Sisterland

by Curtis Sittenfeld

[Jane]

DNF @ 34 pages

This book reads like a long-winded biography. There is so much filler in here, and the main character of whose point-of-view is the focus—Kate—is unlikable. She falls into the category of "old, traditional, conservative" ideas.

I wanted to give this book a better chance, but the following stopped me in my tracks to that point:

- Vi is bisexual; Kate doubts and questions her twin sister's sexual identity in disbelief
- Kate touts the reader that she knows best for those around her and aim to live as mundane as possible, all the while complaining her life is boring.
- The scene in Chapter 2, page 20: Vi is on a local news station discussing the recent earthquake and her predictions as a psychic, alongside a seismologist who is a family friend. Vi is obviously exhausted. Kate explains how embarrassed for Vi she feels—because she's drawing attention to herself instead of remaining some small town chick the world would've otherwise ignored, because she went on television without makeup, because she's doing things Saint Kate would never do.

I have enough of this closed-mindedness happening within my own family. I don't need to read a book about it to know what it's like.

Had this novel been written from Vi's POV, I might've had a fairer chance—she's likeable and relatable.