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    The Weird Sisters
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    The Weird Sisters
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    The Weird Sisters
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Weird Sisters

    Written by Eleanor Brown

    Narrated by Kirsten Potter

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    This is the "delightful" (People) New York Times bestseller that's earned raves from Sarah Blake, Helen Simonson, and reviewers everywhere-the story of three sisters who love each other, but just don't happen to like each other very much...

    Three sisters have returned to their childhood home, reuniting the eccentric Andreas family. Here, books are a passion (there is no problem a library card can't solve) and TV is something other people watch. Their father-a professor of Shakespeare who speaks almost exclusively in verse-named them after the Bard's heroines. It's a lot to live up to.

    The sisters have a hard time communicating with their parents and their lovers, but especially with one another. What can the shy homebody eldest sister, the fast-living middle child, and the bohemian youngest sibling have in common? Only that none has found life to be what was expected; and now, faced with their parents' frailty and their own personal disappointments, not even a book can solve what ails them...

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 20, 2011
    ISBN9781101484548
    Unavailable
    The Weird Sisters
    Author

    Eleanor Brown

    Eleanor Brown is the author of The Weird Sisters. Her writing has been published in anthologies, magazines and journals. She holds an MA in Literature and has worked in education in South Florida. She lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.www.eleanor-brown.com.

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    Reviews for The Weird Sisters

    3.5/5

    949 ratings151 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      When the book began, I wasn't sure I would be able to keep the three sisters and their stories straight. Instead, I was swallowed up by their world. The story was written so vividly that I felt like I was watching a movie. Each sister's predicament was unique, as was her personality and the way she chose to cope with things. My favorite aspect of the novel was what I thought was the most unique - the story is told in a strange first person/third person hybrid that I have never read before. Each sister is referred to by name: Rose, Bean, and Cordy. Yet they are "our" sisters, "we" live with "our" mother and father, etc. It was very interesting to be part of the story, yet always on the outskirts. You were never a specific sister, but you were in the family somehow.
    • 2/5
      Here I was thinking a book with the title Weird Sisters would be so up my alley. I am weird and I have some weird sisters too!



      How wrong I was. I tried but after reading 100 pages I decided to call it quits. The writing style was so annoying and I could not care less what happened to the sisters. Delete from kindle.
    • 3/5
      An interesting read that focuses on the idea of birth order and how it affects our relationships with our siblings. Not having sisters I found it a bit difficult to relate to the characters but I did like their interactions. The title comes from the three witches in Macbeth and the father of the three main characters is a Shakespeare expert who only seems able to communicate with his family in quotes from the Bard.
      Enjoyed this book but not sure that I would necessarily recommend it strongly.
    • 5/5
      Perhaps because I grew up in a tiny town with one main industry? Or because I'm the 3rd of 3 kids? .... I can identify quite a bit with the differing varieties of Weird Sisters and their love/hate with their hometown and each other.
      This story was wonderfully molded; no glaring surprises really, but it isn't a thriller, more a coming-of-age tale.
    • 3/5
      A nice narrative about a family with three adult sisters all at their own crossroads, who come together to support their parents during their mother's cancer treatments. The story unfolds more or less as expected, but with the unique first person plural POV (as if all three sisters are narrating) and the wonderful and reasonably well executed motif of Shakespeare's plays, quotes, and character references throughout. Since it was that was the gimmick that attracted me to the book in the first place, I enjoyed it the most and appreciated all the references and quotations! A pleasant read, well read aloud.
    • 4/5
      As the middle of 3 sisters (relatively speaking), I kept trying to figure out how similar or different my family is from this family. There was the sister who was an embezzler & fashion hound; the sister who was prim, responsible, professor; the sister who was a footloose hippie. However, our father was not a Shakespeare devotee.
    • 3/5
      The writing was good, however, everything turned out just swell. It wasn't very realistic, still I enjoyed the story.
    • 4/5
      The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brownfrom the publisher: There is no problem that a library card can't solve.The Andreas family is one of readers. Their father, a renowned Shakespeare professor who speaks almost entirely in verse, has named his three daughters after famous Shakespearean women. When the sisters return to their childhood home, ostensibly to care for their ailing mother, but really to lick their wounds and bury their secrets, they are horrified to find the others there. See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much. But the sisters soon discover that everything they've been running from-one another, their small hometown, and themselves-might offer more than they ever expected. I greatly enjoyed this debut. I certainly love characters that love to read and a book littered with quotes from Shakespeare. While caring for their sick mother, each sister begins to see herself in a new way and discover their better selves. The ending was a bit predictable but so what?my rating 4/5
    • 3/5
      A strange little book. Did not like it at first, but the characters grew on me. An interesting character study of siblings and parent-child relationships. A good read for the holidays.
    • 5/5
      What an amazing debut novel! The tale of three adult sisters whose lives aren't turning out as expected; this is a funny, honest and totally heartwarming novel. The narration is unusual, as it flips around a bit, but as I got deep into the story I decided the narrator was the collective of the sisters.

      Coming from a family of all girls, I appreciated the understanding of that life. We may fight, be away for years, judgmental, and selfish at times; but at the core we love each other and often know our sisters better than we know ourselves.

      And I recognized myself in one of the sisters, but I will keep that revelation to myself. A slow start turned not a great real that I completely enjoyed.
    • 4/5
      Rose, Bean, and Cordy - the Andreas sisters (AKA the Weird Sisters) - are incredibility easy to relate to (at least for me). In fact, I'm thinking of adopting their family motto as my own - there is no problem a library card can't solve. And for about two-thirds of the novel, I was convinced Rose was some kind of literacy version of myself. Anyone who likes books should read this book!
    • 5/5
      Lovely warm story of a family with three sisters. Mom is fighting cancer and all three are under the same roof again. Their personalities are so well developed by the author that you feel like they are all good friends. Love this book that I picked up at a campground.
    • 4/5
      I rather enjoyed this book.
      It's not something I would normally pick up but I was very intrigued by the synopsis on the back cover.

      I found that I could empathize with each of the three sisters the more I read.

      Also, this is the first book that I have read written in first person plural. I was a little confused at first but when I figured it out, I actually really enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      It's a sisterly drama that is enjoyable enough, but could have used a bit more life.
    • 3/5
      This was a decent first novel with many touching moments and what appear to be truthful insights into the complicated nature of sisterly relationships (I grew up with brothers, so can't say for certain!). The Shakespearean conceit wears thin pretty quickly, however, and I found the first person plural narration ... well, weird.
    • 5/5
      Excellent read. Woman with sisters will really see themselves in parts of this book.
    • 4/5
      The Andreas family of Barnwell, Ohio is a bookish one. Father is a professor of English at Barnwell College, renowned as a Shakespeare scholar and more than a little obsessed with the works of the immortal bard. Each of his daughters is named for a Shakespearean heroine: Rosalind, called Rose, Bianca, known as Bean, and Cordelia, who is, of course, Cordy. His conversation is peppered with quotes from the plays--a habit all three of the daughters have picked up (Strike up the drum; cry 'Courage!' and away, Cordy whispers to herself as she's shoplifting a pregnancy test at the beginning of the book; and, If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly quotes Bean under her breath, as she's being led into her boss's office to be fired a few pages later).Of the three Andreas sisters only the eldest, Rose, still lives in their hometown. Cordy, the youngest, dropped out of college nearly a decade earlier, and has been living a nomadic life--hitchhiking, music festivals, sleeping on couches--ever since. And Bean, the middle sister, fled as soon as she graduated, heading for New York and a life as far from the quiet life of a college town as possible. Each sister, suffering an upheaval in her life, heads home, where hey will spend the hot, humid summer helping care for their mother, who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer (as is his way, their father conveyed this news by sending a page copied from his decades old, heavily annotated Riverside Shakespeare, on which he highlighted the line, Come, let us go; and pray to all the gods/For our beloved mother in her pains.)The three Andreas sisters will also spend the summer figuring out how who they are and how to live their lives. They'll work on that most difficult of tasks, learning to know one's parents as people, not just as parents. And they'll find love, and acceptance, and a measure of grace. In fact, although The Weird Sisters does not end with a wedding, still, the ending has the feel of the ending of a Shakespearean comedy.The first person plural narrative voice was charming. The "we" of the narrator acts almost as a fourth sister, who elucidates the trio's collective feelings and points of view, as well as the individual ones of each of the sisters. This odd device, the abundance of italicized but usually unattributed quotes from the bard, and the relentless quirkiness of the Andreas family could have been overwhelming or off-putting, but it wasn't. Their love of books and stories and each other was beautifully painted, and enough to keep this reader charmed to the end.
    • 5/5
      Three sisters, three different outlooks on life, three different opinions about working, three different attitudes concerning just about everything, but they all had the same reason for coming home.....their mother needed help because of her breast cancer. Rose was the practical, organized sister, Bean was the attorney turned thief, and Cordy was still the spoiled child she always was. They all had some secret or concern as they returned to their childhood home. Their childhood home was one of love, of books, and Shakespearean quotes....the entire family quoted Shakespeare as they spoke and thought nothing of doing so. None of the girls was ever without a book in her hands.Just as in childhood, the adult lives of each sister went opposite ways in terms of interest and responsibility, but their love and concern for each other was evident. The emotions of the characters and the descriptions of situations especially during childhood flashbacks was perfectly depicted allowing the reader to experience the hominess of small town connections and the nostalgia of coming back to your roots. You will enjoy each sister for her strengths and shortcomings, and you will admire their parents for their love of each other and for the love of reading they instilled in their daughters. I really enjoyed this book...if you have sisters, you will cherish it and you will most likely be comparing these characters to see which sister you are!! If you don't have sisters, the bond between all the characters will "warm your heart" and have you thinking about your own family and sibling relationships. 5/5 P. S. The Three Witches or Weird Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (c. 1603–1607)...information taken from Wikipedia.
    • 1/5
      It was such a boring and long book. I had to skip most of the chapters. I think the 1st few and the last few chapters are good enough to understand the entire plot.
    • 3/5
      This is just not holding my interest at all. Plus, it's due back at the library in a couple of days. Maybe I'll try it again later.
    • 2/5
      I don't quite get the rancor that this inspires. Yes, the book has literary pretensions, all the characters are flat, and the Shakespeare conceit woefully uninspired.

      However. It is a quick read. Perhaps this should be labeled as some genre read instead of "literature" / literary fiction?
    • 4/5
      A story about 3 sisters whose father is a Shakespearean Professor in a small University town in Ohio. When their mother is diagnosed with cancer they all come home and revaluate their lives.
    • 4/5
      An interesting literary family dramedy peppered with Shakespeare quotes.
    • 3/5
      Just okay. The ending is too pat, and Brown could have cut out whole sections in which she spells out the point of the previous scene. The characters are appealing, though, and it held my interest.
    • 4/5

      The Weird Sisters tells the story of the three Andreas sisters who return home to Barnwell, Ohio to take care of their mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Each of the girls has failed in her own way and needs the safety net of home, with their eccentric, Shakespeare-quoting father, and each other, to figure out what to do next. The three sisters have been named after some of Shakespeare's most popular characters. Rosalind (Rose), Bianca (Bean), and Cordelia (Cordy) are now living together for the first time in years and they also get a chance to help one another cope with the failures in their lives, including theft, adultery, and pregnancy.

       

      I thought the author did a great job of making me care about the characters, which I really didn't expect. There are many quotes and allusions to Shakespeare, some which I got and some I didn't. There's something about each of the sisters that you can identify with. I so identified with Bean when she explained that she always carried a book so that when she's in a waiting room she can just pull out her book and start reading. I think you will enjoy the book even more if you are knowledgeable about Shakespearean plays, but it won't detract from the story if you're not. The humor, intriguing story line, and funny incidents kept me involved till the very last page.

       

      "
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed the writing and the flow of the book. Realistic portrayal of the how the relationship between siblings impacts their view of the world.
    • 3/5
      This was a nice story, following the lives is three adult sisters who move back home to Ohio for various reasons.

      That is the extent of my praise for this book because I want to focus on what bothered me.

      First of all, I could NEVER figure out who the narrator was. It was written in first person, but the "I" was never clear. I am use to this if the chapter or section is from a perspective of a particular character, but this was not the case in this novel.

      Secondly, is it really possible for a mother to be so flighty that she could start a meal, only to wander off outside while it burned to a crisp inside? That she would hum at the dinner table while serious (Mom and Dad, I'm pregnant) conversation was happening, but not hear it because her mind is elsewhere? I just didn't buy it.

      And the entire family goes through life spouting quotes from numerous Shakespeare plays and sonnets. It's the way they communicate. Does this really happen?

      These downfalls in the novel (for me, at least) garner three looks instead of more. The writing was good and it was easy to follow. I had some sympathy for the characters (although I wanted to slap Rose a couple of times) and felt invested enough at the end.

      I am not sure I would recommend this one, but I couldn't tell you to cross it off your list, either.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this domestic drama of three sisters converging on their childhood Midwest college town home. Rosalind (Rose), Bianca (Bean), and Cordelia (Cordy) all have their own troubles, and their (unnamed) mother has breast cancer. The most interesting part is the author writes in the voices of all three women ("we", "our"). The situations are not startlingly unique, but the Shakespeare scholar professor father is a delightful character.The ending is way too pat, but it was a touching and funny narrative, a better-than-beach read.
    • 3/5
      Cordy, Bean and Rose are all living back in their parents house. They claim it's because their mother has been diagnosed with cancer. The truth of the matter is that they are at home hiding from mistakes that they have made and maybe to make a few more before they straighten themselves out.

      I don't know how but I convinced myself that what this book was really about was that the three sisters were actually the witches from MacBeth, so once again I found myself having to adjust my expectations.
      I did really enjoy the book though.

      I loved watching the characters figure themselves out and what direction to take their lives in. It was also interesting to see how a group of sisters who didn't like each other functioned. I know a lot of people who don't get along great with their siblings and I don't get it b/c my sister and I are good friends, now I see how it can happen.

    • 4/5
      The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown3 Andrea sisters return home to help their father. They return with their own problems and secrets.Father speaks Shakespeare and in prose to the girls. Cordelia has left WA and traveled back home and she's pregnant...Bianca is leaving NY having lost her job because she's stolen money...Rosa teaches but this is her last year with the school, her fiance wants her to relocate to England so he can further his career...Her mother informs them she has breast cancer and needs surgery, chemo the whole 9 yards....as they tend to their parents they become familiar with one another and secrets and the locale everything from bars to the church and everything in between.Small town Ohio is so different from their normal...liked their summer destinations...they all have choices and decisions to make while caring for the adults who also have choices... I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).