Her Fearful Symmetry
Ratings62
Average rating3.3
A gorgeous and moving piece centered on what truly makes one oneself and how much of personality is bound up in our relationships with others. Every twist of the ending was telegraphed from the beginning, but despite that (or perhaps because of it) each piece is still extremely poignant. If this book has a draw back it is that Niffenegger still has a somewhat heavy hand with the English language. Long passages in Portuguese are written in full and then occasionally translated below (a gimmick which smacks of arrogance), thoughts are typed haphazardly in italics and some sentences simply fall flat.
Overall, an extraordinary second novel.
This book was bound to suffer from high expectations. I almost gave it 2 stars but figured it was not fair. It was very well written and Niffenegger again very genuinely captures the intensity of very close relationships. The characters and their predicaments will probably stay with me for a long time. (need to finish this review later).
A very good book that pales in comparison to its older sibling, The Time Traveler's Wife.
I LOVED THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE.
This wasn't nearly as good, and a whole lot weirder. I loved the end, though, but the whole time I was reading the book, I had this sense of...anticlimax. Maybe I was subconsciously comparing it to The Time Traveller's Wife, and it just wasn't measuring up. This book was awful and weird and Niffenegger overload. I mean, even The Time Traveller's Wife was slightly...overkill. So...two stars is all I can manage for this one. Definitely a disappointment.
Very odd but still enticing book. I didn't like it as much as I liked Time Traveler's Wife, but it was still good. One really good twist and a couple of smaller ones. Full review on my blog http://bookwi.se/her-fearful-symmetry-a-novel/
This book is really good. Very suspenseful with a good twist at the end, but not the very end. It also leaves you hanging wanting a bit more.
I'm not sure how I should rate this book. I was pleasantly surprised that this book was as good as it was, my expectations were VERY low. I actually think this book was better than The Time Traveler's Wife. However, I really didn't understand where the characters were coming from. I couldn't imagine being that self absorbed.
I loved this book until the end. It built and built and built and then just ended. I wanted more, I guess. That's the only reason I give it 4 stars. Otherwise, I love love love Audrey Niffenegger. Her style is sort of old school to me and makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
This book moves so slowly and I got through it so quickly that I didn't realize until halfway through that I wasn't enjoying it. By which point I figured I may as well finish it. It didn't get better. The story is told mostly in strange, short vignettes and moves along at a snail's pace, and none of the characters are particularly engaging - some of them are downright creepy, in a gross but still somehow really boring way. The whole book is kindof just, “eh.”