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T he Bookshelf
The Sisters By Nancy Jensen St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.99 Reviewed by Holly Jones Can one event—one moment— change the outcome of a person’s life? And how do we know if that change makes a life better or worse? These questions are the premise of Nancy Jensen’s novel The Sisters. Bertie Fischer is graduating from eighth grade in 1927. Her older sister Mabel has worked overtime to get Bertie a new dress, and Bertie can’t wait for her boyfriend Wallace and her sister to see her graduate. The only thing Bertie doesn’t understand is why Mabel has been so nice to their stepfather Butcher lately. Bertie “was sure Mabel hated Butcher as much as she did, but Mabel would never admit it, not even when she and Bertie were alone.” But Bertie doesn’t know the whole truth. Mabel can’t tell Bertie, all she can do is try to protect her younger sister. Mabel and Wallace collaborate to shield Bertie from both reality and Butcher. They skip Bertie’s graduation, hop a train out of town and leave a note and a train ticket for Bertie with Wallace’s friend. They don’t tell Bertie ahead of time for fear of something going wrong with their plan. 64 Newnan–Coweta Magazine
But something does go wrong and Bertie and Mabel’s lives change forever. The Sisters is the story of Bertie and Mabel and their daughters’ and granddaughters’ lives. Each chapter is told from a different viewpoint— beginning with Bertie and ending with Mabel. After Bertie believes she has been abandoned, she marries and has two daughters. She survives the Great Depression and a flood in Indiana. From time to time Bertie gets letters addressed to her from Mabel, but Bertie never reads them, she either burns them or sends them back unopened. Her life is never easy, but she has her family and she fights to keep them. Mabel never marries, but she adopts a daughter, Daisy, and becomes a photographer; her work graces the covers of magazines and even 60 Minutes. She spends much of her life trying to protect those who can’t protect themselves—the way she tried to protect Bertie. Bertie and Mabel’s stories span eight decades and four generations. It is the story of women doing everything they can to survive and shelter their families. These families may not be the ones Mabel or Bertie dreamed they would have in 1927, but families and lives can change in a moment—a moment that created The Sisters.
Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn Crown, $25 Reviewed by Holly Jones In a case of “he said, she said,” who wins? What about in a case of “he said, she said, she said?” And what if the she-saids are the same person? Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl is definitely a he-said, she-said war, one between husband and wife Nick and Amy Dunne. The story begins on the couple’s anniversary. Amy makes Nick breakfast and he heads to work in the bar he owns with his twin sister. While there, Nick gets a call from his neighbor. Nick and Amy’s front door is open and their cat is outside.
Nick heads home to investigate and finds the door is actually wide open, the living room has been ransacked, a pair of scissors is on the floor, and the tea kettle on the stove is scorched and empty. The only thing Nick doesn’t find is Amy. The police come, search the house, and question Nick. Nick tells the police he had breakfast with Amy, but then went to the beach before work. Nick calls Amy’s parents and they fly in to help search for their daughter. Nick feels the police have become his new shadow, but he maintains his innocence. Yes, Amy could be temperamental and they’d had their fair share of arguments; but he didn’t kill his wife. That’s what he said. The she-said portion of the book is two-fold–Amy being the voice of both. The first part gives readers Amy’s diary, telling how she and Nick met, fell in love, lost their jobs in New York, and moved to Nick’s hometown in Missouri. She writes of her struggles to adapt to being a housewife and living in a small town. She worries Nick is unhappy and she doesn’t know how to help him. Amy reflects on how hard she tried to take care of Nick’s mom through a battle with and eventual death from cancer. He said, she said. Then there is part two of the novel–part two of “she said”–also Amy’s side of the story. Readers see another side of Amy’s personality,