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.

The mother of four sisters dies, leaving them to be raised by an unobservant father and a beloved housekeeper, who has her own mysterious past. Unfortunately for the girls, the housekeeper dies shortly after. The girls are pretty much left to their own devices. They feel a void and begin to search to find out who their mother and their housekeeper were. The sisters lives are examined over more than twenty years as they reach maturity, go their separate ways, and reunite. Each chapter is taken by a different sister who reports the happenings from her vantage point. Using first-person, second-person, and third-person points of view, the tale unfolds in a smooth, easy-to-read fashion. Each girl has her own voice, and the reader has no difficulty following what could be a difficult read. The characters are believable--each one is well written so that personality flaws are evident. They squabble, but the bond of family is tight. Warning: A good bit of profanity is used throughout the book.