Customer Reviews

The Gifted Galbadon Sisters

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
on 09/17/2008

Loretta, Bette, Rita, and Sophie Gabaldón lost their mother when they were very young. The ancient housekeeper who helped raised them promised each girl they'd receive a gift after her passing. Over the following two decades, the girls grow into women, each of them uniquely gifted. One heals, one tells splendid lies, one curses, and one makes others laugh. Time can only tell whether or not the gifts are blessings.

The bonds of sisterhood are explored and tested as the sisters Gabaldón search for meaning in a sea of questions about their family. Each chapter is told in a different sister's point of view, and each voice is beautifully rendered through first, second, and third-person narrative, and past and present tense--a different style for each of the sisters.

On the surface, the story may seem complex, maybe over-ambitious. But Lorraine López skillfully weaves the story of five women into a complete saga. Her use of scenery, emotion, and flat-out characterization is entrancing. I smelled the kitchen aromas and cringed at bad karaoke. I saw the sisters as young children, then mothers.

I enjoyed the characters and was sorry to parts ways with them. Each sister was wonderfully flawed, yet deliciously vibrant. It would be a joy to meet them again.

4.5 Books

Rating: 3.75 stars

"The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters" is about four sisters who were taken care of by a mysterious elderly woman named Fermina. Upon Fermina's death, the girls all seek to discover the special gifts Fermina claimed to have left for them. Each chapter skips ahead a couple of years and the story takes readers from childhood to adulthood. The story is told by each of the sisters in alternating chapters with varying points of view, from first person to second person to third person.

This book was nothing like I expected. Most of the chapters reveal devastating and sometimes difficult hardships that the sisters faced, with little pause for comic relief. I was expecting a tale of magic and intrigue, but the primary plot left no room for mystery because the secret the sisters were searching for throughout the novel was revealed earlier on to the reader.

Having said that, I really did enjoy Lorraine Lopez's writing itself. Her unique use of different perspectives was refreshing and kept my attention. Lopez's strength definitely lies in her vivid descriptions because each character and setting managed to come alive for me, which perhaps was what made some parts of the book so incredibly heartbreaking.

"The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters" is a worthwhile read, despite its lack of suspense and melancholy themes. Lorraine Lopez is a talented writer and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

[...]

After reading The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters, by Lorraine Lopez, I am astounded. Lorraine Lopez is the author of Call Me Henri, which won the Paterson Prize for Young Adult Literature, and Soy la Avon Lady and Other Stories, which won the inaugural Miguel Marmol Prize for Fiction. She has also had several short stories published in various magazines, is an assistant professor of English at Vanderbilt University, and the associate editor for the Afro-Hispanic Review. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband.
The Gabaldon sisters lost their mother at a very early age and it was their Pueblo caretaker, Fermina, who held them together during that rough period, with love, compassion, and humor. Upon Fermina's passing, she told them of a special gift each would receive, selected just for them. Twenty years later, the girls wonder about these supposed gifts and if the woman who bestowed them was a witch or plain crazy. Loretta- with the power to heal animals, Bette- the ability to spin stories, Rita- the power to curse others, and Sophia- having the skill to incite laughter; the women delve into their family and Fermina's woven history. As secrets and mysteries are revealed, it shows the Gabaldon sisters who their guardian, Fermina, really was and teaches them the truth about themselves, as well.
I'm going to issue an age warning, stating I feel this book is appropriate for ages fifteen plus, as there are sexual references, drug abuse, and some sexual abuse references. Though it is very tactfully and eloquently told, it is still present.
I am intrigued by how the idea for The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters came to Lorraine Lopez, which is told in her biography in the back of the book. She comes from a large extended family with ties to central New Mexico. Her adopted grandfather was biological son of his adopted father's brother and a Native American servant- a Pueblo woman who worked in the family's home. After having the son, she had a daughter who was surrendered by the family to an orphanage. What a heart-breaking and astonishing story, and one that made for an interesting fictional tale, (or idea), for the book.
The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters, by Lorraine Lopez, is an original, inventive, fierce, and engaging story, sure to invoke thought, tears, and laughter. With a blended mix of tongues, cultures, traditions, and history- it will captivate you from beginning to end, and is a book that will remain with you long after you finish.

Kelly Moran
Author and Reviewer

Whenever I read a book, I can't help playing favorites. There is always one particular character that stands out, the one I follow with more attention and care, the one I'd like to meet and become friends with.
Now, it is difficult to choose among the four Gabaldón sisters. Not because they all are lovable, but rather because they are so human that one is almost afraid of hurting their feelings by singling one girl out. Then it is difficult for an animal enthusiast not to fall for Loretta, for a wine lover not to sympathize with Bette la borracha, for someone who has ever wanted her curses to become real not to emulate Rita...But it was Sophia who won my heart.
My relationship with her had started several years ago. It began when I read the short story "Sophia" included in Soy la Avón Lady and Other Stories, winner of the 2002 Miguel Mármol Prize. There, the roly-poly, big-mouthed teenager ends up in a dangerous situation, so dangerous that the reader isn't sure if she will survive it. But the nerdy, fashion-afflicted, and above all, poignantly funny Sophia couldn't die so early, could she?
Thankfully, it turned out that she couldn't die. Her first appearance in The Gifted Gabldón Sisters starts with the words: "Once a pint of time..." From then on Sophia embarks on a journey through life making people laugh, laughing at herself and sometimes laughing at the lousy cards that la vida hands her.
Award-winning novelist Lorraine Lopez takes a look at family life through the lens of the individual. The sisters long to discover their true identities. Did they receive "a gift" from Fermina, their late housekeeper, a gift which makes each of them unique? And who actually was Fermina? How was she related to them? In their search for answers, they fight and make up; they love and betray each other; they fall and rise. They survive a lecherous uncle, spineless bosses, a long trip through Route 66 and their good-for-nothing husbands. And in the end, they discover their own true gift.

This book had enough plots and subplots to keep me entertained throughout. However, the "magic" part of the book was very minor. It was more general family chic lit with just a hint of the "magic" subplot.

I thought the premise of this book was intriguing- 4 sisters who have been given gifts by their live-in housekeeper, Fermina, who died. I expected more magical realism than what materialized in the book. The interplay between the report on Fermina's history and the contemporary story was interesting and the final solution to her relation to the family was good, but I had a hard time relating to any of the girls as they grew up. This one just missed the mark for me.

The writing wasn't bad, but by the end of the book I thought that if those girls were my daughters, I'd kill myself! The Gabaldon sisters had no redeeming qualities unless you think that being fat, unattractive, drinking too much, using drugs, sleeping around, etc. are desirable characteristics. I fail to see the point of this story at all. Blech! Don't buy the book; check it out at the library if you are at all curious.

I have read a few other reviews of this book; I sought them out after I started to read this book. I found myself getting a little bit lost in the beginning and wondered what others had thought about it. The reviews that I read are mixed. I thought that it was perhaps just me. When I read the reviews, I noticed that I wasn't the only reviewer who had a bit of difficulty with the narration of this story.

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters is a story of a family of four sisters and a brother. They live with their father and grandmother in L.A. Unfortunately, their mother has passed away. The setting is an apartment complex, at least in the beginning of the book. The book is written, chapter by chapter, by each of the four sisters. They explain their viewpoint and their lives in these chapters over a span of many years. The sisters believe that they are each given a certain gift by their grandmother, Fermina, a Native American, almost like a curse. As the sisters grow up, they each choose very different paths and yet are tethered to one another by the mystery of their past... the mystery of their mother and grandmother who have passed on. Their discovery journey does arrive at a conclusion that ties all of the characters together.

My biggest struggle with this novel is that I kept forgetting "who was who." I got confused amongst the characters. This could very possibly be due to the fact that I am a pretty quick reader. Perhaps had I slowed the speed of my read, I would have understood the family tree a bit better. My second difficulty with the book is that I do not speak Spanish. There are several Spanish quotes that I did not know what they were saying. I do not feel that the author provided enough of an English explanation of what these phrases meant, although several of them were clearly explained.

The story is rich and colorful. At times, I very much enjoyed the story and was very "in tune" with it. At other times, I felt distant from the characters and the story. There are some lovely quotes in this book and the author is obviously very talented. I'm just not sure that I am the right audience for this novel.

Sher's "Out of Ten" Scale:

I was hopeful that I would become completely engaged in this novel. It is rich in heritage and writing. However, in my personal taste... it just wasn't my "cup of tea." By no means am I suggesting you don't read it. IF this book had been written from the viewpoint of just one of the sisters, I may have preferred it more. Although, I must state that the author's approach to it is creative and brave... each of the characters telling it as they see it.. The part of the book that I enjoyed the most were the typed pages of Fermina's life in between each chapter. They were beautifully written. On my "One to Ten Scale," I'm sorry to have to give this one a 5.5 out of 10.

While the character relationships within this family were very interesting and easily relateable to my life, I found the constant switching of view points and years in each chapter hard to follow. Once I felt like I was getting to know one charachter, another would jump in and describe them differently. There were several weird incidences in this book and odd habbits of the sisters. The end of this book lacks a true "finish" and left me feeling annoyed since I had figured out what their "gift" was early on in the book, which was NO gift at all! Just the transcripts throughout the book. It was a quick read and an intersting story but I am not sure I would reccomend it to others.

This was a good book, I got a little confused with the different girls but it was interesting.