Book Review: The Secret Lives of Sisters
New Popular Fiction Novel for Women by Author Linda Kelsey
There is something appealing about the opportunity to read about the sibling rivalry and family secrets of others, even if they are fictional. The Secret Lives of Sisters (Hodder, 2008) by Linda Kelsey offers a slight twist on the standard story of two sisters with opposing personalities learning to relate to each other.
Linda Kelsey is a former editor of Cosmopolitan and SHE and contributing editor of In Style and Easy Living magazines as well as author of the novel Fifty is not a Four-Letter Word (Hodder & Stoughton, 2007).
The Secret Lives of Sisters
As Hannah prepares for her daughter’s wedding day, she reflects on her own romantic past. Since her partner passed away 20 years previously, she has devoted herself to her children and her business.
Hannah’s sister Catherine (Cat) heads the design team at her lingerie company, House of Hannah. While Hannah and her sister have never been close, they have worked well together to build the business over the years. Cat’s flamboyant, confident sense of style and Hannah’s serious and intelligent attitude towards the business have ensured that the House of Hannah has been a success.
Having to stand and give a speech on the day of the wedding is the final straw in a series of stressful events that result in Hannah fainting and requiring enforced rest. Hannah is must come to terms with her relationship with Cat, her memories of their childhood and the stresses of the priorities she has chosen for herself before she is able to fully recover from the effects of her panic attack.
A Twist on the Usual Tale of Two Sisters
With a variety of chick lit novels featuring two sisters, one a flamboyant, irresponsible party girl and the other a shy, serious urban professional, Linda Kelsey has managed to bring something new to the table.
While Cat is undeniably confident and dramatic, she also has depth to her character and has obviously made a long-term commitment to her involvement in the success of Hannah’s business. Hannah describes herself as mousy and quite, but she has also had the confidence to build her own business empire and to make the choice to commit herself to a de facto relationship rather than bowing to the pressure to marry in a time when such things were not readily accepted.
Both Hannah and Cat are in their 50s, further removing them from the stereotypical young mum/party girl sisters of so many novels.
Changing Attitudes to Women in Business
While The Secret Lives of Sisters can simply be regarded as a great beach read, it does offer more depth for those who are interested. Changing attitudes to working women, motherhood and romantic relationships are all interwoven into Hannah’s story.
Reading groups will find plenty of material to discuss such as Hannah’s inspiration for her business; an opportunity to offer women delicate and sensual underwear to balance the severe business attire they feel they must wear in order to be taken seriously in their new roles in the business world in the early 80s.
Changing attitudes towards motherhood are reflected in Cat and Hannah’s emotionally fragile mother, Hannah’s choice to raise her children alone after the death of her partner, Cat’s decision to not have children at all and the way two unplanned pregnancies are dealt with by different characters.
An Enjoyable Book About Complex Family Relationships
Enjoyable to read with enough substance to make it interesting, The Secret Lives of Sisters is sure to appeal to fans of authors such as Marian Keyes and Dianne Blacklock. Readers who enjoy this story or Kelsey’s previous novel should look out for her next novel, The Twenty-Year Itch, due to be released by Hodder & Stoughton in mid-2009.
The Secret Lives of Sisters (ISBN: 978-0-340-97749-1, 297 pages)
The Secret Lives of Sisters by Linda Kelsey
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