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Eleanor Brown

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The Weird Sisters [Kindle Edition] Kindle Edition

by Eleanor Brown (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 1,762 ratings

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The beloved New York Times bestseller from acclaimed author Eleanor Brown about three sisters who love each other, but just don't happen to like each other very much.

Three sisters have returned to their childhood home, reuniting the eccentric Andreas family. Here, books are a passion (there is no problem a library card can't solve) and TV is something other people watch. Their father—a professor of Shakespeare who speaks almost exclusively in verse—named them after the Bard's heroines. It's a lot to live up to.

The sisters each have a hard time communicating with their parents and their lovers, but especially with one another. What can the shy homebody eldest sister, the fast-living middle child, and the bohemian youngest sibling have in common? Only that none has found life to be what was expected; and now, faced with their parents' frailty and their own personal disappointments, not even a book can solve what ails them...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2011: The Weird Sisters in Eleanor Brown's delightful debut could have been weirder, considering their upbringing. Their professor father spoke primarily in Shakespearean verse, and while other kids in the bucolic Midwestern college town of Barnwell checked the TV lineup, the Andreas girls lined up their library books. They buried themselves in books so completely that while they loved each other, they never learned to like each other much. And when adulthood arrived and they pursued separate destinies, each felt out of step with the world. When news of their mother's cancer makes a terribly convenient excuse for attention-hog Bean (Bianca) and Cordy (Cordelia), the “baby” who always got off easy, to boomerang back to Barnwell from New York and New Mexico, respectively, they return bearing the guilt (and consequences) of embezzlement and pregnancy-by-random-painter. They're most terrified of admitting these failures to Rose (Rosalind), the responsible eldest, who stayed in Barnwell to teach Math and cling to her caretaker-martyr role. With lively dialogue and witty collective narration, the sisters' untangling of their identities and relationships feels honest and wise, and the questions they raise about how we carry our childhood roles into our adult lives will resonate with all readers, especially those with their own weird sisters. --Mari Malcolm

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. You don't have to have a sister or be a fan of the Bard to love Brown's bright, literate debut, but it wouldn't hurt. Sisters Rose (Rosalind; As You Like It), Bean (Bianca; The Taming of the Shrew), and Cordy (Cordelia; King Lear)--the book-loving, Shakespeare-quoting, and wonderfully screwed-up spawn of Bard scholar Dr. James Andreas--end up under one roof again in Barnwell, Ohio, the college town where they were raised, to help their breast cancer–stricken mom. The real reasons they've trudged home, however, are far less straightforward: vagabond and youngest sib Cordy is pregnant with nowhere to go; man-eater Bean ran into big trouble in New York for embezzlement, and eldest sister Rose can't venture beyond the "mental circle with Barnwell at the center of it." For these pains-in-the-soul, the sisters have to learn to trust love--of themselves, of each other--to find their way home again. The supporting cast--removed, erudite dad; ailing mom; a crew of locals; Rose's long-suffering fiancé--is a punchy delight, but the stage clearly belongs to the sisters; Macbeth's witches would be proud of the toil and trouble they stir up. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

Three sisters, a scholarly father who breaks into iambic pentameter, and an absentminded but loving mother who brought the girls up in rural Ohio may sound like an idyllic family; however, when Rosalind, Bianca, and Cordelia return home—ostensibly to help their parents through their mother’s cancer treatment—readers begin to see a whole different family. A prologue introduces characters and hints of the dramas to come, while the omniscient narrator, seemingly the combined consciousness of the sisters, chronicles in the first-person plural events that occur during the heavy Ohio summer and end in the epilogue, which describes an (overly?) hopeful resolution. Brown writes with authority and affection both for her characters and the family hometown of Barnwell, a place that almost becomes another character in the story. A skillful use of flashback shows the characters developing and evolving as well as establishing the origins of family myth and specific personality traits. There are no false steps in this debut novel: the humor, lyricism, and realism characterizing this lovely book will appeal to fans of good modern fiction as well as stories of family and of the Midwest. --Ellen Loughran

Review

Praise for The Weird Sisters

“Delightful.”—People

“Irresistible.”—The Boston Globe

“At once hilarious, thought-provoking, and poignant, this sparkling and devourable debut explores the roles that we play with our siblings, whether we want to or not. The Weird Sisters is a tale of the complex family ties that threaten to pull us apart, but sometimes draw us together instead.”—J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Friends and Strangers

“Even if you don’t have a sister, you may feel like you have one after reading this hilarious and utterly winsome novel. Eleanor Brown skillfully ties and then unties the Gordian knot of sisterhood, writing with such knowingness that when the ending came, and the three Andreas sisters--who had slunk home for a rest from themselves only to find to their horror their other two sisters there as well--emerge, I sighed the guilty sigh of pleasure and yes, of recognition.”—Sarah Blake, author of The Guest Book

“Get thee to a bookstore....Brown is such a clever writer, and she’s written such an endearing story about sisterly affection and the possibilities of redemption, that it’s easy to recommend The Weird Sisters. Take Polonius’s good advice and ‘read on this book.’”—The Washington Post

“Good sense and good humor...buoyant.”—The New York Times

“Delightful…Brown doesn’t make things easy on herself. She bestows distinct traces of prickliness, self-obsession, and irresponsibility on her women. They’re not storybook heroines but as susceptible to bad behavior as any of us. And she uses a first-person plural narrator—a collective we that speaks for every sister yet not any specific one—with a scope wide enough to view their inner turmoil and outer mistakes with wry understanding. The trick could have failed, yet it somehow doesn’t and pulls us into the heart of the family circle….That’s Brown’s great gift: She draws you in and makes you believe her weird sisters aren’t so weird after all.”—The Miami Herald

“Brown writes sweetly of the transition so many adults struggle to make before their parents’ eyes, from children to caretakers themselves.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Equal parts clever and heartfelt.”—Associated Press

“[A] fine debut novel...[Brown] has a crisp style and a flair for dialogue.”—The Columbus Dispatch

“Delightful and fascinating....A magnificent tapestry of a tale.”—The Sacramento Bee

“[A] charming debut novel…cleverly written from the sisters’ perspective...Though the book is named after witches in the play Macbeth, you need not be a Shakespeare scholar to fall in love with this feel-good story—or the bewitching sisters.”—Woman’s Day

“A page-turner from the start.”—Ladies’ Home Journal

“You don’t have to have a sister or be a fan of the Bard to love Brow’s bright, literate debut….The supporting cast—removed, erudite dad; ailing mom; a crew of locals; Rose’s long-suffering fiancé—is a punchy delight, but the stage clearly belongs to the sisters; Macbeth’s witches would be proud of the toil and trouble they stir up.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Lovely…This novel should appeal to Shakespeare lovers, bibliophiles, fans of novels in academic settings, and stories of sisterhood. The narration is a creative and original blending of the three ‘Weird Sisters’ as one.”—Library Journal

“There are no false steps in this debut novel: The humor, lyricism, and realism characterizing this lovely book will appeal to fans of good modern fiction.”—Booklist

“What a joy to read. What a VOICE. The Weird Sisters is family drama dissected by verbal scalpel. If with and language could protect against growing old, these bewitching sisters might never have to grow up.”—Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

About the Author

Eleanor Brown's writing has been published in anthologies, magazines, and journals. She holds an M.A. in Literature and works in education in South Florida but will be living in the Denver area, Colorado at pub date.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00475AXHY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons (January 20, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 20, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1748 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 371 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #326,253 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,757 in Women's Literary Fiction
- #2,280 in Sisters Fiction
- #2,464 in Contemporary Literary Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.0 1,762 ratings

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Eleanor Brown is the New York Times, national and international bestselling author of The Weird Sisters. The Weird Sisters was an IndieNext pick, an Amazon and Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Month, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection.

Eleanor lives in Colorado, where she is at work on her next novel.

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Annie B

Unique storytelling twist

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2011

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Does the world really need another book about sisters? The answer is definitely yes and this book is it!

Since others have summarized the book so well, I'll simply say The Weird Sisters is beautifully written and is candid to the point of painfulness at times about the sisters in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the Shakespeare references and found them appropriate for this fictional academic family. In fact, I loved how the author wove Shakespeare throughout the book. A reader, however, doesn't have to know Shakespeare's work or even like it to appreciate the way the author uses it in the book.

What I found totally unique about this book is the use of a plural narrator. I read a lot and have read quite extensively and have never run across this type of narration before. It's very original and I give the author kudos for even attempting it. It had to be a challenge to the writer. However, though I loved the originality of this narration technique, I did find it to be a bit distracting as a reader. Sometimes the "we" narrator was intrusive and interrupted the flow of the book for me. It sometimes felt as if the author was nudging me and going wink, wink, see how clever I am. The book was well worth this small irritation and easily forgiven in light of the amazing cleverness of it.

If you are a sister, or know people who have sisters, you will enjoy this exploration of the bond between sisters--and the stories of the individual women themselves as well. For while this book is about the sisters and their bond, it is equally about how they come to terms with their sisterhood and ultimately transcend it to in order to embrace their own individuality.

I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author!

2 people found this helpful

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Lisa K

A Beautiful Story!

Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2011

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The Andreas sisters had the upbringing I wish I'd had, and after reading this book, the one I'm glad I didn't. With a father more concerned about studying Shakespeare than his three daughters and a mother who was liable to leave the stove and go for a walk while her young children play in the kitchen, the sisters were pretty much left to raise themselves. When their mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, the three use the opportunity to come home and escape from their troubles for a while.

The role of parent was taken over by Rose, a character who I'm sure I would enjoy if she was still a child, but as an adult Rose managed to annoy me for the first half of the book. Despite my personal grievences with Rose's character I will say that she was wonderfully written and (eventually) developed. We get to see the struggle between her heart and her brain and I love that we get to see Rose pull herself out of this self imposed role. I ended up incredibly happy for her and with her choices by the end of the book.

Bianca also annoyed me for most of the book. She was self serving and selfish, whiny and just an overall pain in the butt. Again though, we are shown her journey to self revelation. She was definitely my least favorite of the sisters and I'm not sure if she got less page time than the others but I definately enjoyed her parts less. While she makes obvious progress towards the end of the book, by this point I was so annoyed by her I probably didn't give her the credit she deserved.

"Who did you like then?!", you ask. Cordelia, or Cordy. I loved her to pieces! As the baby she is obviously the favorite, working the moves to get attentions but to me she was the most genuinely interesting of the three. A drifter who gets pregnant from a random week long encounter, I love how we live through her. Again we have a struggle, between the love of the road and the need to settle down. She was the one I connected with and earned my everlasting love.

Written in the first-person plural, the narrative was a little strange. It was almost like someone else was telling the story but that someone else was one of the sisters all at the same time. While it was really odd, I kind of liked it. It offered a different and semi-outside perspective I don't think we would have gotten any other way. I also appreciated the fact that they were voracious readers and I loved the random integration of Shakespeare.

Final thoughts: I guess you could say this book is about self discovery, about finding yourself by coming back to the start, taking a deep breath and making a committed change, and it is but it is also about those intangible strings that hold a family together and how the love, no matter how distracted, will always be there to catch you if you fall. This was a marvelous novel, sweet and charming, beautifully written and excellently concluded. If you are looking for something interesting and meaningful while still being funny I would happily nudge you in the direction of The Weird Sisters.

3 people found this helpful

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B. A. Chaney

A Not so Weird Story

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2011

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"The Weird Sisters" follows three sisters--Rose, Bean and Cordy--as they reconverge on their parent's home during their mother's battle with breast cancer. All three sisters are facing unique challenges in their life, which each attributes to their strange upbringing by their Shakespearean professor father and scatterbrained mother. As each works to overcome her challenge, she discovers something new about herself and the sister dynamic within the family.

I suppose my expectations were too high after reading the rave reviews about "The Weird Sisters." Although I found the novel entertaining and the characters interesting, there was not enough story development throughout the novel to keep me really interested, and as a result this novel really dragged for me. I kept expecting the characters to have some sort of big emotional or character breakthrough, but I felt like they never really did. The story telling and the language of the novel was beautiful, I just wish it had captured more action.

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vispa

"weird" e' una "catch word".

Reviewed in Italy on August 19, 2017

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All'inizio questo romanzo non mi ha catturato. Ma ho avuto la pazienza di andare avanti e la mia pazienza e'stata premiata. l'aggettivo "weird" fa pensare a qualche cosa di veramente strano, riferito alle sorelle od al loro rapporto o ad entrambe le cose, Ma non c'e' nulla di strano ma normali rapporti tra sorelle con caratteri molto diversi. l'autore descrive caratteri e rapporti familiari in modo profondo e veramente magistrale. Ho ritrovato un po' di me in ognuna di loro e non e'questo il piu' grande piacere per un lettore? I libri che ci piacciono sono quelli che in qualche modo ci rendono partecipi. Percio' lo consiglio. ¥

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Grand-Montagne,

Highly recommended.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

One of my favorites. What a treat to read.

American Quilter in Germany

Realistic and true to life

Reviewed in Germany on October 31, 2013

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This book is excellent at describing sibling relationships as well as parents and grown up children. Do read it soon.

Denise Porter

I loved the relationships between the sisters

Reviewed in Canada on July 19, 2017

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I wasn't crazy about all the Shakespeare to be honest. But, I loved the relationships between the sisters. I was able to make so many connections to my own life. Families are complicated .

Jay1

Weird but nearly wonderful.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2013

Verified Purchase

If you like contemporary American fiction you'll probably enjoy this novel. It's quirky, fluent and as long as you're not expecting to read the 'Great American' novel it's well worth the money. I think people in their twenties will enjoy this but my 87 year old mother (broad-minded, eclectic reader) borrowed it and said she'd really enjoyed reading something 'different and unusual'.

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