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Sisters
Lily Tuck's critically-lauded, bestselling I Married You for Happiness was hailed by the Boston Globe as -an artfully crafted still life of one couple's marriage.- In her singular new novel Sisters, Tuck gives a very different portrait of marital life, exposing the intricacies and scandals of a new marriage sprung from betrayal.
Tuck's unnamed narrator lives with her new husband, his two teenagers, and the unbanishable presence of his first wife--known only as she. Obsessed with her, our narrator moves through her days presided over by the all-too-real ghost of the first marriage, fantasizing about how the first wife lives her life. Will the narrator ever equal she intellectually, or ever forget the betrayal that lies between them? And what of the secrets between her husband and she, from which the narrator is excluded? The daring and precise build up to an eerily wonderful denouement is a triumph of subtlety and surprise.
With Sisters, Lily Tuck delivers riveting psychological portrait of marriage, infidelity, and obsession; charting with elegance and insight love in all its phases.
Tuck's unnamed narrator lives with her new husband, his two teenagers, and the unbanishable presence of his first wife--known only as she. Obsessed with her, our narrator moves through her days presided over by the all-too-real ghost of the first marriage, fantasizing about how the first wife lives her life. Will the narrator ever equal she intellectually, or ever forget the betrayal that lies between them? And what of the secrets between her husband and she, from which the narrator is excluded? The daring and precise build up to an eerily wonderful denouement is a triumph of subtlety and surprise.
With Sisters, Lily Tuck delivers riveting psychological portrait of marriage, infidelity, and obsession; charting with elegance and insight love in all its phases.
156 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2017
27 people are currently reading
1,536 people want to read
About the author
Lily Tuck
24books134followersLily Tuck is an American novelist and short story writer whose novel The News from Paraguay won the 2004 National Book Award for Fiction. Her novel Siam was nominated for the 2000 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. She has published four other novels, a collection of short stories, and a biography of Italian novelist Elsa Morante (see "Works" below).
An American citizen born in Paris, Tuck now divides her time between New York City and Maine; she has also lived in Thailand and (during her childhood) Uruguay and Peru. Tuck has stated that "living in other countries has given me a different perspective as a writer. It has heightened my sense of dislocation and rootlessness. ... I think this feeling is reflected in my characters, most of them women whose lives are changed by either a physical displacement or a loss of some kind".
An American citizen born in Paris, Tuck now divides her time between New York City and Maine; she has also lived in Thailand and (during her childhood) Uruguay and Peru. Tuck has stated that "living in other countries has given me a different perspective as a writer. It has heightened my sense of dislocation and rootlessness. ... I think this feeling is reflected in my characters, most of them women whose lives are changed by either a physical displacement or a loss of some kind".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews
October 10, 2017
3.5 Prose that is simple, exact and elegant. An inside look at a second marriage, and a wife that tries to fit herself into the shape left by the divorced wife. One of the quickest books I have read lately as these are snippets, snapshots, of different observations. The second wife is our narrator, and it is from her we find out about the husband, herself, she has a remarkable memory for places and things. The children from the first marriage, their conversations. When she talks about the first wife the she is always in italics, in this way her jealousy of the former marriage is noted. Almost dreamlike, but the ending comes quicky, jolts us out of our revelry.
ARC from Netgalley
ARC from Netgalley
December 18, 2017
Sabotage is like the fiendish thief in the night.
And, at times, we are the very ones who leave the door unlocked, inviting him in.
Lily Tuck creates a little treasure box of only 156 pages. But you and I will palm the tiny gems contained within for their eye-catching glow that speaks to us in its brevity. There's a trove of delicate threads that wind their way to the conclusion.
Our narrator remains unnamed throughout this story. But that appears to be the actual depth of the draw here. Tuck positions the reader to peer over her shoulder as she writes in an almost journalistic style.
The lamp is lit imposing shadows upon a second marriage. The narrator reveals the original garden rendezvous which invited an inevitable indiscretion. Now married, the couple seem to dance back and forth without the comforting embrace that they knew intimately as lovers.
Real life sets in with the narrator inheriting two teenage children and the phantom first wife. Although only designated as "she" in italics, this first wife takes on a foreboding presence in the life of our narrator. As the second wife, she douses herself in obsession day in and day out.
This one has received a love/hate response by reviewers. I'd say as a short little novella, it's worth dipping your toe into with its interesting take on gravitating toward the familiar. Just wait and see for yourself.
And, at times, we are the very ones who leave the door unlocked, inviting him in.
Lily Tuck creates a little treasure box of only 156 pages. But you and I will palm the tiny gems contained within for their eye-catching glow that speaks to us in its brevity. There's a trove of delicate threads that wind their way to the conclusion.
Our narrator remains unnamed throughout this story. But that appears to be the actual depth of the draw here. Tuck positions the reader to peer over her shoulder as she writes in an almost journalistic style.
The lamp is lit imposing shadows upon a second marriage. The narrator reveals the original garden rendezvous which invited an inevitable indiscretion. Now married, the couple seem to dance back and forth without the comforting embrace that they knew intimately as lovers.
Real life sets in with the narrator inheriting two teenage children and the phantom first wife. Although only designated as "she" in italics, this first wife takes on a foreboding presence in the life of our narrator. As the second wife, she douses herself in obsession day in and day out.
This one has received a love/hate response by reviewers. I'd say as a short little novella, it's worth dipping your toe into with its interesting take on gravitating toward the familiar. Just wait and see for yourself.
August 30, 2017
5�
“First and second wives are like sisters.
—Christopher Nicholson (Winter)�
[Quotation before the title page]
What a delightful surprise! I don’t remember what prompted me to read this small book, but if I’d listened to it instead of reading it, it would have been like sitting next to an interesting fellow traveller telling me about her life. (I don’t mean the dreaded boring, smelly guy who spills over onto my armrest and chair.)
I've heard it said that a couple who have children together remain related as siblings do, even after they've all moved on. I hadn't thought of successive wives being related, although multiple wives in a polygamous relationship can be like sisters, I believe. As caring and as catty!
She is the second wife and gradually reveals her story, weaving her way back and forth between today and then backtracking a bit to fill in the gaps. Like when you’re looking through a photo album and you want to know who someone is. (Again, I don’t mean the boring friend who ropes you into viewing their holiday snaps and gives you elaborate, blow-by-blow accounts of every person they met and how hysterically funny they were, and OH, you should have been there!)
The first wife was obviously considered special, possibly still longed-for by the husband. At the wedding of one of their children, they dance together.
“Next, he danced with his former wife and, to be honest, my heart sank as I watched them glide across the floor effortlessly to Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.� My husband was holding her tightly around the waist and she had her hand high up on his back, nearly touching his neck. I had to admit to myself that they looked good together.�
The first wife is always ’s� and always in italics. It’s hard to describe how enjoyable I found this � like eavesdropping maybe? Maybe hearing more than was intended, but getting a kick out of it and wondering who I could tell. A seemingly offhand remark is like those incidental things people tell you when you’re only half-listening. But she finishes with a snide comment that you know would make you laugh in sympathy.
“Our own wedding was small. My sister and her husband came from Austin, Texas. Eloise and Harold. Eloise is a few years younger than I am and we have never been close. Less so once she got married and she had kids, reasons I suppose for her to act superior to me. I’ve met her kids. Her kids are surly and overweight.�
I think that’s the last we hear of Eloise, but after hearing the crack about the kids, I’m drawn into the narrator’s confidence and probably going to sympathise, aren’t I? She fluctuates between cutting and snide to poignant and wistful. There’s an underlying longing and a desire to measure up to expectations.
But gradually, she mentions more little bits about her interaction with the first wife and the children. She browses through old photos and suspects that maybe ’s� and her relationship with her husband may not have been all he thought it was cracked up to be. She knows her own relationship may be questionable, and she’s seeking some kind of affirmation as to how she’s dealing with it.
If she had been my seatmate on a plane, I’d have wanted to pat her arm (perched thoughtfully on her part of the shared arm-rest, of course) and tell her she’s going to be fine, and I’m on her side. ’S� can go on her merry way, please.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted, so quotes may have changed.
“First and second wives are like sisters.
—Christopher Nicholson (Winter)�
[Quotation before the title page]
What a delightful surprise! I don’t remember what prompted me to read this small book, but if I’d listened to it instead of reading it, it would have been like sitting next to an interesting fellow traveller telling me about her life. (I don’t mean the dreaded boring, smelly guy who spills over onto my armrest and chair.)
I've heard it said that a couple who have children together remain related as siblings do, even after they've all moved on. I hadn't thought of successive wives being related, although multiple wives in a polygamous relationship can be like sisters, I believe. As caring and as catty!
She is the second wife and gradually reveals her story, weaving her way back and forth between today and then backtracking a bit to fill in the gaps. Like when you’re looking through a photo album and you want to know who someone is. (Again, I don’t mean the boring friend who ropes you into viewing their holiday snaps and gives you elaborate, blow-by-blow accounts of every person they met and how hysterically funny they were, and OH, you should have been there!)
The first wife was obviously considered special, possibly still longed-for by the husband. At the wedding of one of their children, they dance together.
“Next, he danced with his former wife and, to be honest, my heart sank as I watched them glide across the floor effortlessly to Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.� My husband was holding her tightly around the waist and she had her hand high up on his back, nearly touching his neck. I had to admit to myself that they looked good together.�
The first wife is always ’s� and always in italics. It’s hard to describe how enjoyable I found this � like eavesdropping maybe? Maybe hearing more than was intended, but getting a kick out of it and wondering who I could tell. A seemingly offhand remark is like those incidental things people tell you when you’re only half-listening. But she finishes with a snide comment that you know would make you laugh in sympathy.
“Our own wedding was small. My sister and her husband came from Austin, Texas. Eloise and Harold. Eloise is a few years younger than I am and we have never been close. Less so once she got married and she had kids, reasons I suppose for her to act superior to me. I’ve met her kids. Her kids are surly and overweight.�
I think that’s the last we hear of Eloise, but after hearing the crack about the kids, I’m drawn into the narrator’s confidence and probably going to sympathise, aren’t I? She fluctuates between cutting and snide to poignant and wistful. There’s an underlying longing and a desire to measure up to expectations.
But gradually, she mentions more little bits about her interaction with the first wife and the children. She browses through old photos and suspects that maybe ’s� and her relationship with her husband may not have been all he thought it was cracked up to be. She knows her own relationship may be questionable, and she’s seeking some kind of affirmation as to how she’s dealing with it.
If she had been my seatmate on a plane, I’d have wanted to pat her arm (perched thoughtfully on her part of the shared arm-rest, of course) and tell her she’s going to be fine, and I’m on her side. ’S� can go on her merry way, please.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted, so quotes may have changed.
October 8, 2017
Kind of weird, but kind of wonderful too.
This author packs so much in a scant 156 pages, I read it in under an hour. Why do I mention this? Because it’s not a lot of time to invest in a completely different reading experience and for those of us who like to shake it up every now and then, I would recommend this highly stylized and sensual novel.
It’s kind of masterful.
This author packs so much in a scant 156 pages, I read it in under an hour. Why do I mention this? Because it’s not a lot of time to invest in a completely different reading experience and for those of us who like to shake it up every now and then, I would recommend this highly stylized and sensual novel.
It’s kind of masterful.
November 14, 2017
Our unnamed narrator is unsure of her footing in her marriage. She constantly feels like she's walking in the shadow of her husband's ex-wife---never good enough, exciting enough, motherly or wifely enough. The book is presented as a series of short vignettes, almost like diary entries, and in each chapter the narrator shares various moments that inevitably made her feel insecure: her stepdaughter's wedding, an argument with her husband, a chance encounter with her husband's ex, etc. The narrator's worries and fears are most prominent, and not much actually happens in the story until the very end.
I don't often give one star reviews, but this book earned it. It may be that Sisters is just over my head. I can easily imagine The New Yorker calling it elegant and tastefully restrained or some BS like that. To me it just felt tedious. And heavy handed. Also pretentious, irritating, and so very SERIOUS. It might very well be that author Lily Tuck didn't really want her characters to be sympathetic, but it's hard to read a book about people you don't like---and not because they're deliciously evil, but because they're boring and basic and stupid. Good grief, this book has no soul.
If you're looking for something written in a similar style about a woman trying to understand and navigate complicated life circumstances, I'd recommend reading , , or . Truly, anything would be better than Sisters.
ARC provided by publisher through Net Galley.
See more of my reviews at !
I don't often give one star reviews, but this book earned it. It may be that Sisters is just over my head. I can easily imagine The New Yorker calling it elegant and tastefully restrained or some BS like that. To me it just felt tedious. And heavy handed. Also pretentious, irritating, and so very SERIOUS. It might very well be that author Lily Tuck didn't really want her characters to be sympathetic, but it's hard to read a book about people you don't like---and not because they're deliciously evil, but because they're boring and basic and stupid. Good grief, this book has no soul.
If you're looking for something written in a similar style about a woman trying to understand and navigate complicated life circumstances, I'd recommend reading , , or . Truly, anything would be better than Sisters.
ARC provided by publisher through Net Galley.
See more of my reviews at !
February 20, 2022
kitabın adını yadırgadım önce aslında. ilk sayfadaki alıntıya, yani bir adamın birinci ve ikinci karısının kızkardeşler olduğunu söyleyen alıntıya rağmen, garip geldi.
oysa lily tuck çok zor bir konuyu öylesine değiştik yerlerden ele almış ki bir süre sonra bu ifade beni rahatsız etmemeye başladı.
kısacık bir roman, novella. kısacık bölümler, iki üç satırlık yorumlarla ilerleyen bir anlatı.
buna rağmen oldukça yoğun ve derin bir roman yaratmayı başarmış lily tuck.
adını bilmediğimiz anlatıcı kocasının yine adını bilmediğimiz ilk karısına yavaş yavaş obsesyon geliştiriyor. piyanist olduğunu öğrendiğimiz ilk eşi merak etme duygusu bir süre sonra kıskançlık da diyemeyeceğimiz bir yere ilerliyor.
boşanmalarında bir dahli olmasa da kocasının kızı ve oğlunun sonraki eşe tavırları, sonra düzelen ilişkileri ama hep, hep yabancı olduğunu hissetmesi çok küçük ayrıntılarla verilmiş. kızın düğününde başka bir masada damadın akrabalarıyla oturtulması gibi.
düğünde eski karısıyla danseden kocasını gördüğünde hissettiklerini ya da kocasının evlenir evlenmez değişmesini, bazen yok sayılmasını hiçbir şekilde duygulara dayanarak anlatmıyor isimsiz anlatıcı. son derece nesnel, uzak, gazete haberi gibi mesafeli bir dille öğreniyoruz bunları.
daha çok yaptıklarından çıkarıyoruz duygularını. kocasının eski karısıyla kaç kere sevişmiş olabileceği hesabı, eski karısının oturduğu yere gidip saçma sapan bahanelerle alışveriş yapmak vs.. ama hiç istediği (ki aslında niçin istiyor, dertleşmek için mi, yalnızlığını konuşmak için mi, bu adam sana da kaba mıydı denek için mi� bilmiyoruz) yakınlığı kuramıyor. ne cesareti ne gücü var. karşı taraf da mesafeyi hiç bozmuyor zaten.
çocuklardan oğlan olana duyduğu yakınlık çocuğa sert davranan babasıyla aralarındaki en büyük tartışmayı oluşturuyor yavaş yavaş. ama zaten biz bu arada adamın anlatıcı açıkça söylemese hatta hiçbir şey söylemese bile tam bir öküz olduğuna karar vermiş bulunuyoruz. yine yediği haltları da seziyoruz anlatıcının verdiği ipuçları sayesinde. ki anlatıcımız da fena değil aslında :)
sonuçta hiç beklenmedik bir finale gidiyor roman. yazar hiçbir şeyi açıkça söylemediği gibi bunu da söylemiyor elbette. zaten roman lineer ilerlemiyor, hoplaya zıplaya ilerliyoruz. arada matematik kitabı alıntıları, mario vargas llosa’nın “üvey anneye övgü� romanından parçalar, piyano bilgileri gibi romana farklı bir yerden katkı sunan parçalar var. son olarak mahkeme formu için gerekenler sıralanıyor. eh hayat�
bu kadar az anlatarak bu kadar çok şeyi aktarmak büyük başarı. kurduğu uzak dil, nesnel anlatım lily tuck’� fransız kadın çağdaşlarına yaklaştırırken hiç bırakmadığı humoruyla ve her şeyle dalga geçmesiyle aslında amerikan edebiyat geleneğinden çıktığını biliyoruz.
eski eşten doğrudan bahsettiğinde italik bir biçimde “o� diye anılması kimden bahsedildiğini kolaylaştırıyor biraz. ama türkçede cinsiyetsiz kişi zamirleri sebebiyle pek çok bölümde cümle arasındaki “onun� “onla� ifadeleriyle kadından mı kocadan mı bahsedildiğini anlamak zor oldu bazen. zor derken cümleleri iki-üç kez okudum alt tarafı :) elime mi yapışacak. türkçenin azizliği :)
bu arada carson mccullers ve “düğünün bir üyesi”yle karşılaşmak muhteşemdi. en sevdiğim tesadüfler ☺️
oysa lily tuck çok zor bir konuyu öylesine değiştik yerlerden ele almış ki bir süre sonra bu ifade beni rahatsız etmemeye başladı.
kısacık bir roman, novella. kısacık bölümler, iki üç satırlık yorumlarla ilerleyen bir anlatı.
buna rağmen oldukça yoğun ve derin bir roman yaratmayı başarmış lily tuck.
adını bilmediğimiz anlatıcı kocasının yine adını bilmediğimiz ilk karısına yavaş yavaş obsesyon geliştiriyor. piyanist olduğunu öğrendiğimiz ilk eşi merak etme duygusu bir süre sonra kıskançlık da diyemeyeceğimiz bir yere ilerliyor.
boşanmalarında bir dahli olmasa da kocasının kızı ve oğlunun sonraki eşe tavırları, sonra düzelen ilişkileri ama hep, hep yabancı olduğunu hissetmesi çok küçük ayrıntılarla verilmiş. kızın düğününde başka bir masada damadın akrabalarıyla oturtulması gibi.
düğünde eski karısıyla danseden kocasını gördüğünde hissettiklerini ya da kocasının evlenir evlenmez değişmesini, bazen yok sayılmasını hiçbir şekilde duygulara dayanarak anlatmıyor isimsiz anlatıcı. son derece nesnel, uzak, gazete haberi gibi mesafeli bir dille öğreniyoruz bunları.
daha çok yaptıklarından çıkarıyoruz duygularını. kocasının eski karısıyla kaç kere sevişmiş olabileceği hesabı, eski karısının oturduğu yere gidip saçma sapan bahanelerle alışveriş yapmak vs.. ama hiç istediği (ki aslında niçin istiyor, dertleşmek için mi, yalnızlığını konuşmak için mi, bu adam sana da kaba mıydı denek için mi� bilmiyoruz) yakınlığı kuramıyor. ne cesareti ne gücü var. karşı taraf da mesafeyi hiç bozmuyor zaten.
çocuklardan oğlan olana duyduğu yakınlık çocuğa sert davranan babasıyla aralarındaki en büyük tartışmayı oluşturuyor yavaş yavaş. ama zaten biz bu arada adamın anlatıcı açıkça söylemese hatta hiçbir şey söylemese bile tam bir öküz olduğuna karar vermiş bulunuyoruz. yine yediği haltları da seziyoruz anlatıcının verdiği ipuçları sayesinde. ki anlatıcımız da fena değil aslında :)
sonuçta hiç beklenmedik bir finale gidiyor roman. yazar hiçbir şeyi açıkça söylemediği gibi bunu da söylemiyor elbette. zaten roman lineer ilerlemiyor, hoplaya zıplaya ilerliyoruz. arada matematik kitabı alıntıları, mario vargas llosa’nın “üvey anneye övgü� romanından parçalar, piyano bilgileri gibi romana farklı bir yerden katkı sunan parçalar var. son olarak mahkeme formu için gerekenler sıralanıyor. eh hayat�
bu kadar az anlatarak bu kadar çok şeyi aktarmak büyük başarı. kurduğu uzak dil, nesnel anlatım lily tuck’� fransız kadın çağdaşlarına yaklaştırırken hiç bırakmadığı humoruyla ve her şeyle dalga geçmesiyle aslında amerikan edebiyat geleneğinden çıktığını biliyoruz.
eski eşten doğrudan bahsettiğinde italik bir biçimde “o� diye anılması kimden bahsedildiğini kolaylaştırıyor biraz. ama türkçede cinsiyetsiz kişi zamirleri sebebiyle pek çok bölümde cümle arasındaki “onun� “onla� ifadeleriyle kadından mı kocadan mı bahsedildiğini anlamak zor oldu bazen. zor derken cümleleri iki-üç kez okudum alt tarafı :) elime mi yapışacak. türkçenin azizliği :)
bu arada carson mccullers ve “düğünün bir üyesi”yle karşılaşmak muhteşemdi. en sevdiğim tesadüfler ☺️
September 26, 2017
I did not get this book at all. It is a piffle, a nothing, and not stylistically impressive. I would complain that it was a waste of time, but it wasn't even that. I blew through it in no time at all. It didn't even leave me enough to complain about! Damn. I did not like this book.
July 9, 2024
Kısacık bir kitap Kız Kardeşler, çabucak okuyacağınızı sanıyorsunuz, çok isterseniz tek oturuşta okunur da. Bazı sayfalar sadece tek cümleden ibaret. Kitabı okumam üç günümü aldı, evet tembelim ama bu kitap kısacık olmasına rağmen çok yoğun. Kitabın epigrafından kitabın ismini de konusunu da anlıyoruz: “İlk ve ikinci eşler kız kardeş gibidir.� (Christopher Nicholson) Hikaye ikinci eşin ağzından anlatılıyor. İsimsiz anlatıcımız zamanda gidişler ve gelişlerle evliliğini, kocasının ilk eşini, çocuklarını ve kendi hayatının sadece gerekli gördüğü kısımlarını anlatıyor. Kocasının ilk evliliği artık bitmeye yakınken tanışıyorlar. İlk zamanalar kocasının ilk eşinin nasıl bir insan olduğunu merak ederken zamanla bu merak saplantıya dönüyor. İlk eşin çok iyi bir piyanist olması ama evlendiğinde bu hayalinden vazgeçmesi etkiliyor anlatıcıyı. Buna kocasının mı sebep olduğunu sorguluyor ki adama dair okuduklarımız bunun oldukça olası olduğunu söylüyor, adam dallamanın önde gideni (valla daha kibar nasıl anlatılır bilemedim). Adamın ne mal olduğu zaten kızının düğününde anlaşılıyor. Karısını (ikinciyi) damadın ailesinin masasına oturtmaları, düğünde ilk karısıyla dans etmesi ve anladığımız kadarıyla daha sonra da ikinci karısıyla dans etmemesi adama dair bayağı bir ipucu veriyor. Çocukların anlatıcıyı başta kabul etmemeleri, zamanla ilişkilerin düzelmesi ve bunların hep kadının çabasıyla olması. Anlatıcının ilk eşi yavaş yavaş saplantı haline getirmesi, ona dair sorduğu sorular çok yavaş veriliyor. Hatta ne var ki bunda, çok masum sorular bunlar diyorsunuz ama sürekli ilk eşin yaşadığı yerdeki markete gitmesi, markette ilk eşe rastlama umuduyla oyalandıkça oyalanması çok da normal değil, biliyorsunuz. Kocası ve çocukların Fransız yemeklerinden, Fransa’da adamın ilk karısıyla yaşadığı zamanlardan ve mekanlardan bahsetmeleri anlatıcıya kendini bilgisiz ve dışlanmış hissettiriyor, ilk eşi daha da merak ettiriyor ve buna karşılık anlatıcının Fransızca öğrenmeye çalışması da okurun içini acıtıyor. Ve kitap yavaş yavaş kaçınılmaz sona gidiyor.
Yazarın kitapta kullandığı anlatım tarzı ise muhteşem. Zamanda atlamalar, bölümlerin kısalığı, araya eklenen matematik, müzik tarihine dair bilgiler hepsi kurgunun başarısını artırıyor. Yazarın her şeyi açık açık anlatmayıp satır aralarında hissettirme becerisineyse hayran kaldım. Sonuç olarak Kız Kardeşler kısa, istenirse bir oturuşta okunabilen, tekniğiyle okuru mest eden bir kitap.
Yazarın kitapta kullandığı anlatım tarzı ise muhteşem. Zamanda atlamalar, bölümlerin kısalığı, araya eklenen matematik, müzik tarihine dair bilgiler hepsi kurgunun başarısını artırıyor. Yazarın her şeyi açık açık anlatmayıp satır aralarında hissettirme becerisineyse hayran kaldım. Sonuç olarak Kız Kardeşler kısa, istenirse bir oturuşta okunabilen, tekniğiyle okuru mest eden bir kitap.
July 2, 2017
“First and second wives are like sisters�. And isn’t that often the case! Fortunately my husband had an amicable and transparent divorce, but I distinctly remember past relationships and the obsessions I’ve felt with the past “Mrs. So-and-So.�
With Sisters, Lily Tuck aptly and skillfully captures this obsession. Her unnamed narrator spends ample time fantasizing about the first wife—what she was like, her habits and passions and how the twof them measure up o up. Not unlike Daphne Du Maurier’s unnamed second wife in Rebecca, the fantasy takes on a life of its own.
The beauty of the book is in Lily Tuck’s use of pronouns: “she� refers to the ex and is always italicized, the two children they shared are typically referred to as “his daughter� or “his son� (and, in rare cases, “her daughter/son�, but never “their�.)
Of course, the relationship between our narrator and her husband stems from a betrayal, and so, as this short novel (a novella, really) careens towards its conclusion, we recognize that the author has a trick or two up her sleeve. The book only takes an hour or so to read and I wanted more time with these characters.
With Sisters, Lily Tuck aptly and skillfully captures this obsession. Her unnamed narrator spends ample time fantasizing about the first wife—what she was like, her habits and passions and how the twof them measure up o up. Not unlike Daphne Du Maurier’s unnamed second wife in Rebecca, the fantasy takes on a life of its own.
The beauty of the book is in Lily Tuck’s use of pronouns: “she� refers to the ex and is always italicized, the two children they shared are typically referred to as “his daughter� or “his son� (and, in rare cases, “her daughter/son�, but never “their�.)
Of course, the relationship between our narrator and her husband stems from a betrayal, and so, as this short novel (a novella, really) careens towards its conclusion, we recognize that the author has a trick or two up her sleeve. The book only takes an hour or so to read and I wanted more time with these characters.
March 24, 2017
The remarkable flow of this fascinating short novel is mesmerizing. A difficult proposition if forced to put it down, and rare in the book-reading business. A writer who knows words and what they do, who thinks about the many questions posed in life, and one who examines them with courage and relentless charm. Lily Tuck is a great choice to spend extended time with.
I first heard of Lily Tuck in a fiction-writing class was conducting during the summer of 1995 in Bloomington, Indiana. Tuck was another of the many writers Lish had acquired in his stable as editor for seventeen years at Alfred Knopf. But in class he championed loudly the skills of Lily Tuck and brought her to the attention of perhaps hundreds of his students. And because there were so many writers the great Lish published in his tenure at Knopf, and for the most part commercial failures amounting to a high percentage, Tuck has gone basically unnoticed by the mainstream, even though she won the coveted 2004 National Book Award in fiction for her novel . Her first book, published by Lish, , remains on my shelf, still unread after two previous false starts. But after reading Sisters I am intent now on a sufficiently renewed attack on those pages as soon as possible. Tuck is sophisticated, and obviously born of that class, based on her range of knowledge of the cultural elite.
Few writers can make you feel you are with them in the room. Intimately. Lily Tuck employs with her voice several anecdotal references to expensive tastes. With the ear of a classic composer, she plays her song adroitly, and disregarding the consequences of infidelities, makes them all feel worth it.
January 5, 2018
It’s curious to think about the strange bond that we share with our romantic partner’s exes. Nobody else knows our partner so intimately in their habits, strengths, faults, secrets and sexual proclivities. Yet these exes typically remain people entirely unknown to us in reality (unless our partners happen to still see them frequently). So it’s fascinating how Lily Tuck writes about this unique bond in her new novel “Sisters� where the unnamed narrator describes her preoccupation with her husband’s ex-wife. Although they barely ever encounter each other in real life this ex-wife’s presence is felt everywhere from the memories her husband maintains to the teenage step children in the house. She feels oddly bound to the ex-wife like a sister, but her feelings are largely antagonistic and competitive. Tuck writes about the narrator’s obsession with this ex-wife in deft, sharp prose which allude to her complicated emotions rather than spelling them out. This is powerfully effective and the fast-paced story works up to a gripping climax.
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June 18, 2017
This book is somewhat confusing to me. It seemed to flit from one subject to another in random thoughts, although I did like the writing. Some of the descriptions of music or art are beautifully written. This is a very short book about a second wife and her insecurities - always comparing herself to the first wife and seeming to fall short. This is most liking true of most second wives, especially when there are children involved as there are here. The ending is truly an end - I'm also sure this happens sometimes.
Thanks to Lily Tuck and Grove Atlantic through NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Lily Tuck and Grove Atlantic through NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 23, 2017
I had no interest in reading a book about domestic strife, as I usually find that topic a bit unsettling. However, this novel has received some great reviews, and I've heard nothing but good things about Lily Tuck. So I picked it up in the bookstore, sat down with it, and was still sitting there an hour later, halfway through the book. Any author that can make me do that deserves my hard-earned money. So I finished this book almost immediately after purchase. (I bought a sandwich and finished reading it in my car. Seriously.) This book is about a woman married to a man who has been divorced. She becomes obsessed with his ex-wife, primarily because her husband is a bit of a dick and doesn't meet her emotional needs at all. This is a short novel, with sections like quick bursts from a diary. You will empathize with the protagonist, and want to slap her at the same time. It was a really great read with some chilling moments of everyday cruelty between people that supposedly love each other.
September 10, 2023
Kız Kardeşler hızlı okunan oldukça başarılı bir metin. Kitap bir adamın ikinci eşinin gözünden ilk eşiyle olan ilişkisini ve evliliğini anlatıyor. Kıskançlık, toksik ilişkiler,edebiyat ve müzik dünyasından keyifli anekdotlar okumak mümkün bu romanda.
May 8, 2017
It barely took me an hour to read "Sisters", Lily Tuck's latest novel (novella? short story?). Written in brief paragraphs, smoothly flowing in an almost stream-of-consciousness style, it makes for an entertaining and deceptively easy read. In reality, in this book there is so much that is subtly suggested and cunningly implied, that it packs in its few pages the effect of a novel thrice its length.
The unnamed narrator's marriage is haunted by the presence of her new husband's first wife - ominously referred to throughout as she - whom he divorced to marry the narrator. After some initial awkwardness, the narrator manages to maintain a decent relationship with her husband's son and daughter and, to a lesser extent, also with she/her. But we soon learn that beneath the genteel veneer, there is a lurking obsession, an all-consuming jealousy.
The bare bones of the plot will inevitably draw comparisons with Du Maurier's , as both the author and her erudite narrator are very much aware. Indeed, there are knowing references to Du Maurier's novel which are quickly turned on their head ("I dreamed - not that I went back to Manderley - that I was in a big city..."). Similarly, that novel's dark, Gothic atmosphere is here replaced by a different sort of darkness - the darkness of black humour and biting satire, as we witness the making and unmaking of a contemporary marriage. Brilliant, witty stuff; sparkling like the champagne which propels the book to its denouement.
An electronic version of this novel was provided through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
The unnamed narrator's marriage is haunted by the presence of her new husband's first wife - ominously referred to throughout as she - whom he divorced to marry the narrator. After some initial awkwardness, the narrator manages to maintain a decent relationship with her husband's son and daughter and, to a lesser extent, also with she/her. But we soon learn that beneath the genteel veneer, there is a lurking obsession, an all-consuming jealousy.
The bare bones of the plot will inevitably draw comparisons with Du Maurier's , as both the author and her erudite narrator are very much aware. Indeed, there are knowing references to Du Maurier's novel which are quickly turned on their head ("I dreamed - not that I went back to Manderley - that I was in a big city..."). Similarly, that novel's dark, Gothic atmosphere is here replaced by a different sort of darkness - the darkness of black humour and biting satire, as we witness the making and unmaking of a contemporary marriage. Brilliant, witty stuff; sparkling like the champagne which propels the book to its denouement.
An electronic version of this novel was provided through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
August 15, 2023
Değişik ve güzel buldum�
İsimsiz bir kadın kısa paragraflar ve bölümler halinde, kocasından ziyade onun ilk eşine odaklanarak, evliliğini anlatıyor. Kadının ilk eşe merakı giderek takıntı halini alıyor, sürekli kendini onunla karşılaştırmaya başlıyor. Satır aralarında ise ipuçları ve sürprizler saklı, adım adım kadını bu hale iten nedenler açığa çıkıyor�
Kısa olmasına rağmen güçlü bir metin, okurken bir kez daha biz kadınların özgüvenini her fırsatta zedeleyen insanlara ve kalıplara söylendim...
İsimsiz bir kadın kısa paragraflar ve bölümler halinde, kocasından ziyade onun ilk eşine odaklanarak, evliliğini anlatıyor. Kadının ilk eşe merakı giderek takıntı halini alıyor, sürekli kendini onunla karşılaştırmaya başlıyor. Satır aralarında ise ipuçları ve sürprizler saklı, adım adım kadını bu hale iten nedenler açığa çıkıyor�
Kısa olmasına rağmen güçlü bir metin, okurken bir kez daha biz kadınların özgüvenini her fırsatta zedeleyen insanlara ve kalıplara söylendim...
November 21, 2017
We never learn either the ex-wife or the new wife’s name, but somehow, in just a few pages, we understand these women intimately. The new wife is obsessed with the ex, beginning with a photograph of her pushing an old black pram and walking a black and white terrier while she was still married to her husband and they lived in France. When the new wife has insomnia, she counts the number of times she, the ex-wife, and her husband made love. The new wife is so obsessed, she begins shopping in the same Manhattan grocery store where she shops. Surprisingly, since she’s nearly 40, employed and seemingly has a life of her own, she goes to phone booths, calls the ex-wife, and hangs up. The story gets progressively creepier when she begins taking French lessons because she, too, wants to go to France.
But by the time her obsession has hit full throttle, we sense something is not right with the marriage. After all, the new wife met her husband while he was still married. After they married, he called out his ex-wife’s name while they made love. He danced with his ex at his daughter’s wedding while his new wife pouted at a separate table, hardly an appropriate way to treat your spouse. He came home from business trips tired and hung over. He even called out another woman’s name in his sleep.
She becomes friendly with her husband’s two children, a son and a daughter. They wish her a happy 40th birthday.
But nothing prepares us for her 40th birthday celebration. Some of the beautifully-written paragraphs seem out of context until, bam, the night of her birthday arrives. So that’s where that other part of the story was headed. Now we get it. But we don’t see it coming.
The prose is engaging. The timing is nice. The story is interspersed with some mathematical theory of Hermann Grassmann and interesting accounts of the pianist and conductor Seymour Lipkin that become relevant at the end of the story.
Tuck puts an odd spin on the universal theme of infidelity. Obsession is universal, too, but we usually think of it as pining over a lover. Obsessing over an ex-wife exists but no one talks about it. Here, the obsession over an ex-wife is split open for all to examine in gut-wrenching detail. It’s not much different from a lover’s obsession.
But by the time her obsession has hit full throttle, we sense something is not right with the marriage. After all, the new wife met her husband while he was still married. After they married, he called out his ex-wife’s name while they made love. He danced with his ex at his daughter’s wedding while his new wife pouted at a separate table, hardly an appropriate way to treat your spouse. He came home from business trips tired and hung over. He even called out another woman’s name in his sleep.
She becomes friendly with her husband’s two children, a son and a daughter. They wish her a happy 40th birthday.
But nothing prepares us for her 40th birthday celebration. Some of the beautifully-written paragraphs seem out of context until, bam, the night of her birthday arrives. So that’s where that other part of the story was headed. Now we get it. But we don’t see it coming.
The prose is engaging. The timing is nice. The story is interspersed with some mathematical theory of Hermann Grassmann and interesting accounts of the pianist and conductor Seymour Lipkin that become relevant at the end of the story.
Tuck puts an odd spin on the universal theme of infidelity. Obsession is universal, too, but we usually think of it as pining over a lover. Obsessing over an ex-wife exists but no one talks about it. Here, the obsession over an ex-wife is split open for all to examine in gut-wrenching detail. It’s not much different from a lover’s obsession.
February 9, 2018
‘Tuck’s latest work is understated, seemingly simplistic, but full of innuendo, of the complexities of human relationships.�
Otago Daily Times
‘It took me a mere ninety minutes to read Lily Tuck’s Sisters which might lead you to think it’s a slight, inconsequential piece of fiction, but that’s far from the case. A sharp psychological study of obsession with a neat sting in its tail, it’s completely riveting.�
A Life in Books
‘Weaving together a multitude of literary references, delicate symbolism and inner monologue, Sisters is a well-executed exploration into the complexities of relationships and of how to live with unbearable imperfection.�
Culture Trip
‘A slow unravelling � Unsettling.�
Age
‘A short yet sharp book…As far as quick, nuanced reads go about marriage, jealousy and love, this seems unsurpassed and quite simply, lovely.�
AU Review
‘In her signature crisp, exacting prose, Tuck’s seventh novel haunts the territory of marital jealousy with delicacy and finesse�
Kirkus
‘With her signature clipped and measured prose, National Book Award winner Tuck’s new novel is elegant, raw, and powerful.�
Kirkus reviews, starred review
‘Sٱ slices straight to the heart of a marriage burdened by infidelity and obsession. It’s powerful and insightful, recounted in an elegantly wistful style that makes the sudden climax all the more impactful. Plenty of style, and despite its slimness, a lot of substance.�
Written by Sime
Otago Daily Times
‘It took me a mere ninety minutes to read Lily Tuck’s Sisters which might lead you to think it’s a slight, inconsequential piece of fiction, but that’s far from the case. A sharp psychological study of obsession with a neat sting in its tail, it’s completely riveting.�
A Life in Books
‘Weaving together a multitude of literary references, delicate symbolism and inner monologue, Sisters is a well-executed exploration into the complexities of relationships and of how to live with unbearable imperfection.�
Culture Trip
‘A slow unravelling � Unsettling.�
Age
‘A short yet sharp book…As far as quick, nuanced reads go about marriage, jealousy and love, this seems unsurpassed and quite simply, lovely.�
AU Review
‘In her signature crisp, exacting prose, Tuck’s seventh novel haunts the territory of marital jealousy with delicacy and finesse�
Kirkus
‘With her signature clipped and measured prose, National Book Award winner Tuck’s new novel is elegant, raw, and powerful.�
Kirkus reviews, starred review
‘Sٱ slices straight to the heart of a marriage burdened by infidelity and obsession. It’s powerful and insightful, recounted in an elegantly wistful style that makes the sudden climax all the more impactful. Plenty of style, and despite its slimness, a lot of substance.�
Written by Sime
January 19, 2018
This felt like an outline of a novel; bare bones with no character development. The ending came out of nowhere and I could not muster an ounce of sympathy for the protagonist.
October 2, 2017
This book is very different. It's extremely short and doesn't have a lot of content. However, I found myself immediately thinking outside of the book and filling in details about the relationships. It was mildly entertaining.
So I'm still thinking about this book and I realize that I liked it a lot. 4 stars. haha
So I'm still thinking about this book and I realize that I liked it a lot. 4 stars. haha
May 13, 2017
Good short - I enjoyed it, in fact I kept returning to it amongst my chores until I abandoned them and sat with it till I finished.
Whilst reading I had some doubt about the title, if it is appropriate? But when I finished I thought yes, it fits, it more than fits, Tuck made it fit beautifully.
They were sisters, at least according to the narrator's perspective, in fact they had a lot in common according to that perspective of course. I like how Tuck uncovered our protagonist layer by layer even by her choice of quotes or books she is talking about or say the missing pills. She gives us clues, layers, all so quietly, seamlessly sown in. All in a world shrinking bit by bit to contain just them two.
Somehow setting aside a very concrete doubt about obsessiveness, I'd say that they'd have a good relationship where it ever to happen.
An ARC gently provided by the author/publisher through Netgalley.
September 5, 2017
GNab I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Lily Tuck and Atlantic Monthly Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your work with me.
I had not 'found' Lily Tuck prior to reading this short novel. I love finding a great writer with backstories to keep me going until their next hits the stands. Sisters is an excellent tale, very witty in places and sad in others, about the obsession of the 'other woman' wife number two about wife number one. We cannot even name these two ladies, but we know them down to their roots before this tale is over. An excellent read, easily digested and something I am happy to recommend to family and friends. I will want to read this novel again in winter when this farmer has the time to savor each word.
pub date Sept 5, 2017
I had not 'found' Lily Tuck prior to reading this short novel. I love finding a great writer with backstories to keep me going until their next hits the stands. Sisters is an excellent tale, very witty in places and sad in others, about the obsession of the 'other woman' wife number two about wife number one. We cannot even name these two ladies, but we know them down to their roots before this tale is over. An excellent read, easily digested and something I am happy to recommend to family and friends. I will want to read this novel again in winter when this farmer has the time to savor each word.
pub date Sept 5, 2017
November 25, 2017
A very short, rather endearing novel, that may not be long remembered. Involves the wife in a second marriage. Overall, I enjoyed.
June 26, 2018
A nuanced glimpse into the world of a second wife obsessed by the first.
February 12, 2022
Kız kardeşler oldukça deneysel bir kitap. Kocasının eski hayatı, çocukları, eski karısı hakkında takıntılı olduğu izlenimi daha ilk sayfada veren kadın, hayatından bölük börçük görüntüler anlatıyor bize. Sıradan bir kelimenin ya da basit bir olayın insanın zihnindeki çağrışımlarını görüyoruz ve tuhaf yansımalarına şahit oluyoruz. Nihayetinde hiç ummadığımız bir sonuca ulaşıyoruz. Beklenmedik, minimal, farklı bir kitaptı. Beğendim
December 11, 2017
This book has a deceptively low score on ŷ. Please don't let that scare you away. To read the rest of this review .
October 6, 2017
Just "meh". Will possibly not remember this book when the year is over. It seems like the author can write well, but this book was not an example of it.
It is just vapid, nothing to write home about. I can see the author was trying to write it as diary entries, and I can see the structure, but the structure alone did not impress me.
As for emotions and characters, the book is about the group of two-dimensional characters, and no one was interesting, appealing, or was vivid enough to image. I did not care about any of them - they were just sketches, beings I would have never recognized as humans were they flesh and blood.
I am wondering if it is the publisher's demand and pressure to write at least something or is it the personal goal to have something published to stay in the limelight of the publishing world, or the intentions were expressed in inchoate form, but the book did not touch a single fiber in me.
It is just vapid, nothing to write home about. I can see the author was trying to write it as diary entries, and I can see the structure, but the structure alone did not impress me.
As for emotions and characters, the book is about the group of two-dimensional characters, and no one was interesting, appealing, or was vivid enough to image. I did not care about any of them - they were just sketches, beings I would have never recognized as humans were they flesh and blood.
I am wondering if it is the publisher's demand and pressure to write at least something or is it the personal goal to have something published to stay in the limelight of the publishing world, or the intentions were expressed in inchoate form, but the book did not touch a single fiber in me.
September 4, 2017
This is a very short book -- a novella I guess -- that admittedly packs a lot into a very short amount of space. Wife #2 is obsessed with wife #1 after meeting husband while he was still married to wife #1. Nobody gets names in this novel: the anonymous narrator calls wife #1 "she." I wasn't fond of the not-quite-out-of-left-field ending, or our narrator, but why I really didn't enjoy this book very much was that I felt it tried much too hard to be literary and sophisticated, with all these references to other works that took up a lot of space. It ended up reading like an episode of literary Chopped, where the author had all these various unrelated works in her basket and had to weave a story around them. The final product just didn't win me over -- it was not tasteful to me at all.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 28, 2018
I wanted something short to make myself feel like I was accomplishing something while doing some boring household stuff, and this book was perfect. It's not earth-shattering, it is about a weird relationship between the first and the second wife of an unnamed person. The second wife is obsessed, understandably, by the shadow the first wife continues to cast over her family. Things happen. It's a very slim novel, but concise.
Gabra Zackman does a great job of narrating.
Gabra Zackman does a great job of narrating.
March 27, 2017
I am a Lily Tuck fan and Sisters does not disappoint. Tuck captures the awkwardness of being the second wife through literary and musical references. A read between the lines story, I enjoyed this slim novel immensely.
Copy provided by NetGalley
Copy provided by NetGalley
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