The Sisters
About the book
Author: Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Publisher: FSG
More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.
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My review
The Sisters was a bit of a darkhorse inclusion on the National Book Award longlist (at least in my circles), but I’m very glad it landed on my radar — I had a great time with this epically scoped, multilayered, wholly engrossing novel about three sisters.
Before I go on, please note that you should NOT read the book’s jacket copy. It literally tells you all the major plot points, beginning to end. And trust me when I tell you that the experience of letting the story surprise you as it unfolds was one of my favorite parts. Here’s what I can tell you instead: The Sisters is about the electric Mikkola sisters — Ina, Evelyn, and Anastasia — and a boy/man named Jonas who has lived his life enthralled by them and narrates the book (you may also notice that he has the same name as the author). It spans decades, with the first section covering six months, then one covering one month, then a week, then a day, then an hour — a structural metaphor for time speeding up as you age if I ever saw one.
I was truly invested in these characters’ lives and felt like they could walk off the page, especially for the middle 50% or so. I also have a lot of respect for the author pulling off a narrator construction that actually felt additive to the story and what he was trying to do here, even if I have mixed feelings about how it came together (or didn’t) in the end. Ultimately, though, I still landed on liking this book a lot and I hope its NBA nomination means more people will read it!
Content and trigger warnings
Suicide and suicidal thoughts
Drug and alcohol use
Addiction (minor)
Racism and xenophobia
Infidelity
