Customer Reviews

The Alphabet Sisters [With Earbuds] (Playaway Adult Fiction)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mcinerney's book The Alphabet Sisters is sort of like the movie "Kiss the Bride" with hints of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The book is about the reunion of 3 feuding sisters (one of which stole her own sister's fiance). All their grandmother Lola (a energetic, spunky, quick witted 80 yr old woman) wants is for the sisters to love each other once again and to accept each other. Brilliantly organized, the book offers individual points of view from each sister (as well as Lola's) so as to allow the reader to reflect and better understand each character. Each character is uniquely written and the reader will have a interesting time getting to know all of them as well as their life stories.

Anna, Bett, and Carrie Quinlan are sisters who have not spoken to one another in three years. Their emotions, doubts, and expressions are heart-felt and universal. Their individual stories are what held the most appeal in this saga of love and heartache. Lola, their grandmother demands that they come home to the Clare Valley in Australia to help celebrate her 80th birthday. Lola is a unique individual who has a somewhat over-the-top personality in every aspect. Her granddaughters love her because she doted on them when they were younger. A long time ago, Lola had organized her granddaughters into a singing group called the Alphabet Sisters. As the years passed, Anna married Glenn and had a daughter named Ellen. Bett became engaged to Matthew, an aspiring veterinarian. The family was torn apart when Matthew called off the engagement because he was in love with Carrie. They all went their separate albeit unhappy ways without one another. Once they are home for Lola's party, they are all overwhelmed by memories. Reluctantly faced with the prospect of producing their grandmother's musical, Anna, Bett, and Carrie little by little overcome their differences. The family is happily reunited for a brief time, until a minor health problem takes a turn for the worse with one of the sisters. The narrative borders on being banal at times, knowing who will end up with who before the characters do, and what events will take place. However, you will laugh and cry at times, and take pleasure in many moments in the lives of the Alphabet Sisters.

I was fortunate enough to be able to read this delightful book in one sitting this boxing day and I loved it, not since the March Sisters have I enjoyed and cried with a book such as this I love these girls especially Bett who to me is the modern day Jo the Savvy journalist of the bunch we also have the modern Day version of Amy in Carrie and Anna carries both the personalities of Meg and Beth, I have been a visitor to both Clare and Terowie so I love the little snippets of History that Monica shares with us about general Mc Arthur's famous quote. I honestly could not put down this book as the Quinlan Sisters became part of my life for one enjoyable afternoon please read ans enjoy as much as I did.

Although slow to begin with, this was easy enough to read, but did fall into that category of "a bit of a waste of reading time", unless you had a particular reason for reading it. The basic idea (the story of three sisters from a small town in South Australia who all end up back in that town together as adults after years of avoiding one another, and rediscover that closeness) and the setting appealed, but the story itself is very simplistic to the point that it makes you cringe at times. And the book is not particularly "true to label" - in an attempt to pack a punch and give the exploration of the sisters' relationships a real focus, it adds a storyline which takes the book into very different territory and which seems at odds with its brief and promise. Presumably this is intended to either shock you or engage your emotions - but for me, it just came across as a cheap trick.

I just finished reading this book. It was a wonderful read, and I am sorry that it ended. You really become part of this wonderful family, and wish that the book would just go on and on! I recommend this to all, particularly those who have one or more sisters.

Finding a light beach read this summer should be as easy as A-B-C. Look no further than THE ALPHABET SISTERS, a frothy family saga from Australian novelist Monica McInerney.

McInerney has spun a tale centering on three sisters --- Anna, Bett and Carrie Quinlan (get it? A, B, C) --- who spent a good deal of their girlhoods touring across Australia as "The Alphabet Sisters," a kind of low-rent version of the Osmonds minus the Mormonism and enormous teeth.

Cooked up by their flamboyant grandmother, Lola, as a scheme to give the girls something to do, "The Alphabet Sisters" not only broke up, but the sisters entangled themselves in such a fervent feud that none of them are even on speaking terms.

Contrary to the old song, there was a mister who came between these sisters. Enter Bett's fiancé, Matthew, who finds himself hopelessly in love with sister Carrie, triggering the feud, which had, in all honesty, been brewing for years. Something about unflattering costumes and Yoko Ono (okay, I made up that part about Yoko Ono. I just think it might be wise to work her in somewhere when the story has to do with the breakup of a band.)

The jilted Bett flees to London, Anna becomes a none-too-famous actress in Sydney, and Carrie settles down in their hometown. Awkwardness ensues.

The girls agree to put aside their differences and return to their hometown to help plan the celebration of Lola's 80th birthday. More than just a little meddling and more than slightly pickled, Lola envisions the party as a way to reunite her family. The girls agree to put aside their petty differences. Well, they're really not so petty, are they? Stealing and marrying your sister's fiancé has got to be right up there when you think of unpetty differences.

Regardless, the girls, now grown women, come back and somehow pull it together for the party. All of a sudden, Lola announces that she also wants them to help produce her "life's work," a musical about (I'm not making this up) General Douglas MacArthur and his "I shall return" speech. I guess musicals about megalomaniacs are very popular in South Australia these days.

Once the girls get going on casting, directing, and starring in the musical, the story starts to chug along. Until then, however, it's a bit clunky and mired in Bett's ruminations about the feud. Poor Bett, the self-described chunky sister, seems unnaturally thin-skinned with a sense of egoism usually reserved for seventh-grade girls. The adult Bett says, "I'm scared of loads of things...I'm scared of seeing my body in mirrors in changing rooms in clothes shops, and snooty shop assistants making fun of me. I'm scared of stupid things too. Like eating oysters. Reverse parking. Airplanes. Mobile phones." Bett, honey? Mobile phones? But I do get a kick out of the Australian dialogue.

Carrie and Anna each also have their trials, and McInerney wisely steers clear of letting either slip into caricature. It is their characterization that allows THE ALPHABET SISTERS to stay just far above the "Chick Lit" bar. That, and the quaint small town setting of the Clare Valley.

McInerney herself grew up in the Clare Valley of South Australia, and although she now lives in Dublin, she clearly remains fond of the area, located close to Adelaide. She fondly creates a cast of small-town characters who, while not idyllic, are certainly memorable and quite lovely.

McInerney throws in a death close to the end, which seems more a way to tug at heartstrings than any plot device. But even with that included, if you like happy endings, you'll be all over this one.

Even though it's winter in Australia, it's summer here in the States and a perfect time for a swing in the hammock and a sweet read like THE ALPHABET SISTERS.

--- Reviewed by Shannon Bloomstran

Not great, either. I suppose for this sort of Book Club driven book it's fine. Lots to discuss about families, how they drift apart over issues they shouldn't let come between them, etc. Oh, and pepper it with marital break-ups, a longtime family lie and a good terminal illness, too.

Ack, sorry. I'm just so tired of the formulaic nature of books written for the express purpose of being dissected in fiction book groups. Not just that, but editors let little bits of awful slip through, even in okay books, which this one was.

The premise of three sisters reuniting for their grandmother's 80th birthday, okay. That's fine. Again, make it not so easy, add tension, and you have a story. But the blah prose. The aforementioned bits that should have been edited out, the fact it should have been at least 50 pages shorter.

Sorry. I was just underwhelmed. Not enough complexity, and not any singing prose (and I don't mean that as a pun, in this case). If I have to spend so much time reading a book (this was a must read, for a book group) I get mighty cranky when it's a waste of my time. There's only so much, you know.

Not deep enough to work through, and not "grabbing" enough to keep you reading. Then, finally, as the book is wrapping up, a "twist" that just doesn't bring anything to the book. The author has much potential, the characters were wonderful, but next time hopefully a better end product.

I thought this book was really good. I couldn't put it down from the start. I am giving it 4 stars because I thought parts of it were a little predictible but the ending wasn't at all. I thought the characters were very good and Lola was just fabulous! She makes us all wish we had a grandmother or "really great-gran" like her!

From someone who has siblings, has lived in small country towns and who has experienced the death of someone pivotal to my life, this book is 100% real. The author is clearly writing from personal experience which has obviously been painful, joyful, tedious, delightful and full of adventure and it shows.

This book is full of characters that each have a fascinating story worthy of their own dedicated novel. Such is the depth that the author has put into each character and the believability she has created.

I am grateful to this wonderful author for making me laugh, reminisce and for producing the cathartic crying session that helped me with my own grieving process.

I can't wait for the sequels.