The Weird Sisters-Discussion *May Contain Spoilers*

[BrattyMeg]

I just downloaded the book on my Kindle so I hope to start it today sometime! Feel free to discuss the book as you read and finish Can't wait to read it!

[*Celeste*]

i wish this book would come in to the library.

[ovaltine]

Finished this book ... I think my favorite character is Bean

[cardinalskate]

Originally Posted by *Celeste*

i wish this book would come in to the library.

Doesn't look like I'm gonna get it before the end of the month, either I'm still about 8th on the holds list...

[Paula]

I loved this book!! I liked Bean too.

[BrattyMeg]

looved this book..was another one of those i wouldn't have read if it wasn't a choice for the month here. I too liked Bean a lot. I really liked the style of writing. The plural first person and use of we (never I..) ..along with mixing of the Shakespearean quotes in the perfect spots. Loved loved it!

[Ther]

Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat

looved this book..was another one of those i wouldn't have read if it wasn't a choice for the month here. I too liked Bean a lot. I really liked the style of writing. The plural first person and use of we (never I..) ..along with mixing of the Shakespearean quotes in the perfect spots. Loved loved it!

Totally agree with you about the writing style and the quotes. I had bought this book to try and get me out of the young adult section of the bookstore and I was so excited that it was on here.

It was also interesting that while I was reading I was thinking of my sister and me. She is the older sister and I am the younger and we both take on quite a few of those characteristics and then end up sharing Bean's. How about all of you? Did you see parts of yourself in the book?

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat

looved this book..was another one of those i wouldn't have read if it wasn't a choice for the month here. I too liked Bean a lot. I really liked the style of writing. The plural first person and use of we (never I..) ..along with mixing of the Shakespearean quotes in the perfect spots. Loved loved it!

Now I feel compelled to read it! Never read anything in first person plural. I used to collect second-person POV stories, but this is a novelty for me. Oh, well. :-)

[ZaCola3]

I'm in the middle of this and skipped everyone's posts so as not to spoil anything for myself...but I LOVE how they never use the 1st person...that the story is always being told from one of the sister's POV, and I love that I sometimes have to think about which one it is...
Will be back with more when I'm done!

[chastml]

I guess I'm the only one who didn't like the shared first person point of view. It drove me nuts! The book was pretty okay. Some parts seemed more real, while others felt like I don't know, just not as real? I probably wouldn't have read this book on my own. I'm not unhappy that I read it. Any book I can get through is a pretty good thing.

I really wanted to like Bean, but I just couldn't. She had potential, but something about her made me not like her. Cordy was quirky and flighty and I had a friend just like her in high school. She was easy to understand. Rose just seemed like the stereotypical first born. I always wonder why first-borns are perceived as such control freaks. I also don't understand why she was constantly commenting on being the only child when she wasn't even an only child that long. I don't ever remember being an only child, even though I was one for 2.5 years, and the concept never entered my head as a child, or as an adult. The fact that she was so focused on it seemed odd.

I think the conclusion each of the girls reached was best for their characters. So nice of the book to wrap itself up so tidily.

[*Celeste*]

i just picked this up from the library yesterday and i'm about 40 pages in. so far so good. well written. the characters are developing. trying not to read what all of you have said so far!

[emmasmommy]

i enjoyed this book. i don't know that i'd recommend it to someone else, but i did like it.

Cordy was my favorite. I just loved the fact that she was the one who wound up pulling the family together when she was the one that it was just not expected of. I agree with Mandy that Rose was just the typical first born. I liked Bean, but, i tend to like the characters that are the underdog instead of the ones they WANT you to love. lol

i was a HUGE fan of the POV writing and all the quotes.

[BrattyMeg]

Here's some questions to ponder. Got these from the Princeton Book Review website


1. The Andreas family is dedicated to books, particularly Shakespeare. Would the family be different if their father were an expert on a different writer? Edgar Allan Poe, let's say, or Mark Twain? What if they were a family of musicians or athletes, rather than readers? How might that change their dynamic? Is there an interest that unites your family in the same way that reading unites the Andreas family?

2. The narration is omniscient first person plural ("we" rather than "I"). Why do you think the author chose to write the novel in this way? Did you like it?

3. Which sister is your favorite? Why? Which sister do you most identify with? Are they the same character?

4. Do you have any siblings? If so, in what way is your relationship with them similar to the relationship among the Andreas sisters? In what way is it different?

5. Each of the sisters has a feeling of failure about where she is in her life and an uncertainty about her position as a grown-up. Are there certain markers that make you an adult, and if so, what are they?

6. In what ways are the sisters' problems of their own making? Does this make them more or less sympathetic?

7. The narrator says that God was always there if the family needed him, "kind of like an extra tube of toothpaste under the sink." Is that true, or does the family's religion have a larger effect on the sisters than they claim? How does your own family's faith, or lack thereof, influence you?

8. In many ways, the Andreas sisters' personalities align with proposed birth-order roles: Rose, the driven caregiver; Bean, the rebellious pragmatist; and Cordy, the free-spirited performer. How important do you think birth order is? Do you see those traits in your own family or in people you know?

9. Father Aidan tells Bean, "Your story, Bean, is the story of your sisters. And it is past time, I think, for you to stop telling that particular story, and tell the story of yourself. Stop defining yourself in terms of them. You don't just have to exist in the empty spaces they leave." Do you agree with Father Aidan? Is it possible to identify one's self not in relationship to one's siblings or family?

10. Is it irresponsible of Cordy to keep her baby?

11. How does the Andreas family deal with the mother's illness? How would your family have coped differently?

12. The sisters say that "We have always wondered why there is not more research done on the children of happy marriages." How does their parents' love story affect the sisters? How did your own parents' relationship affect you?

13. What do you think of the sisters' father, James? Is he a good parent? What about their mother?

14. Why do you think the mother is never given a name?

15. The narrators' mother admits that she ended up with the girls' father because she was scared to venture out into the world. Yet she doesn't seem to have any regrets. Do you think there are people who are just not meant to leave home or their comfort zone?

16. Bean and Cordy initially want to leave Barnwell behind, yet they remain, while Rose is the one off living in Europe. Do you think people sometimes become constrained by childhood perceptions of themselves and how their lives will be? How is your own life different from the way you thought it would turn out?

17. When you first saw the title, The Weird Sisters, what did you think the book would be about? What do you think the title really means?

[Jenn Barrette]

I liked it, but didn't love it. I did enjoy the writing style (first person POV, and the use of Shakespearean quotes), and thought the characters were well developed, but the I guest the storyline didn't really draw me in. I think part of it was that it did jump between narrators and between past and present. I found that that made it more difficult to get really sucked into the story.

[Misty Cato]

Ok, so two months later, I finally got to reading this one. It took me awhile to get used to the first person plural POV, but I grew to love it and it seemed right for the story. The characterization and quotes were excellent. I thought the plot was a bit lackluster. Books don't need to be all action and plot twists, but this one seems to plod on at a consistent pace without any of the ups and downs I usually experience when reading a novel. Even moments that were supposed to be life-changing epiphanies for the characters, didn't feel substantial to me.

I did enjoy it though.