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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Not my favourite.
It didn't seem to 'go' anywhere and I didn't find the ending satisfying.
It didn't seem to 'go' anywhere and I didn't find the ending satisfying.
An extraordinary narrative exploring the effects of Self-fulfilling Prophecy. The best book I have read this year - and I have read some amazing books this year. This is one of those books that will stay with me. The authors writing style is incredible and clever, I couldn’t put this book down!
I can't seem to figure out exactly how I feel about this book, so I'll go with 3 stars for now...maybe would do 3.5 if given the option. The premise seems so ridiculous that I really struggled with the first 1/3 of the book or so, just trying to decide if I wanted to invest the time in reading it or not. Twin six year old girls - identical in appearance but quite different in behaviors and abilities - decide to swap identities as a game, and then one of them refuses to swap back but no one notices? It seemed so completely implausible that I wasn't sure I could see past it to continue reading, but finally decided to push that aside and see where things went. It is eventually made clear that the main character has a mental illness, and I realized that questioning the plausibility was pointless since it's impossible to be certain if the swap actually took place or if it was something only real in her mind. The book gives an insightful view at the life of someone with bipolar disease and I did enjoy reading it, although it is quite sad and dark.
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Twins switch places all the time. It’s part of the fun of being a twin! But what if you and your twin decided to switch places one day, and you never switched back? This is Helen’s reality … or perhaps we should call her Ellie, the name of her twin and her new identity. Beside Myself by Ann Morgan follows Helen as she comes to terms with living in her sister’s shoes.
Helen is the smart twin, the popular twin, the model child. Ellie takes special classes at school and has no friends. Helen likes to teach Ellie “lessons” by making fun of her or tricking her. Helen thinks she is the nice twin, but really she is not. One day, Helen decides that it is time for Ellie to learn another lesson, and she suggests they switch places. The girls trade clothes and try out their new identities on some of the neighbors. The problem is Ellie enjoys being the “good twin,” and refuses to acknowledge that the girls even ever switched. The girls’ mother, preoccupied with a new boyfriend, seems none the wiser, and so Helen’s world is turned upside down. How can she live as her sister, Ellie, the twin who no one likes?
Beside Myself is a psychological exploration into what happens to a person’s psyche when their identity is stripped from her. Just how important is being who you believe yourself to be? Beside Myself alternates between past and present day, following Helen (now Ellie) through her life living as her sister. Helen now carries the label of the “bad twin,” and the stigma of her sister’s reputation soon takes its toll on her. Beside Myself is fascinating look into personal perception and self-worth. The book is ever more engaging due to Morgan’s beautiful writing and compelling storytelling.
NOVELIST APPEALS:
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Tone: Moody; Suspenseful
Character: Flawed
Writing Style: Gritty
Storyline: Intricately-Plotted
Helen is the smart twin, the popular twin, the model child. Ellie takes special classes at school and has no friends. Helen likes to teach Ellie “lessons” by making fun of her or tricking her. Helen thinks she is the nice twin, but really she is not. One day, Helen decides that it is time for Ellie to learn another lesson, and she suggests they switch places. The girls trade clothes and try out their new identities on some of the neighbors. The problem is Ellie enjoys being the “good twin,” and refuses to acknowledge that the girls even ever switched. The girls’ mother, preoccupied with a new boyfriend, seems none the wiser, and so Helen’s world is turned upside down. How can she live as her sister, Ellie, the twin who no one likes?
Beside Myself is a psychological exploration into what happens to a person’s psyche when their identity is stripped from her. Just how important is being who you believe yourself to be? Beside Myself alternates between past and present day, following Helen (now Ellie) through her life living as her sister. Helen now carries the label of the “bad twin,” and the stigma of her sister’s reputation soon takes its toll on her. Beside Myself is fascinating look into personal perception and self-worth. The book is ever more engaging due to Morgan’s beautiful writing and compelling storytelling.
NOVELIST APPEALS:
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Tone: Moody; Suspenseful
Character: Flawed
Writing Style: Gritty
Storyline: Intricately-Plotted
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Ann Morgan for a copy of "Beside Myself" in exchange for my honest review. I really wanted to enjoy this book. The premise of identical twins "switching" lives intrigued me. However, I felt that the book started shifting perceptions of the young Helen (later known as Ellie) and the adult Ellie (in present tense is actually Helen) too soon. Obviously, the adult "Ellie" has a lot of mental issues, whether due to nature or nurture, which can be seen by the behavior as an adult. I could not finish this book. I stopped at about 11% and just did not want to go further. The writing seemed to be all over the place...which may have been intentional but just did not work for me.
This was a great concept but it just felt somehow overwritten but underdeveloped.
This book is one hell of a rollercoaster. Firstly, let me explain why I only gave it three stars. The fact of the matter is that you can tell identical twins apart and this is touched upon in the novel. The reality of the situation seems so unlikely that it’s almost hard to believe. However, the narrative is gripping enough to allow you to forget that.
One of the main things I enjoyed about this novel was the anachronic narrative. There are two simultaneous narratives that switch between young Helen, as the swap was happening, and adult Helen, years after the trauma of growing up a lie. These narratives in tandem give the plot a darkness that it might not have if it was linear. It also shows the many idiosyncrasies in Helen and Ellie’s relationship. To some extent they are almost one character because of the constant cross over.
One character who I never fell in love with was their mother. I think that was kind of the point really. Who can forgive or empathise with a mother who can’t tell her children apart? Their father, her husband, committed suicide before the plot starts, so everyone in the family is shaken by this.
The big irritation for me was the way it ended. The discussion between Helen and her mother. I’m being purposefully vague not because I think it’s necessarily a bad part of the book but because I believe you’re meant to feel irritated by it. One part of me feels that the book ended too neatly, that we were perhaps given too many answers we didn’t need and not enough of the ones that could have given the book the depth it needed.
One of the main things I enjoyed about this novel was the anachronic narrative. There are two simultaneous narratives that switch between young Helen, as the swap was happening, and adult Helen, years after the trauma of growing up a lie. These narratives in tandem give the plot a darkness that it might not have if it was linear. It also shows the many idiosyncrasies in Helen and Ellie’s relationship. To some extent they are almost one character because of the constant cross over.
One character who I never fell in love with was their mother. I think that was kind of the point really. Who can forgive or empathise with a mother who can’t tell her children apart? Their father, her husband, committed suicide before the plot starts, so everyone in the family is shaken by this.
The big irritation for me was the way it ended. The discussion between Helen and her mother. I’m being purposefully vague not because I think it’s necessarily a bad part of the book but because I believe you’re meant to feel irritated by it. One part of me feels that the book ended too neatly, that we were perhaps given too many answers we didn’t need and not enough of the ones that could have given the book the depth it needed.
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I cannot resist a book about twins. Maybe it’s the fun of having super cute, almost-five-year-old twins as my niece and nephew. Or maybe my interest stems from my 88-year-old grandfather, born a fraternal twin and the kind of man who casually says things like, “Yeah, that’s a photo of me with a deer I shot using a bow I made myself.” It’s also possible it was just all those Sweet Valley books I read growing up. Whatever the cause, I find twins endlessly fascinating, and I am hard pressed to pass up a book that promises twinny drama.
The twins in Ann Morgan’s debut novel Beside Myself have a complicated relationship to say the least. Helen is the older, stronger, favored twin. Ellie, born after her sister with an umbilical cord around her neck, is slower, quieter, a hapless troublemaker. One day, Helen thinks of a new game the children can play—they will switch places and see how long it takes their mother to notice. She and Ellie change their clothes and hair. Helen urges Ellie to adopt her own mannerisms and patterns of speech. She can’t wait to see their mother’s reaction to this hilarious prank.
Except their mother doesn’t notice. And—surprise, surprise—Ellie doesn’t want to give up the coveted role of Helen.
What was supposed to be a silly diversion for a few hours becomes a waking nightmare for the real Helen. No one believes her when she insists she’s not Ellie. And why would they? Ellie has always had problems. Ellie can't be trusted. Helen is the golden child who has their mother’s ear. If everyone thinks Helen is Ellie, why would they listen to a word of her bizarre story?
Morgan uses alternating timelines to show how the twins’ identity switch affects Helen (now Ellie) into her adult life. She is clearly mentally ill, hearing voices and living in a hoarder’s nest of an apartment, paranoid and suspicious of everyone she encounters. She’s also one of the best-written unreliable narrators I’ve read for some time. It’s hard to tell at the outset what is truly threatening to Helen/Ellie, and what is the product of her mental illness. Her struggles will make you think hard about identity—and they demonstrate what can happen to the mind when others refuse to see us as we are.
This book was my first foray into next year’s releases, and it’s certainly setting the bar high for 2016. Beside Myself had me riveted from start to finish. Highly recommended.
With regards to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for the advance copy. On sale January 12, 2016.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
The twins in Ann Morgan’s debut novel Beside Myself have a complicated relationship to say the least. Helen is the older, stronger, favored twin. Ellie, born after her sister with an umbilical cord around her neck, is slower, quieter, a hapless troublemaker. One day, Helen thinks of a new game the children can play—they will switch places and see how long it takes their mother to notice. She and Ellie change their clothes and hair. Helen urges Ellie to adopt her own mannerisms and patterns of speech. She can’t wait to see their mother’s reaction to this hilarious prank.
Except their mother doesn’t notice. And—surprise, surprise—Ellie doesn’t want to give up the coveted role of Helen.
What was supposed to be a silly diversion for a few hours becomes a waking nightmare for the real Helen. No one believes her when she insists she’s not Ellie. And why would they? Ellie has always had problems. Ellie can't be trusted. Helen is the golden child who has their mother’s ear. If everyone thinks Helen is Ellie, why would they listen to a word of her bizarre story?
Morgan uses alternating timelines to show how the twins’ identity switch affects Helen (now Ellie) into her adult life. She is clearly mentally ill, hearing voices and living in a hoarder’s nest of an apartment, paranoid and suspicious of everyone she encounters. She’s also one of the best-written unreliable narrators I’ve read for some time. It’s hard to tell at the outset what is truly threatening to Helen/Ellie, and what is the product of her mental illness. Her struggles will make you think hard about identity—and they demonstrate what can happen to the mind when others refuse to see us as we are.
This book was my first foray into next year’s releases, and it’s certainly setting the bar high for 2016. Beside Myself had me riveted from start to finish. Highly recommended.
With regards to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for the advance copy. On sale January 12, 2016.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
So much swearing! I found this book hard to follow... One minute they are kids the next they are adults and then back again. The swearing seemed a bit much for when they were kids.
Not the best writing, seemed like it was written to shock but not given any substance.
Not the best writing, seemed like it was written to shock but not given any substance.
I had never wondered before why an author should choose to show certain scenes in their story and not others. I guess I just automatically assumed the scenes portrayed were the only ones that could possibly create that particular progression of events with those particular characters and so on. Well, this time around I found myself asking again and again why these moments instead of other surely more significant ones were chosen. They were completely random, like the story was happening somewhere else and what you got here was just an album full of dull and pointless pictures with little to no connection between them. Same for the characters. This is my main concern.. and since what I mean is that there was basically no plot, I dare think it is a pretty big one. The writing was excellent though, and kinda wasted for the same reason.