A review by msjoanna
The Dark Sister by Rebecca Goldstein

2.0

I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. There were lots of interesting threads that I felt should be coalescing, but somehow it never quite worked for me. I also felt lost in the Henry James allusions and references; perhaps if I were more up on my James, some of the writing style and references would have resonated more.

The author seemed to have interesting thoughts about personality, the possibility of multiple personalities, the relationship between sisters and between daughters and their parents, and feminine identity in general. But at the end of the day, I can't really tell you exactly what those ideas were and they didn't ever take recognizable shape in the characters of the novel.

I wish I'd read this one with a book group because I have the sense that perhaps another reader would have picked up on things that I missed and would have generated fascinating conversation. I hope I can interest someone else in reading this one because I'd love to read more reviews of it.