Helpful Score: 4
Well, if you are interested in moths this is a great book. I have to say the author must have done a ton of research on moths to get so much detail written. Too bad she didn't spend as much time researching how to write a decent novel.
Helpful Score: 3
Ugh, Poppy Adams should stick to documentary TV. Predictable, pedantic, sloggish.... just ugh.
Helpful Score: 3
I thought this was a fabulous story because the author gradually lets the reader in on the mental stability of the sister narrating the book. You would never guess the ending based on the beginning of the book. Wow!!!! Yes, the moth stuff was a little scientific, but I enjoyed the metaphor.
Helpful Score: 2
i kept reading, hoping and hoping it would get better, but it never did. and note to ms. adams, moths are boring!
Helpful Score: 2
Quirky, peculiar - there is no other way to describe...
Helpful Score: 1
"A recluse awaits the return of her sister after a 47-year absence in this must-read novel. Her arrival unlocks the twisted truths of the past, with chilling consequences.
Ginny has always adored her younger sister, Vivien. As they grew up in the vast and crumbling Victorian mansion known as Bulburrow Court, Vivi was adventurous while Ginny was the quiet one, the daughter who stayed behind to follow in their father's (and grandfather's) footsteps as a lepidopterista scientist who collects and studies butterflies and mothsand to take care of their father after their mother's tragic death.
Now, nearly 50 years later, as Ginny anxiously waits and watches from her lookout on the first floor, she wonders why her sister is returning. Living alone with dusty cabinets full of moth specimens and research material collected over several generations, Ginny has retreated into the precise routines and isolation that define her days. Vivien's appearance will unsettle the house and the dark secrets it contains will be exposed, causing Ginny to question who has been protecting whom for all these years. And as the time of emergence approacheswhen moths shed their winter cocoons to fly freeGinny and Vivien will finally reveal their true selves, leading to a terrible confrontation."
http://www.cookeagency.ca/books/Adams-P_The-Sister.htm
found this book to be rather slow, and dissatisfying at the end. I didn't find the characters engaging and the plot sagged, although I thought it had real potential.
Ginny has always adored her younger sister, Vivien. As they grew up in the vast and crumbling Victorian mansion known as Bulburrow Court, Vivi was adventurous while Ginny was the quiet one, the daughter who stayed behind to follow in their father's (and grandfather's) footsteps as a lepidopterista scientist who collects and studies butterflies and mothsand to take care of their father after their mother's tragic death.
Now, nearly 50 years later, as Ginny anxiously waits and watches from her lookout on the first floor, she wonders why her sister is returning. Living alone with dusty cabinets full of moth specimens and research material collected over several generations, Ginny has retreated into the precise routines and isolation that define her days. Vivien's appearance will unsettle the house and the dark secrets it contains will be exposed, causing Ginny to question who has been protecting whom for all these years. And as the time of emergence approacheswhen moths shed their winter cocoons to fly freeGinny and Vivien will finally reveal their true selves, leading to a terrible confrontation."
http://www.cookeagency.ca/books/Adams-P_The-Sister.htm
found this book to be rather slow, and dissatisfying at the end. I didn't find the characters engaging and the plot sagged, although I thought it had real potential.
Helpful Score: 1
It was just OK...I learned about moths though.
Helpful Score: 1
This was an okay read - two sisters are reunited when one comes back to the ancestral family home where the other has been living alone for nearly fifty years. A lot of time is spent studying moths in this book, and while it's interesting (and I actually did learn some interesting facts about moths and caterpillars), I felt there was too much of that and not enough story.
The story is told from the point of view of the elder of the two, and little by little the tale of their past comes together, involving their relationship, family secrets and the death of their mother. It gets interesting, but I think comes up a bit short, aside from a quick jolt of suspense at the end.
The story is told from the point of view of the elder of the two, and little by little the tale of their past comes together, involving their relationship, family secrets and the death of their mother. It gets interesting, but I think comes up a bit short, aside from a quick jolt of suspense at the end.
I am always gratified when I disregard negative reviews, read a book anyway,and discover a gem. "The Sister" by Poppy Adams is a prime example. Yes, there is some meandering into the field of lepidoptery (study of moths and butterflies), but it's part of the character development. Virginia,the eccentric narrator, is proud of her scientific bent. As she says, "I may not understand people, but I have an instinct for insects." She tells an eerie, but somewhat familiar, tale of dysfunction in the family. I found Ms Adams' first novel a satisfying read with an appropriate ending. At its high points, I found myself reminded of Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine. Not too shabby!
I was definitely going to put this book down after having read the first part of it. Gets very technical with many scientific terms about lapitdoptery and moths and stuff. Then the book really started to become more interesting. Vivian & Virginia Stone grow up with a revered lepidopterist father and a rather socialite mother. Virginia wants more than the quiet life and leaves to marry and live in London. Meanwhile, Vivian stays in the home and experiences the life that Virginia ran away from, with good reason, it turns out.
The ending left me a little flat, not quite sure how to feel about it. Will want someone else to review it and maybe I can find a little more closure.
The ending left me a little flat, not quite sure how to feel about it. Will want someone else to review it and maybe I can find a little more closure.
