Quick Comment

I haven't read more of this book and this blog is pretty much abandoned but there's a note on this novel that I made before that I think deserves some thought.

Note the title. "Her Fearful Symmetry" reflects a line of Blake's poem "Tyger! Tyger!" Why do you think the author wants to draw a connection between her novel and this poem?

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The Violet Dress

I think this chapter is maybe used to start introducing Valentina's persective into the story. At this point in the novel we have relied mostly on other characters but now we start to see how one of the twins feels. I'm hoping this means we will get into the action of the story soon. The idea of fairy tales also arises in this section and I'm not sure of the significance. I guess it could simply be used in an ironic way given how, so far, I would not say any other character's life has ended "happily ever after". But the fact that we're hearing this from Valentina may suggest that she is the one who will learn the most from the experience in her aunt's flat. And she may be the one who makes the most personal progress, especially in terms of standing up for herself, which is also discussed in this section.
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The History of Her Ghost

I found the idea of this chapter pretty interesting. At first I was surprised that Elspeth's character had returned. I'm assuming she will be in the flat when the twins arrive and I wasn't expecting this to be any kind of ghost story. Not literally anyways. What I found interesting though is Elspeth's perspective. Usually when a writer presents a ghost they are all-knowing. They know their limits, their powers, and their purpose. But it is made quite clear in this chapter that Elspeth knows none of this and she is distressed because of it. In the last line she even wonders if "someone who was already dead could kill herself." I think this perspective offers another way for the author to express her theme of the physical world versus the spiritual one. When more characters come into play I think she will explore this further through Elspeth.
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Sunday Afternoon

Well I haven't posted in a while. Frankly, I haven't read any more of this book because its become a little boring to me. It seems Niffenegger is giving us a long introduction which seems rather repetitive to me. But I can't leave a book unfinished for long so..back to it.

I like the style and easy flow of this chapter. When Robert and James are discussing Elspeth, their conversation seems so natural and casual. I think it takes effort to write so naturally while including casual humour. It seems to take on an easier tone than previous chapters. But it is repetitive. The argument between Elspeth and Edie has been mentioned several times already, including the twins' roles in the scenario.

What I do find particularly interesting though is the conversation they had regarding the supernatural. The thought of objects being ghosts is intriguing and unexpected, and it seems Robert agrees. I also admire the use of body language in this section, ending with an affirmation of a couple's love for each other. I like the flow of this chapter and it's use of intrigue.
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Bleach & Night in Highgate Cemetery

This section details Martin's new routine now that Marijke has left him. I think it is most likely that once the girls arrive to the flat they will try to talk with Martin and I believe they will eventually help him in some way.
I also think that the girls will help Robert find a way to let go of Elspeth and move on with his life. Since the afterlife and religion seem to be things that Robert often ponders, it's possible that the twins may even restore his faith.
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February & The Mirror Twins

Firstly, I was shocked that the will required Robert to remove all the papers from Elspeth's flat. I had figured beforehand that the twins would discover secrets regarding their family history by looking through Elspeth's diaries and such. This leads me to believe that the twins will need to be more creative in uncovering the truth, maybe by talking with Robert or by exploring other aspects of Elspeth's flat.
Another thing I noticed was that Julia always seems to lead Valentina. For example, the twins both dropped out of college (three times) because Julia didn't want to attend classes anymore. Throughout this chapter it is made clear that Valentina is the more anxious twin and Julia is more headstrong. I think these traits may also apply to their mother and aunt which may be another cause of the tension between them. This may be another reason why Elspeth wanted to leave the flat to the girls, to warn them of possible tension between them and guide them away from it.
I also noticed in this section that Jack "considered that he had ended up with the right sister, after all, and was thankful. He stood smoking, and thought about other ways things might have turned out." This suggests that perhaps the tension between Edie and Elspeth involved Jack in some way. This got me to thinking about how Jack implies that he could choose either sister. Since the women were identical twins it is made clear that he does not base this decision on physical appearance and this leads to another suggestion about a flaw in Elspeth's character.
There was also an allusion made in these pages to the "Des Esseintes' sisters". I do not yet know what this is referring to. If you know please leave a comment otherwise I will try to add an explanation to this post soon.
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February

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She's Leaving Home

This chapter explores the lifestyles of both Marijke and Martin. Again I feel it is simply to inform the reader of details that will be important later on.
Personally I feel badly for both characters. It must be hard for Martin to live with OCD and it's clear that it strains himself and his wife. But it also seems like their son Theo has no respect for his father's illness. Marijke tried to help but over time she couldn't stand the rules associated with Martin's OCD. I thought Martin's description of his illness was both fair and detailed. Even the style used to describe his compulsions reflects the patterned and specific way in which Martin must act.
At the end of the chapter we see that Martin is heartbroken about his wife leaving him and it seems to me like this will provoke further compulsions from Martin. He may believe that she left because he didn't do something correctly and he may try to make up for it by adding more steps to his routine.
I would guess that Marijke's letter to Robert asks him to look after Martin or to at least visit him and keep him company.



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A Flower of the Field

This is a rather sad chapter and I think its main purpose is to describe Robert's frame of mind. This will probably contribute to future actions.
One of the lines that really stuck out to me is "At this moment he knew everything he would ever know of Elspeth..." I think this line is especially powerful because it made me reflect upon the importance of time, information and memories. It is sad to think that it is the end of her story and nothing new will happen from her and this scares Robert. It may also be ironic foreshadowing. In reading the description of the novel it sounds as if Elspeth is keeping secrets that the twins will later discover. So it is possible that Robert has something yet to learn about her. It is easy to detect the fear in Robert as he thinks about losing Elspeth and I think it really captures his love for her and his apprehension at being alone, which is also emphasized later on in the chapter.




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The End & Last Letter

Well even though the titles imply otherwise these are the first two chapters of the novel.

At this point the most important thing seems to be setting up character relationships. There seems to be a thick tension between the characters and it is obvious that later in the book the narrator will elaborate upon these relationships.

These chapters also set up the intrigue and plot for the twins in the novel. It is interesting how Edie doesn't want to tell her daughters the news right away of both their aunt's death and the girls' inheritance. This also adds to intrigue.

My prediction is that perspective will soon switch to the twins and we may learn about all of the characters' pasts along with the twins as they explore their aunt's world.

In my opinion it is a rather slow but efficient beginning.

That's all I noted for these sections but please comment if you have anything to add. I will post again shortly!


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New Book Announcement

Well, I'm a little delayed as usual but I've finally picked the next book I'd like to read. I decided to go with an easy-to-read book so that it would be easier for me to read alongside my school material.

So without further ado, the book I'm going to start reading is called Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (the same author as The Time Traveler's Wife). This book tells the story of two twins' explorations into their family history and they discoveries they make therein.

I will post after each chapter and I hope you will follow along and leave a comment! Hopefully this will be an enjoyable and easy-to-follow story.

The Toronto Star called it "A deliciously dark, Gothic saga of obsession, deceit and family secrets." it sounds like something that could stir up a lot of conversation, so please participate!

I'm looking forward to starting and will post soon!
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Hello there!

So I've decided to try something new! Instead of dividing each book into sections and discussing each one, I've decided to simply write a post for each chapter. This way people can follow along if they wish and can add a comment for the chapters they want to discuss. This will also allow us to study the book in greater detail and give people some more freedom in regards to deadlines.

So, I will announce the next novel tomorrow and I will probably start reading/posting about it sometime next week! I hope some of you will follow along and add comments!

Thanks everyone!
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Test

I've decided to set up mobile blogging so that I will be able to post more! I hope this works though.

Summer Book Club

Hello everyone,

I've been rather busy over the past couple of months but I am planning to start running this book club again during the summer (from May to August). I will post the book list as soon as I know what books I  need to read, and add in some more of my choosing! If there are any books you'd like me to consider for the summer reading list, please leave a comment here and let me know!! Hopefully I'll see some of you in the summer!

Sincerely,
Elysia

Hello Everyone!

Now that it is the new year I was hoping to be able to start a new novel but I've been a little too pressed for time. So, soon I will be announcing the side project but I will not be starting a new novel at this time. If you need suggestions please refer to my Already Read page for ideas or you can comment on this post for personalized suggestions. I am hoping to start a new novel and discussion in a couple of months but until then I will keep updating the site with suggestions, quotes, etc. and I will soon post the side project. Hopefully you'll all understand.

I also have removed the Past Discussions page because the formatting wasn't working very well. If you would like to refer to older novels you will have to go back to old posts. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Sincerely, 

Elysia

Discussion-Section 3

Alright everyone this is our final discussion for I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. What did you think? Please share your reviews and analysis as comments on this post.

I will add more analysis in a comment but I wanted to mention some of the references made by Maya in this last section of the novel. I think they are not only important to set the time frame but also very interesting to look into. I did some research into songs and a book that was mentioned in this story. By listening to and reading about these things, I can better imagine the atmosphere Maya lived in. She mentioned two songs: Tomorrow night by Lonnie Johnson  and When The Swallows Come Back to Capistrano by Bobby Day. These songs don't belong to the genre of music most people listen to these days, but I encourage you all to listen to them and try to envision what Maya felt in hearing these songs.

I also encourage you to read this article about The Well of Loneliness. This way you can see a little more where Maya gained her information. Books for her were always a well of knowledge and she trusted their contents. I think it is important to understand the references she makes so that we may better understand her.

On another note, we will not be starting another novel until the new year. This will give us all some time to spend with family over the holidays. I will announce our next novel in mid-January. Over the holidays I will be reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and a novel called Shade. If you are looking for reading suggestions, you should choose a novel from my Already Read page.

Thank you all for reading and I wish you all a merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
Elysia

Discussion-Section 2

Well, I'm hoping you're all just busy for the holidays. I wasn't going to do a new novel over Christmas, but maybe I should have given you all more time off. In any case, the show must go on, so here is the discussion for section 2. Or my comment at least. I will still post the section three discussion in a couple of days, to f inish this book before the holiday.

Sincerely,
Elysia

Discussion-Section 1

So how did everyone enjoy the first fifteen chapters of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings? This first section brings up many issues that will need to be discussed and I look forward to reading your perspectives on this section. Please comment on this post to participate.

Also, I encouraged you all to share songs, videos, pictures, anything you personally related to any section of a novel we read. I want to start this going by sharing a picture that I coincidentally came across a couple of weeks ago on PostSecret.

With that, I will start the first discussion with a comment on this post. 

Sincerely,

Elysia

Thank you everyone who participated in the discussions for Of Mice and Men! If you have any feedback for me, please leave a comment on this post. I will now post the reading schedule for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings under Current Novel. See you soon for our next discussion!

Sincerely,
Elysia

Discussion-Section 3

Hello everyone! This will be our final discussion regarding Of Mice and Men. Please comment on any aspect of the novel. Your participation is appreciated!

Sincerely,
Elysia