Customer Reviews

In My Sister's Country

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This summer at a writer's conference, I heard Lise Haines read a savvy, somewhat zany and erotic scene from In My Sister's Country. I was so taken by Molly (the main character's)sensibility that when the reading ended, I was first in line at the book table. The rest of the book delivered the same payoff as the author's reading had promised.I spent the better part of the next two evenings inside of Molly's head as she tries to discover and come to terms with who she is. I was exhilarated and sad when I finished the novel. It's the kind of book you never want to end.

Their father abandoned them years ago and now their compliant mother is dying forcing the recalcitrant younger of the siblings, teenage Molly to move into the home of her older sister the manipulative Amanda. Except for economics, Molly hates this scenario, as she cannot forgive Amanda for her role in abetting their father in his psychological power games when he lived with them. Worse to Molly is Amanda is a chip off the old block as she needs to dominate their relationship.

The sisters quickly find it easier to lie and pretend an understanding rather than any degree of honesty between them. This world of fabrication is fine to both Molly and Amanda until the seventeen-year old obsesses over her sibling's boy friend. Pondering her past when her home was allegedly a happy place to live, Molly sees nightmares and games families play turning her further into a rebel without a cause with no allies not even her friends.

Chicago has probably never looked as scary as it is seen through the eyes of Molly, a deep character whose psychological woes are the centerpiece of this strong drama. IN MY SISTER'S COUNTRY is as astute of a psychological tale as a reader will find as Lise Haines takes the audience inside to the core of Molly and Amanda who see the same event relatively differently. Fans of taut character studies will relish Ms. Haine's triumphant look at a dysfunctional relationship, but the catch is that this is no joyful trek to the Central Park duck ponds.

Harriet Klausner

Thinking I only had a couple of hours to spend on the book, I found myself sitting down for 5 straight hours and reading it, cover to cover. When introduced to Molly, the 17-year-old leading character, I was intrigued by her independence, her fearlessness, and spirit. This is not your typical 17-year old. No family is perfect and Molly's is no exception. The twists and turns that take place in the relationships among and between Molly's parents, her older sister/guardian, and several other men in Molly's life keep one feeling as if anything is possible. Molly doesn't really seem to care about the outcomes of her actions but it's the history of where she comes from that helps define who she is yet not where she's going. I wish I'd had some of her self-esteem as a teenager .

No matter what kind of circumstances Molly was in, I just kept rooting for her, wanting her to overcome everything and was relieved when she was able to do just that.

I found this book to be both a compelling story and a treat to read; Haines' language is smooth and icy-clear, the book is filled with images so vivid they're impossible to forget. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a contemporary literary escape.

After reading several books that I kind of had to force myself through, Haines' novel was a bracing compulsion-- I kept finding myself thinking about the character Molly throughout the day and wondering in which direction she might streak next. Lise Haines is a WONDERFUL writer. There were many places where I folded back corners of the book because of some observation that was so shocking, true and beautifully said that I wanted to read it over and over again.

What a thrilling new voice in fiction! I loved this rich yet
lean prose-- its crackling intensity, its wildly original
rhythms. Lise Haines has created a riviting read, a tense and
poetic novel of sisters run amock. At turns chilling, erotic and
tender, this story gripped me from its stunning start (the first
line is one of my all-time favorite novel openings) to its
strange and satisifying finale. Molly the narrator considers
a career in hypnosis; the real hypnotist here is Lise Haines.
She and her first novel rock!

BUT about halfway through the book, the story got really tedious. When I finished reading the book I was not left feeling "satisfied".

"In My Sister's Country" is a quirky, sexy tale of the relationship between two sisters. 17-year-old Molly and her career-driven, older sister Amanda are living on their own after their mother enters a hospice. Molly has no interest in school but an insatiable desire for Amanda's boyfriend Nathaniel, whom she attempts to seduce as the platinum blond, French model Yvonne. The story, presented from Molly's viewpoint, constantly shifts between past and present, reality and fantasy. With every conversation we are exposed simultaneously to Molly's external and internal experiences. In the midst of a heated argument with her sister, for example, she notices a print by Goya hanging on the wall. "I looked at the man in the painting and wondered what it would be like to have bullets go through your body."

Haines has a marvelous way with descriptive inventions. Here are a few samples of the wisdom of Molly:

"I believe she married him for his broken nose. She needed someone she could pull in close, who looked to the world the way she felt inside."

"I tried not to taste Nathaniel, the way someone baptized in chocolate will try to skirt the edges of a five-pound box of sweets."

"Some people escape underground, some into a mind womb - a drug, any movie that's showing. I used to take the El. It's all the grit and funk of the world moving like it wants off its track."

"...paintings really can drift from their walls and enclose you to such a degree, you become oil and canvas and color, even sense of place, however abstract that place may be."

Haines captures the angst and eros of being alive!
The novel is honest, wrenching, and ultimately passionate about living. It is worth taking the time to read this truly courageous novel.

I read the good reviews for this novel, so gave it a try. The story seemed to start well, but then floundered some where half way through and then fell flat. The characters are one dimensional, unbelievable and unlikeable. I was left wanting more...about the characters, I mean. They just weren't tangible to me. The ending was weak. I'd skip this one.