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shesjamesevans's review
3.0
3 1/2. It was a very pleasant book in a sort of feel-good British movie.
I’m always a bit apprehensive about sort-of-memoirs books, because sometimes people’s lives are not interesting enough as they think like to write about, OR you can tell they’re stretching it to make it look.. interesting, or peculiar.
This is just... nice, and easy to read, and sounds truthful. Definitely will read more of her.
I’m always a bit apprehensive about sort-of-memoirs books, because sometimes people’s lives are not interesting enough as they think like to write about, OR you can tell they’re stretching it to make it look.. interesting, or peculiar.
This is just... nice, and easy to read, and sounds truthful. Definitely will read more of her.
arushibhaskar's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
ohnoflora's review against another edition
4.0
Really rather wonderfully odd. Told from that slightly skewed child's perspective (complete with spelling mistakes) that means that small things are intensely important while larger things are glossed over quite matter-of-factly.
louise_jb0's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jessicah95's review
5.0
This came out of nowhere for me! Absolutely loved this little read.
Sisters by a River isn't really a novel with a linear narrative structure like I was expecting. I would probably describe this more as a collection of vignettes, or snapshots, into the lives of this curious family.
From what I understand, this novel is semi-autobiographical. The narrative voice we hear throughout the book is from one of five sisters. She is named Barbara, the same as our author, although we don't actually find out her name out until the very end.
This book is a great example of really well executed, believable characterisation, achieved in a fairly small amount of pages, especially when there isn't much of a single plot to speak off, and it's perfectly done for me.
Honestly, none of the characters in this book are particularly nice people. The dad is an abusive drunk, the mum seems cold and detached, the grandma comes across as spiteful and selfish, and the children can be very cruel to each other and to the occasional animal (albeit often with good intentions gone awry.) There are also a whole other herd of oddball characters that pop up throughout the book, all with their faults too, getting up to some very strange antics. But weirdly, despite their cruelties, despite their unorthodox upbringings, despite their suspect behaviour, they can be quite endearing and I loved reading about their lives.
Interestingly, throughout the book, quite a few words are frequently misspelled - but this is very clearly on purpose, in order to stress that our protagonist is recalling childhood memories. Some people may have found this too obvious, and may have preferred more subtle devices to depict childhood, but I think this really helped in warming me to the characters. All in all, a surprising, original, fab read. I want more from Barbara Comyns asap!
Sisters by a River isn't really a novel with a linear narrative structure like I was expecting. I would probably describe this more as a collection of vignettes, or snapshots, into the lives of this curious family.
From what I understand, this novel is semi-autobiographical. The narrative voice we hear throughout the book is from one of five sisters. She is named Barbara, the same as our author, although we don't actually find out her name out until the very end.
This book is a great example of really well executed, believable characterisation, achieved in a fairly small amount of pages, especially when there isn't much of a single plot to speak off, and it's perfectly done for me.
Honestly, none of the characters in this book are particularly nice people. The dad is an abusive drunk, the mum seems cold and detached, the grandma comes across as spiteful and selfish, and the children can be very cruel to each other and to the occasional animal (albeit often with good intentions gone awry.) There are also a whole other herd of oddball characters that pop up throughout the book, all with their faults too, getting up to some very strange antics. But weirdly, despite their cruelties, despite their unorthodox upbringings, despite their suspect behaviour, they can be quite endearing and I loved reading about their lives.
Interestingly, throughout the book, quite a few words are frequently misspelled - but this is very clearly on purpose, in order to stress that our protagonist is recalling childhood memories. Some people may have found this too obvious, and may have preferred more subtle devices to depict childhood, but I think this really helped in warming me to the characters. All in all, a surprising, original, fab read. I want more from Barbara Comyns asap!
sophiewelsh's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
han_cat's review
2.0
Interesting and I can understand what it was trying to achieve. Trouble is personally I am not a fan of episodic novels and the constant use of the word frit did drive me a little crackers! It's also much more macabre and sinister than I expected.
jillianmatchett's review against another edition
DNF. I couldn't stand the writing style.
balancinghistorybooks's review against another edition
3.0
I decided to reread this in October, as I did not remember a great deal of it. I read it at around the same time as Our Spoons Came From Woolworths and The Vet's Daughter, and it has evidently paled in comparison somewhat. A striking child's voice is used here from the position of retrospect, and the structure takes a jumble of both separate and interconnected memories as its focal point. As is often the case with unreliable narrators in fiction, some of the peripheral characters came to life more than others. It is a mysterious and well executed tome, and the very fact that it presents an entirely different life to my own makes it all the more compelling.