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Psychological curiousity

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A well-constructed, intriguing look into the complex mind of a demented scientist set in a wonderful creepy atmosphere. The house is a character in and of itself. But how believable is the main character? She seems autistic, and yet craves the physical affection of her younger sister, and relishes an intimate friendship with the one man in her life. Her awareness of how the alcoholic crosses over into a darkness that is not like the person underneath, and the resulting detachment she feels, is exceptional. Most people affected by alcoholism do not know this and feel the poison spewed out when a person dear to them drinks is that person's true feeling. They take it personally, and feel they are the cause of it. Still, I found the story and the way information revealed compelling.

Dana Bagshaw

Knopf Does It Again

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A beautifully written page-turner. Also, a great first novel, as opposed to a clunker like "The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle", which has been uber-hyped, yet in fact is bland and over-written. "The Sister" has great characters, unforeseen twists, is fun to read-- and it's literature to boot!

Good start, but. . .

Customer Rating:
Ginny Stone has lived alone in the family mansion for decades, and her sister is returning for reasons unknown. . .
It's the perfect gothic setup, and the character of Ginny is somewhat fascinating at first. Other reviewers have puzzled at the flat and emotionless affect of the character, I "decided" early on that Ginny had Aspberger's Syndrome, a form of autism. I've read enough about Aspberger's that Ginny's various tics and peculiarities slotted into what I've read about the syndrome.
Unfortunately, that's not the sort of character that one can identify with, and this is a first-person tale. The other characters are little more than cutouts. The only thing that lifts this above the usual "someone's coming home to spill the family secrets" is the lepidoptery. I'm a fan of butterflies and moths, yet is was an over-used crutch, filling in what turned out to be too many gaps.
This would have been far better and creepier (in my opinion) as a shorter work. Rattling around in the head of Ginny for 300 or so pages became tedious because she was predictable as part of her nature. I knew what was going to happen a good 100 pages from the end. In fact, I knew from the moment Viv returned that a large portion of the plot would revolve around (something I don't want to spoil).
That said, I still give it 3 stars, because this is a debut novel. There's enough there that I'd like to see what Poppy Adams does next.

A wonderful, chilling tale.

Customer Rating:
If you are interested in action/adventure, this is not the book for you. However, if you are interested in a beautifully written story with a chilling ending, you should read this book.

In her debut novel, Poppy Adams has chosen as her narrator, Virginia "Ginny" Stone, seventy years old and obviously unbalanced. Ginny, a former lepidopterist, lives alone in crumbling Bulburrow Court, a mansion that has been in the family for two hundred years. Her only sister, Vivien, left for London fifty years ago; her mother died from an accident some years ago and her father died from dementia in a nursing home. Ginny's insular world is thrown into a state of panic when her sister, Vivien, decides to return to Bulburrow Court to live, a decision that leads to a chilling, haunting ending.

Some people may find the book slow, but I loved the pace and the incredible attention to detail, especially all the wonderfully researched facts about moths.

Not sorry I read it, but

Customer Rating:
I can't say I would recommend it to my friends. It took me a while to get into it .... then I found myself skimming some of the text about the moths (although I did find some of it quite interesting, too). All in all I thought it was a decent read and the last 1/3 was actually good, if not, creepy and sad. I think it would be a good book to discuss for a book club because I'm sure there would be lots of different thoughts. The one question I wanted answered (as did the sister) was WHY did Vivi come back after all those years??? Guess we will never know.