The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez follows the lives of four sisters named for classic movie beauties: Loretta Young, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Sophia Lauren, and their brother Cary Grant Gabaldon, and their mysterious connection to their Indian maid Fermina, whose hidden letters and notes contain shocking revelations about the Gabaldon sisters. Motherless, the girls increasingly resent their father and rely on each other to get through Catholic school and beyond. Fermina, it was rumored, hung out with friends who dabbled in magic. The girls believe that Fermina left each one a magical gift unique to her, including telling believeable lies, healing animals, making others laugh, and the power to curse people to die. Along the way, they struggle through abusive relationships, childbirth, and heartbreak. Each chapter is narrated by a different sister, and interspersed between these are WPA archives of interviews with Fermina that gradually reveal the girls lineage piece by piece. The magic is largely psychological, but Lopez captures the cultural nuances of two decades that seem to pass in the blink of an eye, from the mid-1960s to the 1980s, and paints a lush, loving portrait of a chaotic family bound by secrets and tradition. Hispanic culture permeates the pages with hints of chile and hot buttered corn tortillas dripping with butter and a drizzle of lime, with the smoky incense of churches, and in the Spanglish spoken by family and relatives. Each of the girls must make her own way into the world, each fighting a personal demon: alcoholism, drug abuse, absent husbands, sexual orientation. They find strength in their shared memories and secrets, and return two decades later to fulfill a long-delayed journey to discover the real gift that Fermina left for them. Lopezs style is familiar and engaging; each sister has a unique voice and worldview, from the cynical and emotionally scarred Bette (who swears constantly and drops acid on her wedding day) to Rita, whose quick temper curses people to horrible fates (she ends up silent for most of her school years in order to avoid cursing people inadvertently). The four narrators are effective, although the flashbacks provided in the supposed WPA interviews felt disjointed. The writing style wouldnt have been permitted in actual reports; the supposed narratives are written in a highly ornamented style that the uneducated subject being interviewed wouldnt have been capable of expressing. But other than a few small missteps, this is a rewarding novel that reminded me of Joanne Harriss

I thought the premise of this book was intriguing- 4 sisters who have been given gifts by their live-in housekeeper, Fermina, who died. I expected more magical realism than what materialized in the book. The interplay between the report on Ferminas history and the contemporary story was interesting and the final solution to her relation to the family was good, but I had a hard time relating to any of the girls as they grew up. This one just missed the mark for me.