Her Fearful Symmetry

I received a copy of Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry for Christmas from my cousin Miranda. I've wanted Niffenegger's second novel since I found out about its release. I had gotten it from the library immediately, gobbled it up and loved it, but for some reason didn't admit I had read it when I received the book last month, afraid she wouldn't understand how much I loved the gift if I said I'd already read it. (Silly, I know.)

I reread the novel a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it all over again. (It's amazing how much of a book you can forget after a few years and how the reading experience can be so similar to the first time around.) The novel is about two sets of twins: Elspeth and Edie, and Edie's twin daughters- Julia and Valentina. After Elspeth dies, her nieces inherit her estate with the provision that they live in her flat for one year before deciding to sell it. And so Julia and Valentina head off to London, where life begins to get complicated for them. It's a story about identity, love, family, and loyalties--to ourselves and to our loved ones. I know the novel had received poor reviews, but after reading it twice now, I can't for the life of me figure out why. Perhaps because it is different from her first novel that was so well received? I'm not sure, but sometimes the critics are just plain wrong.