Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

★★★★

I read this whole book in a single day. It was an easy read, but good.  Audrey Niffenegger is also the author of The Time Traveler's Wife, which I've also read. I enjoyed this book a lot more although there are clearly some themes that the two books have in common.


The theme of individuals traveling and communicating in ways that aren't typically possible is at the forefront, as well as some rather twisted personal relationships. I was incredibly uncomfortable about the romantic relationship in The Time Traveler's Wife, which, although made to seem beautiful, was in actuality somewhat disturbing. He knew her as both an adult and as a child, which is, at the least strange, and at the most somewhat perverse.
In Her Fearful Symmetry, there are ghosts, two sets of twins, and some very strange familial/sexual relationships. The tone of the book is sufficiently dark that you can anticipate the plot twists with relative ease, I thought. Basically, if there is a bad thing that can happen, it likely will.  

One interesting aspect of the book however, is that at the end, you're really not sure if the characters have been manipulated by Elspeth or not. She definitely seems to play on their weaknesses, but it's almost as if they want to be manipulated because they also seem to want what she wants.  

Either way, it was a fun read, quick and intriguing.