemetery. It also involves two pairs of identical twins. Elspeth and Edie are estranged, and Elspeth actually dies in hospital in the first sentence of the book …
Elspeth died while Robert was standing in front of a vending machine watching tea shoot into a small plastic cup.
But Elspeth lives on as a ghost, haunting her flat, missing her lover Robert who lives in one of the other apartments. Elspeth had made a rather strange will, she left nearly all of her posessions and flat to Edie’s twin daughters, Julia and Valentina, if they live in it for a year, and that their parents must never set foot inside. Julia and Valentina are just 21, and the idea of moving to London from the US is irresistible. Elspeth gradually gets stronger as a ghost, and finds ways to communicate with Robert and the twins, in particular she clicks with Valentina who is sickly as a result of being the weaker baby and a mirror image twin. Also living in the house are Martin and Marijke. They are very much in love, but Martin suffers from such severe OCD, and Marijke will soon flee back to Amsterdam, until he sorts himself out.
The other star of this novel is Highgate Cemetery; Robert is a volunteer guide and is writing a book about its inhabitants. We are left in no doubt that the author knows the area well – much has been made of her training to become a guide at Highgate herself as research. As cemeteries go, it is up there with Père Lachaise in Paris for the quantity of its celebrated graves, and we do read a lot about the place and how it is operated.
Highgate Cemetery, Egyptian Avenue. Photo by Roger Noguera Arnau
So that’s the set-up from which Niffenegger crafts her thrilling tale, which gets more and more complex as the chapters speed by ending with rather a rush – but it is full of thrills, both pleasant and rather nasty with some just desserts meted out. It is really Robert and Elspeth’s novel. The twins are almost like a ‘MacGuffin’ – there to drive the plot. Martin who is a superb character, despite his own problems provides the sanity that gives a welcome relief to the problems all the others have in communicating with a ghost. I really didn’t work out what was going to happen in the end either, that took me completely by surprise.
Overall, I found it lacked the emotional impact that made The Time Travellers Wife such a wonderful read. That was a book that made me cry – twice! Her Fearful Symmetry is engaging and original and I really enjoyed reading it. (7.5/10)
I see that Niffenegger has now published her first graphic novel set in a library, The Night Bookmobile - it sounds exciting too and that’s gone on my wishlist.
For some other reviews, visit Vulpes Libris, Savidge Reads, and Farm Lane Books.
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To buy from Amazon.co.uk click below:
Her Fearful Symmetry
The Time Traveler’s Wife
My brother read this after loving th Time Travellors Wife and he really enjoyed it to. He keeps promising to lend it to me but then never brings it round or keeps forgetting which is very annoying
Brothers! Still it was a good read even if not quite up TTW – I hope you enjoy it eventually.
I enjoyed this one, but agree that it lacked the emotional impact of TTW. I think this one was hyped too much and so I felt very let down. Looking back it was OK, but the expectations I had after reading TTW were unrealistically high.
I agree with you completely Jackie!
I am completely with you on the letting hype for a book die down before I pick it up. This is one that I’m mildly interested in, though I admit I’m one of the few people who did not love TTW, so I may in fact like this more, simply because I would have no desire to compare it to Niffenegger’s first book!
I loved The Time Traveller’s Wife even though I didn’t expect to. It just took me by surprise. So I’m actually looking forward to reading this someday (even though I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews!)
Bought a hardback copy of Her Fearful Symmetry when it was on a very good offer (and I had accumulated a lot of Waterstones points!) but as is typical with me, it is still sitting unopened on the shelf. Not for any particular reason or principle but because I have too much else to read and (to be completely honest) I forgot about it.
I did enjoyTTTW though and passed it on to both my daughters and my daughter in law, although I doubt I will do the same with HFS as Rachel is expecting twins in the New Year and everywhere I look books are cropping up featuring twins who are strange in some way!
Since you are very suggestible in pregnancy I think I will hang on to the book for a while!
You’re right Liz – so many books featuring twins have weird pairs – so don’t pass it to your DiL. Are you brave enough to read it though?