Sister Crazy

Rating:
Summary: disjointed and disappointing stories are sadly disaffecting
Review: Despite the considerable writing talents of Emma Richler, her debut collection of short stories, "Sister Crazy," will leave readers strangely distanced from the family the author struggles so desperately to bring to life. Her protagonist, Jemima (Jem) Weiss inhabits a family at once lovingly interconnected but simultaneously remote from one another. Richler never determines which description most adequately represents the Weiss family, and, as a result, her writing wanders from sensitive appraisal to gushing sentimentality. Although Jem provides the narration and perspective on her youth and somewhat surprising deteriorating adult life, she does so without much coherence. Perhaps this is due to the anthologized nature of a short story collection. In reality, the order of the stories cannot save this effort.

Richler tantalizes her readers with thematically rich questions. What stresses exist on the middle daughter of a mixed marriage, one which combines parents of different religions and nationalities? Is it possible to love one's family too much, and, if so, what stresses and strains result on the child once she attains adulthood? Why would a secular Jewish father and urbane Protestant mother send sensitive children to a repressive Catholic private school? Can adults find the internal strength and courage to confront a seemingly idyllic, eventless childhood to discover the roots of adult disaffection? Unfortunately, Richler never extends her stories or her characters to provides serious answers, much less discussion, of these questions.

What remains is a series of short stories which orbit aimlessly around the themes of family life. Other than the title short story, this anthology is eerily devoid of emotion. Constant anecdotal vignettes about the idiosyncratic personalities of each member cannot subsitute for substantive development of chracter. Excessive descriptions of matters esoteric, especially films, further sap energy from a volume desperate for emotional charge.

Practically every five pages, Emma Richler reminds us that her family literally shakes with "mirth." Unfortunetly, her readers will not do the same.

Rating:
Summary: waffling
Review: Honestly I cannot decide if I like this book. The descriptions of her family is engaging and I did enjoy the characters. The thing is when I think back on having read the book, I do not feel like I got anything out having read it. There just is no progression. While reading I kept thinking that the author was using her memories of her past to explain something, but it never comes to pass.

The feel of the book is similar to frequently listening to a friend ramble on about her childhood. You just get to the point of saying enough already!

Rating:
Summary: "Good intentions do not a good book make"
Review: This is not an awful book. It has interesting characters, an intriguing background, an unusual voice and lots of good intentions. But here's a lesson for new writers: all of the above is not enough for a good book.
One thing that this book lacked was a focus. A story doesn't need to be linear to be good, but it does require a thread. It needs to bring the reader to a certain point, to gain something that for a lack of a better word I'll call an insight. It doesn't happen here. I struggled with this book for weeks until I was able to finish it. The writing had too much stream of conscious that didn't cover the absence of a plot. I guess that the book can be called half-baked. A good editor might have been helpful in making this into something that gives the reader more than the sense of relief that it's over upon finishing it.