Sunday, 10 March 2024

'The Sisters' by Claire Douglas


 

This book left me disappointed on so many fronts.  

Firstly, the book relies heavily on a juvenile fascination with the physical attractiveness of its characters, which at times feels gratuitous and lacks depth.  

The novel's emphasis on the importance of outward beauty perpetuates a shallow perspective, detracting from the potential depth and complexity that could have enriched the storyline. We have a story where the main characters are all body beautiful anyone else hardly worth a mention. Body shaming and negative role models for young women very much came to my mind.   

Although the dynamic of the relationship of twins should be an interesting topic all the negatives of the book prevented it from being so.  

The relationship between Ben and Bea mirrored very much the dynamics of the film ‘Cruel Intentions,’ which lacks originality and contributes to a sense of predictability throughout the book.  

 The repetitive nature of the interactions among Ben, Bea, and Abi, especially within the context of their romantic entanglements and cruelty to one another, diminishes the overall narrative quality and fails to bring meaningful developments to the forefront.   

Furthermore, the story takes an improbable turn with an ending that allows someone to evade the consequences of attempted murder solely because of love. This unrealistic resolution erodes the story's credibility, as it seems implausible that Abi's parents, among others, would not seek justice for such a serious crime.  

‘The Sisters’ presents a narrative fraught with shallow characters and a tired exploration of love and competition, all of this left me wanting more substance and originality.  

Marks out of ten – A generous 4  

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