Her Fearful Symmetry

Thought it was about time I tried to write a book review. Any advice welcome!


After the success of Audrey Niffenegger's first novel The Time Traveler's Wife her follow-up novel Her Fearful Symmetry has a lot to live up to. So, does it manage?

Her Fearful Symmetry is centered around a flat in London that overlooks Highgate Cemetery. The occupants of the flat are: Robert, a man who has just lost his lover, Elspeth, to cancer and is trying to cope; American twins, Julia and Valentina, Elspeth's nieces (her and her sister Edie were also twins) whom she left her flat to on the condition they live in it for a year and do not let their parents into it; and a man with OCD, Martin, trying to cope with not ever leaving his flat and the fact his wife has left him.

The novel does some things brilliantly. Its exploration of relationships (especially between identical twins) is great, as is its look at the nature of OCD and how somebody suffering from it is affected on a day-to-day basis. In fact, the first half is absolutely amazing.

However, unfortunately it started to fall down towards the end. The reader is forced to accept that characters do things that seem inexplicable and unexplained and the multiple plotlines start to feel a bit disjointed.

Overall I thought the book was pretty good. It had some very compelling sections and manages create characters I could sympathise with, whilst not always agreeing with their actions. I was slightly disappointed because I didn't think it was as good as The time Traveler's Wife and thought the second half could have done with a rework. I would recommend it, though, and will keep my copy for possible future reading.