Sisters

A Novel

By: Daisy Johnson

Narrated by: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anna Koval

Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

“[A] skillfully crafted gothic mystery.... Johnson pulls off a great feat in this book.” (Financial Times)

“It reminded me, in its general refusal to play nice, of early Ian McEwan.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Johnson crafts an aching thriller about the dangers of loving too intensely.” (Time)

From a Booker Prize finalist and international literary star: a blazing portrait of one darkly riveting sibling relationship, from the inside out.

“One of her generation’s most intriguing authors” (Entertainment Weekly), Daisy Johnson is the youngest writer to have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Now she returns with Sisters, a haunting story about two sisters caught in a powerful emotional web and wrestling to understand where one ends and the other begins.

Born just 10 months apart, July and September are thick as thieves, never needing anyone but each other. Now, following a case of school bullying, the teens have moved away with their single mother to a long-abandoned family home near the shore. In their new, isolated life, July finds that the deep bond she has always shared with September is shifting in ways she cannot entirely understand. A creeping sense of dread and unease descends inside the house. Meanwhile, outside, the sisters push boundaries of behavior - until a series of shocking encounters tests the limits of their shared experience, and forces shocking revelations about the girls’ past and future.

Written with radically inventive language and imagery by an author whose work has been described as “entrancing” (The New Yorker), “a force of nature” (The New York Times Book Review), and “weird and wild and wonderfully unsettling” (Celeste Ng), Sisters is a one-two punch of wild fury and heartache - a taut, powerful, and deeply moving account of sibling love and what happens when two sisters must face each other’s darkest impulses.

©2020 Daisy Johnson (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A taut, disturbing, and brilliantly written psychological drama of the first order. You'll read for the quality of the prose, but also the amazing depth of characterization and mystery. Another great book from one of our finest writers." (Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation)

“Daisy Johnson is an enchantress who can turn the day into night and back again in a sentence. I love her prose so much, and this book was the sibling love-and-horror story of my dreams and nightmares.” (Karen Russell, author of Orange World)

"This is a book that makes you remember why you first fell in love with reading. I was haunted by it. Utterly unique.” (Evie Wyld, author of All the Birds, Singing)

not my thing

I really couldn't get into this. I didn't care about the characters and I didn't care what happened to them. I barely even cared about the mystery of all of it. I struggle with stories where the main character (particularly if it's told in first person) is essentially a non-entity with no personality. I think the writer is talented and is capable of writing things in a beautiful way, but I just really didn't like the story

Good Not Great

It’s not like this story is completely original, but the prose and slow unraveling of events has you captivated. I was hoping for a WOW ending but I felt that moment never came. I’m glad I chose audio, as it totally added to the creepy atmosphere.

It's a decent book, some would really enjoy

the audible was kinda annoying since she took a lot of short breaks between paragraphs or sentences. I understand her trying to make the tone a weird vibe but the audible could've been a decent bit shorter. putting it in 1.5 speed helped me a lot. the story itself is a different kind of book from what I've ever read. it was well done, it's not really suspenseful but at the same time I was intrigued. it involved a lot of thinking but it was nice

Mediocre

I wanted to like this but never connected with the characters.
Mediocre at best. At least it was short.

An Eerie Mystery

This was an eerie story about two sisters. I loved the blend of unsettling language with elements of weirdness and mystery. I’ll be looking for more books by this author. Highly recommended.

Very dark story.

Unable to connect with any of the characters. Interesting plot twist, but not enjoyable.

Audio versus Novel

This is one of those book that needs to be read due to the author’s unconventional writing style (fragmented/ no quotation marks/ etc.). I bought the audio first (bookclub book) and luckily audible is generous in its return policy. I then bought the book on my Kindle instead. I agree about other reviews concerning a lack of connection to the characters, but I also believe that due to her writing style, readers are always kept an arms length away from the story.