"What was the joke she'd overheard two schoolboys tell last week? 'Why do girls wear make up and perfume?' 'Because they're ugly and they stink.'" What a lovely book to pick up off the shelf at my holiday house. How disappointing for me that I discovered Monica McInerney only now!Anna, Bett and Carrie are three very different and lively sisters with a vast history of love and a past that has torn them apart. Bett, the middle sister has always struggled with feeling the least beautiful, things never fell into place quite as easily as her sisters. This does not help at all when Carrie, the youngest, marries the man Bett was engaged to..This story just flows so easily and dreamily, I wanted to turn every page without a break, lucky this was semi possible given summer holidays and no real life to contend with! The family run a hotel in the beautiful country side of Clare Valley, South Australia, which is always a nice change from Sydney or Melbourne settings. Here we meet the very special matriarch of this most unique and lovable family, Lola, or 'Really Great Gran' where she weaves a wonderful and heart warming story that entwines love, betrayal, importance of family and ultimately, forgiveness.Lola is a lovable larrikin and always seems to be able to weave her magic to make great things happen. She holds the drawstrings that keep this family together, whether they like it or not. I loved a couple of pages where Lola is talking to her great granddaughter, young Ellie. She is struggling with facial scars both inside and out after being torn apart by a dog a few years prior. Lola speaks of resilience to a 7 year old in such a real way. I found myself chatting about this portion of the book to my 13 year old daughter, and want her to read these few pages. She spoke so eloquently that in essence we are all frightened by things that are different to the way we are. "A scar is a sign that you've survived something, Ellie. That something happened to you but your body was so strong and clever it joined itself up again." She then devised a simple way of telling the school kids who were teasing her at school what happened, which created peace for Ellie. I loved this. This book bought me joy, sadness and tears. It made me want to go and live with this special family and experience their life with them in their quaint and simple hotel. It's so good!!
Australian born Dublin, Ireland based author, Monica McInerney, has written several best-selling novels. I found her book "The Alphabet Sisters" when my local library was selling off some books. The story revolves around three sisters Anna, Bett, and Carrie Quinlan. They were childhood singing stars known as The Alphabet Sisters. Their flamboyant grandmother Lola was the glue that held them together. As adults, though, the women have not spoken in years – ever since Bett’s fiancé deserted her to marry her younger sister, Carrie. Now Lola is turning eighty and she is determined to reunite the girls for a grand birthday bash. No one ever says no to Lola.Bett now lives in London, England. She is hesitant to face her sisters after the scandal of losing her fiance. Sophisticated Anna is the eldest sister. Anna is not too keen on the idea of the reunion either,however, she’s secretly grateful for the excuse to leave her failing marriage in Sydney, Australia. Carrie, who remained in Clare Valley, is perhaps the most apprehensive. Her marriage, which is the cause of the sisters’ estrangement, is also on the rocks.Lola makes a special request, that the girls stage a musical she has written. This means their short visit becomes a much longer commitment. As they are forced to spend more time together, the sisters confront the difficulties between them.Misunderstandings are slowly put aside and the three find themselves gradually, irresistibly reuniting again: until an unexpected turn of events changes everything in ways none of them could have ever imagined.The author layers the light hearted antics of small-town life with a heartbreaking story of sibling loyalty lost and found, "The Alphabet Sisters" is an unforgettable story of two generations of women who learn that being true to themselves means being true to one another. I read the book whilst on holiday in Portugal. It is the first book I have read for a long time that truly made me cry. If you have missed the book to date, take a body-swerve and read it now.
What do You think about The Alphabet Sisters (2005)?
Family and Other CatastrophesMost of the time our life is a matter-of-choice affair. We are presented with two or more options and we choose the one that fits us the most or the one we believe to be right. But today's book recommendation is about the one thing in life we have absolute no influence on – our FAMILY. We do not choose them, and we usually do not get rid of them ... Monica McInerney has written a beautiful novel about this dilemma, which I would like to recommend to you now: The Alphabet Sisters.I think it is almost funny that the people who are supposed to be the closest to you, those you should love and treasure the most, are people that life and not your free will dictates. And not matter what might happen, you will always be somehow linked to them. A scary thought, isn't it? Of course, I am talking about blood relations here. At least most of us get to choose who will be the father or mother to their children.It is unfortunate in many respects that the ones we are connected to eternally are also the ones that can hurt us the most. They can shatter our life into pieces. And by far not everyone gets as lucky as I am with regard to family. Yes, I got lucky in this regard. At least for the most part ... My family can be a real disaster, now and then. But whenever life throws a rock in our way, they are all there to help lift it. Would I ever exchange them? No! As much as they own the gift of driving me nuts, looking around, I find nobody I would like to replace them with. ...For more visit my blog: Living in a Fairy World!
—Anne
Monica McInerney was recommended to me as an author by my sister. I immediately purchased ‘A Taste for It’ and ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ for my Kindle. After reading ‘A Taste for It’ I admit to being underwhelmed by the writing style and predictable storyline therefore ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ has been left unread for over a year, gathering electronic dust in a corner of my Kindle. Until now.Blessed with a sunny winter’s day I picked up my Kindle and sat on a bench seat in my garden to get acquainted with the Quinlan sisters. Three sisters forced to reunite at their flamboyant grandmother’s 80th Birthday party after a three year feud. Three very different sisters. I immediately fell into their tales as we got to know the individual sisters and caught a glimpse of their lives during the three years they had been apart. I found the female characters quite likeable as individuals but their best personality traits highlighted the worst in their sisters. The author certainly presented a feeling of awkwardness as the sisters each came face to face after such a long time. The reason for their falling out is known from the beginning of the book but the actual details don’t emerge until much later. My favourite character was Lola. Having grown up myself without grandparents I was drawn to this larger than life character with her outlandish style and obvious love for the sisters. In fact I enjoyed her story so much that ‘Lola’s Secret’ is now on my ‘To Read’ list. Whilst I enjoyed spending time with the female characters I felt the male characters were all a little two dimensional. I didn’t feel an affinity towards any of them or their respective relationships with the sisters. I loved the setting and felt that Ms McInerney did a wonderful job of highlighting the contrasts between London, Sydney and Clare in South Australia. The motel came to life in my mind as I took part in the character’s journey.It was a nice, easy read about the bond and struggle of sisterhood and ultimate family forgiveness. There was a fair amount of predictability to this book but also chapters that had me reaching for the tissues. The perfect book for a quiet afternoon reading under the winter sun.
—Sue
I thought this book was just ok. Its an interesting story about 3 sisters in Australia, but I was hoping there'd be more to it being set in Australia and there just wasn't. Also, the turn it took towards the end was unnecessary I thought, considering the first 250 pages or so were light-hearted for the most part. I wouldn't recommend it, but it did keep me interested and could be a good 'vacation book'
—Carol
