Her Fearful Symmetry

Audrey Niffenegger's first novel since the phenomenal Time Traveler's Wife has been eagerly awaited . . . and yet, she hit the sophomore slump big time. Her Fearful Symmetry didn't start out that bad--in fact, I quite enjoyed the first 300 pages. Elspeth Noblin is dying of cancer, and she leaves her London flat, which sits adjacent to Highgate Cemetery, and everything in it to her twin nieces in America. The daughters of her estranged twin, who is supposed to have run off with Elspeth's fiance, the girls must live in the flat for a year before selling it. Elspeth's lover, Robert, will be their guide to life in London.

The twins, Julia and Valentina, are extremely close, as were their mothers before their split. They often hold hands, share a bed, and dress alike. They never do anything without the other. This incredible closeness--and the love triangle of the older generation of twins--echo Niffenegger's novel in pictures, The Three Incestuous Sisters. Without the actual incest, thankfully.

It was the last hundred pages of the book where it really fell apart. Elspeth's ghost is trapped in her apartment and learns to communicate with the girls. She and Valentina hatch a ridiculous scheme to help Valentina escape the grip of her overbearing sister. Before that, even despite the ghost story, it would have been an okay novel. Nothing compared to The Time Traveler's Wife, but decent enough. There is a very interesting side story about a man living in the same London apartment building as the twins who suffers from OCD. A friend of mine thought that should have been the main story. It was definitely the most interesting part of the book.

It's hard to follow such a smashing success as her first book. Many writers fail in their second efforts . . . so here's hoping the third time's the charm.