About this title: The author of the phenomenally successful novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" returns with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second book set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: New in new dust jacket. New book at 20% off retail price from a reliable seller. Prompt shipping. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 416 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009-09-29
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781439165393. read more
Binding: CD-Audio
Publisher: ARROW BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781846572302ISBN:1846572304
Description: BRAND NEW CD-AUDIO. Love, despite everything, e julia and valentina poole are normal american teenagers-normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in anything outside their cozy suburban home. but everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat. (CD-Audio) read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: VINTAGE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780224085618ISBN:0224085611
Description: BRAND NEW HARDBACK. 400 pages. Julia and valentina poole are normal american teenagers-normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cozy suburban home. but everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block. (Hardback) read more
Edition: First edition. First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: New in new dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 416 p. Audience: General/trade. First Edition/First Printing. New book, brodart protected. Ships in a box. read more
Binding: Audio CD
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780743599306ISBN:0743599306
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: LARGE PRINT ED
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: ROYAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BLIND PEOPLE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781444501650ISBN:1444501658
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. This publication is not for sale to libraries. julia and valentina poole are normal american teenagers. but everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking highgate cemetery in london. edition large print ed (Paperback) read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Thorndike Pr
Date Published: 2009-10-06
ISBN-13:9781410422446ISBN:1410422445
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781410422446. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
Description: Fine in Fine dust jacket. 9781440000000. SIGNED American first edition, first printing. Published by Scribner in 2009. Signed on the inside title page by Ms. Niffenegger at the Toronto International Festival of Authors in 2009. Virtually no wear to jacket. Jacket is NOT price clipped. Covers are clean and bright. Edges are sharp. No tears or creases. The book itself is in Near Fine condition with no bumps or marks. The binding is straight and tight. NO remainder mark. Oversize and heavy items ... read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner, New York City, NY
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781439165393ISBN:1439165394
Description: Signed by Author. Hardcover. First Edition. First Printing. 406 pages. As New in As New Dust Jacket. The author's second novel. One of the most eagerly-anticip ated and important literary events of the decade. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes the British Edition and should not be confused with copies issued by the publisher that are signed on a tipped-in page. The title alludes to William Blake's "The Tyger" (from "Songs of Experience"), one of the greatest poems in the English language: ... read more
"Ghosts, body snatching, two sets of twins, multi-generational family mysteries; a quick plot synopsis of Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffeneger sounds like the plot of an old-fashioned gothic romance. This book has been anxiously awaited by fans of Niffeneger’s bestselling The Time Traveler’s Wife. Unfortunately, Her Fearful Symmetry lacks the substance and vision which made Niffeneger’s first novel so compelling.
The main characters in Her Fearful Symmetry (two sets of twins, the younger of whom are “mirror twins”) are self-destructively narrow minded, and the resulting chaos seems contrived; Niffeneger’s excellent prose does little to rescue this plot. Where TTW was a beautiful story of people fighting to make a life for themselves under extremely bad circumstances, Her Fearful Symmetry is a tale of people who create their own hell by tangling their family and friends in a web of deceit which ultimately results in several terrible and unnecessary tragedies.
The only character who really shone in the plot of HFS was Martin, a mentally ill linguist who spends most of the book trying to overcome agoraphobia in order to reunite with his wife. Unlike the other characters in the book, he rises to the occasion and shows true strength of character in his battle against himself.
Overall, the book was a bust. Niffeneger’s writing is excellent, but the plot felt contrived and the characters weren’t believable. Even a genetic time traveling disorder is more plausible than this ridiculous ghost story."
"I really wanted to love The Time Traveler's Wife....but I didn't. I thought that novel started well and then. . .lost its way. This one almost does the same, but instead it revs up the stakes and, I think, works, though I really wanted to get to the end to find out if my supposition about what would transpire was correct (it was).
Anyway, back to this book. Spoiler alert: one of the main characters is a ghost. I normally hate stories about ghosts, but this ghost is a Topper-type ghost, totally unspiritual and very worldly. Niffenegger makes up the mechanics of what it would be to be a newly-awoken ghost, with details such as how hard it is to move things or make oneself known. It's funny, but the tale she tells is also a gripping one of love, identity, the attempt to separate (two pairs of twins, one the descendants of the other--truer than sounds possible), and the power of grief and old love. The final moral is a little too pat to make me give this more than three stars but it definitely qualifies as a good read."
"While certainly not the romantic tour de force that "The Time Traveler's Wife" was, "Her Fearful Symmetry" is a thoughtful book that I had a hard time putting down. There were points where the characters were quite lovable and then there were points where they...weren't. Most characters have interesting journeys throughout the story arc and each one of them are incredibly flawed. There are some interesting twists throughout, and while some can be somewhat predictable, the language and imagery is so striking that it doesn't really matter. It's pretty apparent to me that Niffenegger is not a one-trick pony.
I did really like this book and am actually thinking of re-reading it just to get some of the additional details that sort of all came to a head during the last couple of hundred pages. That being said, it still didn't have the impact that "The Time Traveler's Wife" had. That particular book destroyed me.
"Her Fearful Symmetry" is much darker in tone (both in subject matter and in the choices that the characters make) than "The Time Traveler's Wife", but one of the major themes seems to be love and how it never seems to follow the rules of our physical world. I am a big fan of how the layer of science-fiction, supernatural, and even a bit of horror interweaves flawlessly with the mundane, everyday drudgery for the characters in both of these books. Very well crafted storytelling.
If you're expecting "The Time Traveler's Wife", then you will probably be a bit disappointed. If you're ready to see what else Niffenegger has to offer, then I definitely recommend this book. I'm looking forward to seeing what else she has up her sleeve."
"***you don't want to read if you haven't already read this book** First of all the end of this book did not leave me with a particularly satisfied feeling. I think I was more awestruck at the ending - although awestruck can often equate to meditation. Why did the author choose to end the book this way instead of tying everything up with a neat little bow? I found myself craving for a question and answer section in the back of the book and didn't find one. Of course because Ms. Niffenegger seems to have a habit of letting us draw our own conclusions about the purpose.
Firstly, I like some of the other reviewers did not care for many of the characters in this book. I felt we did not really get to know *Edie* and Jack except through Elspeth's eyes so I could not draw a fair conclusion about them - except possibly foolish and bland. I do not believe that *Elspeth* was to be a particularly likeable character. She was controversial at best. From the start of the book where she puts stipulations on the passing of her assets to when she opens her eyes and enlightens Robert to the fact that it is she, not Valentina, who is inhabiting the body of what looks like one of her daughters (that was probably the creepiest moment in the entire book for me). I also don't feel that Elspeth really loved her twins. It may have been because she never really wanted them to begin with, they represented a dark secret that she held resentment against for half her life or maybe it was because she had not gotten the opportunity to raise them. Who knows. Although she may not have loved them I do believe she was curious about them. Elspeth was a very curious woman - leaving them the flat gave her an opportunity to play sport against her sister and that was entertaining to her.
I think that the reason that some of the characters (if not all with the exception of quirky Martin & Marajike) were unlikeable was because they represented truly selfish human behaviors. Everyone had their own agenda. Elspeth of course - who I really do believe knew that Valentina's plan would not work, if Valentina did not want life (and she appeared not to) then Elspeth who adored to live would take it from her. Robert found himself in the middle of two women he cared for and he knew that entertaining a relationship with Valentina would hurt Elspeth (ghost or not) and yet he chose to engage in it anyway (she was tangible and Elspeth was not). Valentina refused to share a life with Julia, even if it meant hurting her twin in the worst possibly way. I do think V was my least favorite character because I could not understand her. She was willing to let her whole family believe she had died just to get away from her twin. I suppose she paid for that.. Julia could not let go of her twin and emotionally suffocated her in an attempt to hold on. I liked Julia though. perhaps my favorite character and strangely enough I related to her the most. In the end she did let her sister go and she learned to live her own life. Valentina was free of the binds of being a twin and was able to live without the scrutiny of always being the weaker twin so in the end I believe Julia became one of the least selfish characters.
Unlike others, I don't think that her fearful symmetry was a love story. I think it borderlined it in many ways between M&M, Julia & V, Elspeth & Robert and Robert & Valentina but I think the selfish tones were too strong (M&M were a little treat and closest to an actual love story but even then, the theme was more about conquering fears). In the end, I think Robert realized he was more in love with the idea of Elspeth than Elspeth herself and he was too overcome with guilt to jump onto the new life that Elspeth eagerly embraces as Valentina. I am not sure if the end of the book was a tragedy or simply dark comedy. Did everyone get what they deserved in the end?"
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