The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters

This remarkable novel kept me spellbound on the afternoon the hem of Hurricane Ike lashed my neighborhood, but still I kept reading. Although I understood that the novel had reached its conclusion, the gift quest had ended, I was sad to put the characters away. They have the acid edge that some of Lopez earlier characters, but the Gabaldon sisters each exhibit a soft vulnerability as well. Lopez moves with ease among first, second, and third person perspectives, giving each sister her due while creating a perfectly balanced novel of a family in survival mode. Lopezs rich characterizations of the girls named for movie stars coupled with a strong clear plot make for a stunning and delightfully complex read. Unlike many books with a single heroine who is put upon or without flaw, these women can be mean and shrewd and we still cheer them on. Sexy, pitch-perfect, and superbly-written, this book should be on every book club list as well as in everyones briefcase.

I loved reading about sisters that act like sisters really act. Lopez has a gift for painting families.

I like the story line very much. Unfortunately, I read the book on my Kindle and several times it was necessary to look back at something and that becomes frustrating with the Kindle. I enjoyed the different view points from each sister and also how it all came together in the end.

Every character is simultaneously original and familiar. I publish The Latinidad List, an annual round-up of the years best titles by and/or for Latinos, and The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez is a standout among 2008s novels. (To see the rest of the list, visit [...]

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters begins in Los Angeles in 1966. We meet the four sisters - Loretta, Rita, Sophia, Bette and their brother Cary - all named by their late mother after movie stars. The girls are still mourning their mother. Their beloved housekeeper, Fermina, becomes ill as well. She has always promised that when she passes on she will give the girls each a gift. When she dies, the girls try to discover what each gift is. They arent tangible items, but maybe the gifts are abilities...... Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of one of the sisters. Interspersed are tantalizing excerpts from Ferminas life, beginning in the 1930s, taken down by a data collector from Work Projects Administration. This novel traces the lives of the girls through joy and heartache. Through it all runs the memory of their mother. Each girl remembers her differently. And Fermina - who was she really - her life with them is a bit of a mystery. The women in this story are the dominant, strong characters. I was caught up in the lives of the Gabaldon sisters. Their bickering, angst, joy and passion for life was intoxicating. Although they make some bad decisions in life, their acceptance of what life brings, their devotion to their children and their love for each other is compelling. The story rings true and real, with no sugar coating. As we follow the sisters lives, we also follow Ferminas in further reports from the WPA until the two tales meet and we discover who Fermina was and what the gifts truly were. This newly released novel is a story that will appeal to sisters and friends. It would be an excellent suggestion for a book club. Ferminas life is drawn from Lopezs own family history.

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters is a beautiful tale beautifully told. It is the story of Bette, Loretta, Rita and Sophie, four sisters who are inherently different yet share a common bond. This bond is an overwhelming desire to understand Fermina, the family housekeeper, and the gifts she said they would receive following her death. Each sister struggles to understand and control the gift she thinks Fermina has bestowed upon her. Lopez follows each sister through the twenty-year search for answers and allows the reader to share in their triumphs and bemoan their failures. Finally, the sister come together to learn the truth. The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters is a touching tale of family and finding ones role within it. Lopez has a true flair for words that lets the reader become part of the story.

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.

Whenever I read a book, I cant help playing favorites. There is always one particular character that stands out, the one I follow with more attention and care, the one Id 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 isnt sure if she will survive it. But the nerdy, fashion-afflicted, and above all, poignantly funny Sophia couldnt die so early, could she? Thankfully, it turned out that she couldnt 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.

The book is written in such a way that each chapter is one of several sisters voice (Im not even sure how many sisters there were!). Also between the chapters are documents found and written about another character in the book. I never really followed the meaning behind the research documents and keeping track of which sister was which was extremely complicated. Im an avid reader. I think if the book was better written this would not have been a problem. Bottom line, I didnt really care too much about what the sisters went thru. There would be times when it seemed that it was getting interesting only to have the chapter end and then the story line not pick up again. Dont waste your time.

In Southern California, their mom named her four daughters after Hollywood actresses she enjoyed. When she passed away while her children were young, their dad raised them with the help of caretaker Fermina; though in reality Fermina raised the kids with the help of their father. When the ancieno Fermina realized she was dying after a century of life, she tells her beloved girls she will give each of them a special gift that they must use wisely. Bette Davis obtains the skill of making anyone believe anything no matter how farfetched or exaggerated she says; Loretta Young has the ability to heal injured animals; Rita Hayworth can curse anyone with bad things happening to them; and Sophia Loren has the uncanny gift of making anyone even those depressed and despondent laugh. Over the next two decades they help each other and wonder about Ferminas paranormal gifts; as they investigate their family tree and the background of their caretaker, the four GIFTED GABALDON SISTERS begin to question what was bestowed on them. This is an intriguing paranormal sister-lit tale with psychic elements crossing the story line. The four siblings rotate viewpoint, which enables the audience to understand their differences and more important their similarities and concerns; this makes each seem real even with possession of otherworldly powers. Fermina for the most part remains mystical and with each revelation her mysticism grows. Although the intermingling of Spanish throughout enhances the sense of reality, it also slows down the plot for many readers who stop to interpret within the context of the paragraphs. Still Lorraine Lopez provides a unique refreshing paranormal family drama. Harriet Klausner