Her Fearful Symmetry Review

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenger

We all know the adage about not judging a book by its cover. But when I'm chasing a two year old through the public library, with a list of books in my hand, and my little girl positively squealing with delight, sometimes the cover and the blurbs are all I have. (Really, the library is like Disney World for her. She just can't believe there are this many books in one place, all for her. And honestly, I can't get over that feeling either.)

The cover is what grabbed me when I came to Her Fearful Symmetry. The trees reminded me of the tangled trees in Snow White as she tried to escape the huntsman. The trees here look so stark, so naked, so cold, and so ominous. And at the same time, trees like this - bare stark naked winter trees, having lived in NEPA all my life, I know give way to budding trees, to hints of spring. I love trees, and I love the mystery to them. This cover spoke to me, and I was able to toss it in my bag before my child ran out the front doors.

The story starts this way. Elspeth passes away, and leaves her entire flat and possessions to her twin nieces Julia and Valentina, on the one condition they must live in the flat (which borders Highgate Cemetery in London) for one full year. They must never allow their parents to step foot inside the flat. After the year, the twins can then choose to sell the flat or remain. But only after the full year. Except, Elspeth though dead, doesn't vacate the flat.

With a cast of characters from the twin nieces, Robert (Elspeth's significant other), Martin the brilliant cross word puzzle writer who suffers from severe anxiety and OCD, this book twists, turns, and makes us care about each and every one of them. To say that each character is 'well developed' is nice and good review talk. But it is more accurate to say, that each of these characters is real. (It is fiction. I know.) We care about them. We cry for them, we ache for them.

This is a deliciously written, well layered, ghost story, love story, mystery. When I think of the reading experience, I want to use the word devour, but then I also want to use the word savor. And while these words don't seem go together - devour (being something that indicates eating quickly and ravenously), and savor (usually meaning to take ones time with the food) - that's still the experience. I couldn't put the book down. Every time I had a spare moment, I was reading it.

Let's try it this way. This book is like a thick piece of chocolate cake, drizzled in strawberry sauce, a tiny scoop of home made strawberry ice cream on the side, with whipped cream, and chocolate shavings on top. It is decadent. It is multi flavored and each texture, flavor play off the other in perfect balance. You may look at the plate and just drool for a moment before sliding your fork into the moist cake. Or you may just dive right in fearlessly, into the ice cream before it melts. But either way, if it takes you five minutes to eat that lavish dessert (though I can't imagine the stomachache you might receive on account of it) or if takes you a full hour to clean your plate, you will finish. And the plate will be empty. You might be sad because it was soo good. You might think it right that the plate is empty, and that you couldn't eat another bite, though secretly you wish you had asked for a second order of it in a doggy bag for another day (but that would be greedy of us). Regardless you will remember that dessert fondly, lavishly, and likely order it again, or recommend it to your friends.

Her Fearful Symmetry is like that. And I can't wait to go back, and read it again.