About the Book
In the tradition of Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping and Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge comes a dazzling debut novel about the family bonds that remain even when they seem irretrievably torn apart.
Growing up in hardscrabble Kentucky in the 1920s, with their mother dead and their stepfather an ever-present threat, Bertie Fischer and her older sister, Mabel, have no one but each other--with perhaps a sweetheart for Bertie waiting in the wings. But on the day that Bertie receives her eighth-grade diploma, good intentions go terribly wrong, setting off a chain of misunderstandings that will send the sisters on separate paths and reverberate through their daughters' and granddaughters' lives.
What happens when nothing turns out as you planned? From the Depression through World War II and Vietnam, and smaller events both tragic and joyful, Bertie and Mabel forge unexpected identities and raise daughters--and sisters--of their own, learning that love and betrayal are even more complicated than they seem. Gorgeously written, with extraordinary insight and emotional truth, Nancy Jensen's debut novel illuminates the far-reaching power of family and family secrets.
About the Author :
Nancy Jensen is a graduate of the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College. Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Northwest Review, Other Voices, Under the Sun, and the Louisville Review. She lives in Kentucky, where she was awarded an Artist Enrichment grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and an Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council. The Sisters is her first novel.
Read by Cassandra Campbell, Gabrielle de Cuir, Richard Gilliland, Jamye Grant, Stephen Hoye, Alex Hyde-White, Sunil Malhotra, Arthur Morey, P. J. Ochlan, and Stefan Rudnicki
Review :
"Cassandra Campbell provides a gripping performance...Campbell narrates this epic story with grace and understanding...Nancy Jensen's compelling novel unfolds a tapestry woven across generations, intricate in its detail, illustrating the events that tear families apart yet bind them, inextricably, together."
-- "AudioFile"
"I have seldom read a debut novel that has moved me more deeply than The Sisters. This story of Mabel and Bertie covers eighty years and three generations of women who fight the battlefields of their past, tangled links and secrets, not able to unlock what they have kept 'caged, ' and not being able to reveal what they have shared during their divisions and reunions. The author's unique talent to tell a story about 'her women' will take you on a journey with these poignant characters and open your heart to every emotion it can possibly hold. Heartwarming, heart-wrenching, and so beautifully told that you will find yourself walking each step in the soulful shadows of the sisters and the loved ones they try, in each their own way, to protect. This is a five-star plus recommendation from me."
-- "Carol Hicks, the Bookshelf, Truckee, California"
"The American Dream has most often been a myth, particularly for women, with reality usually being a hardscrabble life with survival being the main goal. In The Sisters, Mabel and Bertie and their succeeding generations span the twentieth century, and their struggles mirror those of the society surrounding them. While crucial decisions and misunderstandings often lead to tragedy for the women of the two families, the characters demonstrate a strength and resilience that enables each to eventually triumph and lead a life of substance on their own terms...Readers will be both provoked and moved by this story of two sisters whose lives are lived apart yet, in the end, always tied by the bonds of blood and love."
-- "Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan"
"You'll be drawn into the arms of The Sisters as if these women were your own family. You'll want to hold them, warn them, betray their secrets. But this is a novel, one that is fresh and vibrant and complex. You cannot live the sisters' lives, but only share in their joy and heartbreak and ultimate triumph. A remarkably powerful book."
-- "Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author"
"A beautiful and touching novel about the events and choices that shape not only our lives but the lives of generations to come. Nancy Jensen takes us on an epic yet intimate journey through eighty years, ultimately revealing the flawed but lovely landscape that makes up a family. Her characters will stay with us long after the book's final pages."
-- "Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author"
"Cassandra Campbell's narration is warm, rich, and a pleasure to listen to. She creates distinctive voices for all the characters, and her tone conveys deep empathy and compassion. Campbell is even able to make the stepfather--who is evil and wholly unsympathetic--believable and authentic, his voice tough and hard yet laden with the frustrations and disappointments of his own life. Additionally, Campbell lends voices to the book's numerous children and grandchildren that reflect their separate personalities and dreams."
-- "Publishers Weekly (starred audio review)"
"In alternating chapters, Jensen chronicles the difficult, often traumatic lives of four generations of women who descend from the Fischer sisters...While the legacy of Mabel's courageous sacrifice and Bertie's barely suppressed anger is 'a map of sadness and loss, ' it's brightened by their resilience and the promise seen in the youngest members of the family."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"This is a gripping novel of how one missed connection between two sisters can affect the generations to follow...The novel covers generations of women beginning in 1927 and ending in 2007. Each of their lives changed because of one misunderstanding. Each generation struggles to find their own way in life and to maintain the fragile connections of family. Hauntingly real, this will make a great book club choice."
-- "Karen Vail, Titcomb's Bookshop, Massachusetts"
"This is a powerful story of women, two sisters from a small town in Kentucky. In 1927, a tragedy and a misunderstanding separate them when they are both in their teens. We follow their stories and those of their daughters up to 2007. Jensen shows us lives cobbled together out of fear and pain that her strong women are able to use as building blocks to something resembling happiness or at least stability. Jensen's debut novel is a page-turner as each decade brings new questions and new answers about our protagonists' lives."
-- "Marian Nielsen, Orinda Books, California"
