Comments on eclectic / eccentric: Book Review: Her Fearful Symmetry

I haven't read Time Traveler's Wife, and I...

2010-07-28T14:21:40.411-05:00

I haven't read Time Traveler's Wife, and I still read Her Fearful Symmetry. Although I really enjoyed Niffenegger's writing, I stopped liking the book about half-way through. I think part of my problem stemmed from the realistic v. paranormal elements. I simply couldn't suspend my disbelief, and a few things were eye-roll inducing. I'm not sorry I read it, but it hasn't yet inspired me to pick up TTW.

Clover - These things happen. I can't tell you...

2010-07-27T20:46:30.688-05:00

Clover - These things happen. I can't tell you how many books I have on my TBR shelves; it's just depressing.

Melissa - It does feel good to know we aren't the last people on the face of the earth to read it; it certainly felt that way.

Great review ... and great to see that we're n...

2010-07-26T13:59:25.462-05:00

Great review ... and great to see that we're not alone in being the last ones to read this one (and not TTTW). Completely agree with you with this, especially the ending.

I haven't read it either! Even though I bought...

2010-07-20T05:14:57.631-05:00

I haven't read it either! Even though I bought it in HB almost immediately after it was published. What fail on my part! Must get around to it.

Avis - It's possible that if you loved TTTW, t...

2010-07-19T11:58:47.058-05:00

Avis - It's possible that if you loved TTTW, this will fall short. And the ending is definitely an annoyance.

Iris - I'm usually the same; mixed reviews just make me want to read it even more so I can judge for myself.

Chelle - Good luck!

Laura - The characters are, for me, the entire reason the book entertained. The plot was a bit too unbelievable, especially the Very Bad Idea.

My review is at http://imbookingit.wordpress.com/2...

2010-07-18T22:33:22.432-05:00

My review is at http://imbookingit.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/her-fearful-symmetry-2/ and it is much the same as yours, I think. I like your point about the time spent developing multiple characters, that's much of what made the book work.

I'm also with you about the Very Bad Idea. That's where the book lost me, or at least a good chunk of my respect.

I still liked it, but I really wish it had made a different turn there.

I haven't read anything by her so I'm hope...

2010-07-18T14:34:35.649-05:00

I haven't read anything by her so I'm hopeful I win!

The ending seems to leave many readers unsatisfied...

2010-07-18T08:33:38.870-05:00

The ending seems to leave many readers unsatisfied. I loved the Time Traveler's Wife so I'm curious about this book, but I'm also a bit hesitant because I've read so many negative reviews of the book. In the end, curiosity wins out though.

I LOVED TTTW, but I still haven't read this on...

2010-07-17T19:44:33.682-05:00

I LOVED TTTW, but I still haven't read this one! I've read rather mixed reviews (and I generally don't like unsympathetic characters OR open-ended endings), which has helped to lower my expectations a bit... Hopefully I will (eventually) enjoy it.

Jenners - Okay, now I'm back to picking up TTT...

2010-07-16T21:37:07.076-05:00

Jenners - Okay, now I'm back to picking up TTTW. Sorry you didn't like this one so much.

Stephanie - Some people had problems with the characters as they aren't exactly likable, but I really enjoyed them for their eccentricities.

J.T. - I will put TTTW on my BookMooch immediately. :) I think regular fiction might be more appropriate....

I believe that in libraries/bookstores it's un...

2010-07-16T20:32:14.890-05:00

I believe that in libraries/bookstores it's under regular fiction. Though, now that I think about it, I think I got my copy from Costco, which just puts everything on a table, so maybe I'm wrong.

also, you MUST read the Time Traveler's Wife!!!!

I liked The Time Travelers Wife, but I haven't...

2010-07-16T20:05:55.293-05:00

I liked The Time Travelers Wife, but I haven't been enthusiastic about reading Her Fearful Symmetry -- I'm not sure why. The cast of characters, as you described them, does sound fascinating.

I think you need to read The Time Traveler's W...

2010-07-16T19:20:29.214-05:00

I think you need to read The Time Traveler's Wife. It is one of my all-time favorites.

I wanted to like this book so much ... and I did to a point but I had so many issues with it. It was neat to see what someone who didn't bring much baggage to the book thought of it.

Sandy - The kitten was definitely creepy. I really...

2010-07-16T17:28:37.961-05:00

Sandy - The kitten was definitely creepy. I really enjoyed that inclusion.

Kathy - I'm glad to see others haven't read Niffenegger either! I thought it was just me.

Marjorie - I really like the form too. Much easier.

Clare - (I got the name right, right?) This book is such a non-SFFish SFF book. :)

Amy - The ending really did affect my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

Jill - It does seem like those who read TTTW didn't like HFS as much.

Amanda - Hmmm, maybe I made the right call on not reading TTTW.

Sheila - Yay! I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one. I can't wait to see what you think of it.

Carina - I agree. The ending really affected how I feel about the whole novel.

Kathy - I have no idea what Robert was thinking or where he was going, etc. Way too vague for me; and what's up with Jessica?

Anna - I have realistic fiction, SFF, and non-fiction sections but I don't separate out TBR and already read. :)

Jenny - The ending of this one kept it from being fantastic, but I definitely enjoyed it.

I have this to review and giveaway too! I also h...

2010-07-16T11:49:05.968-05:00

I have this to review and giveaway too! I also haven't read TTW. I'm glad you liked this book, though, because I saw a lot of reviews that were just "eh". Maybe it was because of their high expectations. I'm a little scared to read TTW because of all the mixed reviews for that one.

I haven't read either of her books, and after ...

2010-07-16T11:18:43.196-05:00

I haven't read either of her books, and after some of the reviews I've seen, I'm not sure I want to. You're much more organized with your shelving than I am. Right now, I have "read" and "not read." LOL

I read HFS and blogged about it here: http:...

2010-07-16T10:45:54.135-05:00

I read HFS and blogged about it here: http://kathylovestoread.blogspot.com/2009/12/her-fearful-symmetry-by-audrey.html

So what do YOU think Robert decided to do at the end??

I see your shelving dilemma and don't know what to tell you. Maybe you need a separate section for Audrey Niffenegger . . . because I think you will have the same problem with her other book. Sure, there's time-traveling, which you would think goes in SFF, right? but it's a very non-sci-fi type of time traveling.

And, tell me again--WHY haven't you read The Time Traveler's Wife yet?

I only got around to reading (and reviewing) it a couple weeks ago, during Audiobook Week! I had trouble with the ending, too. It actually really bothered me, and made me go from loving the book to sorta-kinda-liking it.

This was just picked by my book club for our Augus...

2010-07-16T09:46:43.437-05:00

This was just picked by my book club for our August read, so there you are not alone Trisha - there's a whole group of us in Minnesota who have not read it ye t- including me :)

Well considering I hated the TTW, I could never br...

2010-07-16T09:30:34.041-05:00

Well considering I hated the TTW, I could never bring myself to read this one. I tried reading the first chapter online when it was available, but I couldn't stand the writing any more than I could with TTW, so I just moved on.

I would call it SFF. I wonder if you are right, t...

2010-07-16T08:49:49.601-05:00

I would call it SFF. I wonder if you are right, that not having read TTTW might have allowed you to like the book more. ...

Yep, I was not a fan of the ending. It was... weir...

2010-07-16T08:16:13.483-05:00

Yep, I was not a fan of the ending. It was... weird. I found it unbelievable what happened. And I would shelve as SFF I think. I say I think because this is one of those books that seems to have walked off of my shelves and I'm not sure who has it...

See, this is why I have a supernatural fiction sec...

2010-07-16T06:40:45.875-05:00

See, this is why I have a supernatural fiction section- perfect for things like this! I'd pop it into SFF due to the ghost.

This book has had good reviews, bad reviews, so I ...

2010-07-16T06:32:23.385-05:00

This book has had good reviews, bad reviews, so I did not know if I should buy, however, I now feel I would like to win it.
Thanks for the review.

cenya2 at hotmail dot com

Super easy form to fill out.

I haven't read this or The Time Traveler's...

2010-07-16T06:27:44.920-05:00

I haven't read this or The Time Traveler's Wife. I almost bought this one yesterday, but since the reviews have been so mixed, I put it back. Now, I'm wishing I'd bought it.