When Elspeth dies, she leaves her London flat to her 20-year-old American twin nieces, Valentina and Julia. Never mind that Elspeth hasn’t seen the grown girls since they were quite young or that she has been completely cut-off from Edie, their mother and her twin sister, for decades. Elspeth’s will provides a charming life for Julia and Valentina--the flat in the Highgate Cemetery district of London and ample financial resources. But the terms of the will are just the beginning of this gothic novel that explores the complex nature of twins, the possibility of life after death (yes, there’s a ghost), and the limitations of the human condition. According to the terms of the will, the twins must live in the flat for one year before they can consider selling it, their parents must never step foot inside Elspeth’s former residence, and the girls are never to see Elsepth’s correspondence or diaries.
Niffenegger has written a taut tale that turns into a true page-turner, especially in the final chapters. The fact that she’s produced a ghost story…or maybe more accurately, a story with a ghost, should come as no surprise. Just as she did with The Time Traveler’s Wife, Niffenegger stretches reality in Her Fearful Symmetry by introducing fantastical elements into the realm of everyday life.
The most enjoyable aspects of the book are the carefully-revealed personalities of the two sets of twins, Julia and Valentina and Edie and Elspeth, as well as the residents of the London flat who become as much as part of the twins’ lives as they were Elspeth’s. In particular, Niffenegger has done a beautiful job portraying Martin, the upstairs neighbor confined to his apartment by a debilitating case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The ensuing friendship between Martin and Julia provides a touching element and breathes life into Julia’s London existence. Downstairs from the girls lives Robert, Elspeth’s former lover and Highgate Cemetery historian and volunteer tour leader. He too befriends Valentina and Julia, bringing the lives of Elspeth and her nieces into complete symmetry with one another.
Of course, family secrets are revealed and quasi-romances ensue. Niffenegger’s writing feels so natural that I became totally lost in the characters and story. Even her handling of the appearance of the ghost and its ongoing presence in the story are handled with great ease. As impossible as it might seem, the ghost is quite credible.
With the weather turning to fall, Her Fearful Symmetry is a perfect choice for curling up by the fire, or in your favorite chair. Niffenegger’s writing is a pleasure, and this second novel certainly stands on its own. ~Wendee