The Sister by Poppy Adams

I’m not promising I’m going to review every book I read – that makes reading too schoolish – but I will note my thoughts on reads when the fancy strikes. Last night I had tons to say about The Sister by Poppy Adams, and today I’m going to try to remember all of those thoughts despite the gloomy haze of sleep that is plaguing my brain. I’ve been totally exhausted the past few days and it seems like all of this vacationing is turning me into lethargic mush.

The Sister by Poppy Adams is one of my favorite kinds of books: it is a book about a dysfunctional family. It is my opinion that everyone’s family is slightly dysfunctional and if the family appears to have absolutely no dysfunction then, well, that is the scariest kind of dysfunctional family because you just know that either everyone is emotionally closed or that everyone is really good at keeping secrets.

The story follows Virginia Stone, a reclusive woman in her seventies who lives in her family’s huge crumbling mansion. Her estranged sister, Vivien, (they haven’t seen each other in over 40 years) shows up one day to live back at the house with Virginia and they spend a tumultuous weekend brooding on the past. The plot is tightly woven and secrets leak out with every chapter (which I will not divulge).

Another interesting aspect of the novel is we learn that Virginia followed in her father’s footsteps and became a lepidopterist (one who studies moths) and the book is filled with information about moths. Someone wrote in the library copy that I’m reading that the book was “boring” and had “too many moths”. I disagree; the science aspect helps to balance the emotional turmoil and factors quite heavily into the plot. In fact, the book reminded me of The Thirteenth Tale. Both books are about family secrets and sisters, but The Sister has moths and science whereas The Thirteenth Tale was full of books.

Well I’m off to shower and then head of the coffee shop to post this. Plans for the rest of the day include curling up with a cup of coffee and some Agatha Christie; the weather is cold and misty and demands a good mystery.