Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

Liz and I met for lunch a couple of weeks ago just after finishing our 100 continuous days of posting. We knew we had to give the readers exactly what they didn’t want, frequent and consistent with posting. We stuffed ourselves silly, got really sleepy and then forgot all about the blog. Fast forward two weeks later and Liz reminded me that we have a blog. In short (too late), we’re lazy but Liz just had a baby and things are really crazy right now. [Huh. The things I learn while proofreading this blog.]

Oh joy, Curtis Sittenfeld has a new book! Super joy, it’s about twins!! Holy shit joy, it’s about twins with ESP!!! That my friends is the trifecta. You know Liz is a twin. [Dang. The bullets are flying at me today.] Explains several things, right? Anyway, turns out that what Sisterland is about really is family. Half the book is in Sittenfeld’s sweet spot, adolescence. Fans of Prep won’t be disappointed, and the readers of American Wife will love the storyline and really strong writer.

Set in St. Louis, Missouri (why doesn’t that happen more?) twins Vi and Daisy are the very best of friends growing up. [That's how you know it's fiction.] It becomes apparent at an early age that the girls have “senses."  As the girls enter high school, the personality differences in the sisters become sharp. Vi is the fearless one and Daisy yearns to be popular. As the girls turn into women, Daisy attempts to bury her abilities, while Vi becomes a medium for hire.

Things heat up when Vi publicly predicts that an earthquake will hit St. Louis in the weeks to come. The prediction turns their lives upside down. Is that a pun of some sort? I can’t decide.

If you haven’t read Curtis Sittenfeld yet (what is wrong with you?) and if you  like Chris Bohjalian, Meg Wolitzer, or Jonathan Tropper, you can’t go wrong with any of Sittenfeld’s work. Bring Sisterland  on vacation, it's the perfect book to travel with!

Good and Cheap (Books)! Day 20

so much fun on vacation!

Curtis Sittenfeld is someone you should bring on vacation this summer. And of course when I say "bring Curtis Sittenfeld on vacation this summer," I mean bring Man of My Dreams, Prep, or American Wife. I’m not saying not to ask her on vacation if you think that’s what you want to do; personally I think it's creepy, but whatever.

I read Prep at the urging of the literary director of the Texas Book Festival and ended up devouring it on my seven-hour flight to Alaska a few years ago. It was the only book I brought with me, so I was pretty much forced to look at nature and make conversation for the next ten days.  Prep follows Lee Fiora as she leaves the Midwest to attend a prestigious prep school on the east coast. The book is told semester-by-semester, culminating at graduation. It clocks in at just over 400 pages but believe me, you won’t believe how quickly it goes.

Intense teenage girl relationships and general young adult angst not your thing (really, what’s wrong with you)? Well may I suggest American Wife, a novel loosely based on Laura Bush? I’ve written about this novel a couple of times so won’t drone on here but to say, for me, this was a novel about how smart, ambitious women can easily get lost behind a powerful man.  This book exceeded my expectations in every way.

Sittenfeld has a new book due this June, and yes, I will be bringing it on vacation.