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Post by invisibledragon on Nov 25, 2013 13:03:39 GMT
I'm going to be brave and start posting here... This is actually one of my favourite DWJ books, but it doesn't seem to get a lot of love. I'll admit that the plot device of Sally not knowing which sister she is doesn't really work out, but in most other respects the entire plot is amazing. I loved reading about the sisters and their dysfunctional relationship with their mother and father, although it's sad that so much of this was actually based on DWJ and her sisters. I loved how distinct and real each of their personalities were. I loved how Monigan, although they made up a silly game in worshipping her, turned out to be real - or at least, they got involved with something more than they'd planned to. Most of all I loved the climax of the entire novel, where everyone gives something up to Monigan, and how it turns out that they actually did give up something of themselves - Will Howard's British tie-pin and his emigration to Canada always stuck out to me, as well as Audrey's foolishly binding herself to Ned by offering flowers they'd picked together.
Anyone else have any love to offer for this novel?
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Post by kellyanne on Nov 25, 2013 17:09:00 GMT
I always thought this was one of the scarier books. Admittedly, I've not read it for years. Not since DWJ's books got reprinted thanks to the resurgence of fantasy.
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Post by manaliabrid on Nov 25, 2013 20:49:16 GMT
I love this book, and it is one of her least known. For me, the not knowing who she was worked, and I liked (maybe liked isn't the right word, but it's something that stuck with me) that Sally was not able to identify herself because she did not really like herself, or didn't want to be herself. I love how weird this book is too. Even knowing that the ghost was Sally, when i went back and reread it recently, I got slightly confused, wondering if I'd remembered wrong.
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Post by penigriffin on Nov 25, 2013 21:50:17 GMT
I think one reason it doesn't get talked about it is that it's so mind-bogglingly complex, even by DWJ standards, that it's difficult to talk about; and there's no lowest-common-denominator hook. Only a certain kind of reader will even be able to finish reading it with enjoyment, much less digest it and articulate any of suite of emotions and ideas that grow out of the experience. (This is not intended to imply that this sort of reader forms an elite; one may be plenty smart enough to follow the plot, and sophisticated enough aesthetically to appreciate the art, and yet not be the kind of person who engages with either in a way necessary to enjoy the book.) It doesn't invite 'shipping, there's no charismatic focus person ala Chrestomanci, and the emotions engendered are not ones fans (or critics and reviewers!) are accustomed to discussing.
Personally I found that the uncertainty about who the viewpoint character was fruitful as heck. It allowed the ghost POV to function as both a third-person limited omniscient, and as an unreliable, narrator, and encouraged reader identification with all the sisters, not just the protagonist. The way DWJ enables the reader to grasp the god's-eye view of non-linear time is mind-blowing. And that she does it without any loss of her trademark humor, family dynamics, and transparent style (difficult as the book is, I defy anyone to show me a difficult sentence!) makes commentary by lesser mortals seem inadequate. You wind up either hugging the book to yourself or shoving it at people you think might get it, saying; "Don't ask, just read it!"
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Post by aeriel on Nov 30, 2013 17:45:03 GMT
I found myself desperately wanting fanfiction after reading it for the first time recently, since the overall tone was just so creepy and grim that I needed to see the sisters thriving. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any!
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