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My Sister and Other Lovers: A Novel
MP3 CD Format
A stirring novel from the author of I Couldn't Love You More and Hideous Kinky: the story of two sisters who couldn't be more different and the great love that holds them together throughout a tumultuous youth
For as long as Lucy can remember, she's been caught between love for her rootless mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. From their peripatetic childhood to their restless teenage years--hitching through rural Ireland, the move to a communal house--she's been forced to make a choice between these two very different ways of approaching life.
But as the girls come of age and embark on their own experiments--in love, drugs, work, motherhood--Bea is at risk of drifting further and further away. Can their loyalty to each other transcend the damages of a past that feels almost too dangerous to examine?
With scalpel-sharp insight, Esther Freud excavates the most intimate relationships of our lives, laying bare the fear and longing, the secrets and mistrust. My Sister and Other Lovers is an irresistible exploration of love, family, and freedom in all its forms.
A stirring novel from the author of I Couldn't Love You More and Hideous Kinky: the story of two sisters who couldn't be more different and the great love that holds them together throughout a tumultuous youth
For as long as Lucy can remember, she's been caught between love for her rootless mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. From their peripatetic childhood to their restless teenage years--hitching through rural Ireland, the move to a communal house--she's been forced to make a choice between these two very different ways of approaching life.
But as the girls come of age and embark on their own experiments--in love, drugs, work, motherhood--Bea is at risk of drifting further and further away. Can their loyalty to each other transcend the damages of a past that feels almost too dangerous to examine?
With scalpel-sharp insight, Esther Freud excavates the most intimate relationships of our lives, laying bare the fear and longing, the secrets and mistrust. My Sister and Other Lovers is an irresistible exploration of love, family, and freedom in all its forms.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published August 5, 2025
About the author
Esther Freud
29 books294 followersEsther Freud was born in London in 1963. As a young child she travelled through Morocco with her mother and sister, returning to England aged six where she attended a Rudolf Steiner school in Sussex.
In 1979 she moved to London to study Drama, going on to work as an actress, both in theatre and television, and forming her own company with fellow actress/writer Kitty Aldridge - The Norfolk Broads.
Her first novel Hideous Kinky, was published in 1992 and was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and made into a film starring Kate Winslet. In 1993, after the publication of her second novel, Peerless Flats, she was named by Granta as one of the Best of Young Novelists under 40.
She has since written seven novels, including The Sea House, Love Falls and Lucky Break. She also writes stories, articles and travel pieces for newspapers and magazines, and teaches creative writing, in her own local group and at the Faber Academy.
Her most recent book, Mr Mac and Me, was published in September 2014. She lives in London with her husband, the actor David Morrissey, and their three children.
In 1979 she moved to London to study Drama, going on to work as an actress, both in theatre and television, and forming her own company with fellow actress/writer Kitty Aldridge - The Norfolk Broads.
Her first novel Hideous Kinky, was published in 1992 and was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and made into a film starring Kate Winslet. In 1993, after the publication of her second novel, Peerless Flats, she was named by Granta as one of the Best of Young Novelists under 40.
She has since written seven novels, including The Sea House, Love Falls and Lucky Break. She also writes stories, articles and travel pieces for newspapers and magazines, and teaches creative writing, in her own local group and at the Faber Academy.
Her most recent book, Mr Mac and Me, was published in September 2014. She lives in London with her husband, the actor David Morrissey, and their three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
June 23, 2026
'How could she remember anyway?' Mum was shouting. 'She was only six years old!'
I've never read Hideous Kinky and, while I was never lost with coming straight to this, I might have understood some of the depths more quickly. Because this started off very slow for me: the childhood memories, the shift between the freedom of a bohemian childhood to the emotional chaos of living without boundaries, the messy years of being in your twenties in London, have been done before quite extensively. But I like Lucy's narrative voice and stuck with this. And, at about halfway through, this really grabbed me.
This is such a loose book without a shaping plot but Freud makes that work marvellously. At the heart are a number of relationships which are dealt with with a light touch that doesn't compromise on emotional grab. Lucy's desire for some sort of stability, something she didn't have in childhood, bounces back on her as she holds on to bad relationships and accepts infidelity.
But it's Bea, distant, troubled, unforgiving of their mother, in whom the book's heart really seems to inhere. And Freud's decision to keep her largely off-stage, though always in Lucy's thoughts, is a masterly stroke. Only at the end, do we realise what darkness lies at the heart of this family, and how it has shaped them all. By offering this up obliquely through Lucy, the drama is dialled down and is all the more impactful for being articulated so tersely.
I listened to the audiobook, read by the author. At times, the pace is overly slow but the power of this narrative built steadily and now that voice is associated in my head with the story.
Stick with this one, I'd say - the pay-off is worth it. Might be especially good for fans of Gwendoline Riley.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Audio for an audiobook via NetGalley
April 8, 2026
The review of Georgina Reads_Eats_Explores reflects exactly what I had in mind to write in my own review, so I do not bother to repeat it.
March 21, 2025
Some books pull you in effortlessly—this wasn’t one of them for me. I didn’t realize it was a follow-up to Hideous Kinky (which I haven’t read), and maybe that’s why I felt like I was always on the outside looking in. The writing is thoughtful capturing the messiness of sisterhood, love, and fractured family bonds, but the fragmented structure made it hard to fully connect.
Lucy and Bea’s relationship felt raw, shaped by a childhood that left scars neither of them knew how to heal. I wanted to love this book, but instead, I found myself struggling through it. Still, one line stayed with me: “The mistake we make is to think that love must be about possession.”
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this novel.
Lucy and Bea’s relationship felt raw, shaped by a childhood that left scars neither of them knew how to heal. I wanted to love this book, but instead, I found myself struggling through it. Still, one line stayed with me: “The mistake we make is to think that love must be about possession.”
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this novel.
March 16, 2025
Thirty years ago, Esther Freud wrote Hideous Kinky, a wonderful novel about a bohemian young mother and her two daughters, an unnamed five-year-old narrator and her older sister Bea, who travel to Morrocco and live an itinerate but adventure-filled life. I loved that book and recently revisited it when the online journal BookBrowse asked me to write about a favorite, lesser-known 20th century classic.
So, what a delight to meet up once again with these old friends in My Sister and Other Lovers, to reenter the lives of the now-named-narrator Lucy and sister Bea, and to follow them from the turmoil of their teens to full adulthood. The novel reads as a series of linked short stories, and each chapter provides a brief look into an important moment of life before a curtain falls and the next chapter begins. As readers, we start to focus on the swirling variations and patterns that define the sisters’ relationships with one another and with their family, friends, and lovers, and we see how darker betrayals of the past dog both women into their adulthoods.
Like her painter father, author Freud is meticulous at catching every line, shadow and nuance in her (presumably somewhat) autobiographical world-building. Much as Lucy works with fabric and thread, the author adeptly weaves together disparate sensory details: the thoughtless, impulsive acts; the freedom of utter abandon; the ache of loss; the half-remembered, tossed-off phrases that become important only in retrospect; the sudden shocking revelations; the nauseating panic of true disaster; the many close calls that turn out just fine; the dull unspooling of a dying relationship; the communication misses and the electric spark of new connections. All these moments add up to complex and conscious lives, and Freud delivers the goods in a spectacular way. I highly recommend this novel.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
So, what a delight to meet up once again with these old friends in My Sister and Other Lovers, to reenter the lives of the now-named-narrator Lucy and sister Bea, and to follow them from the turmoil of their teens to full adulthood. The novel reads as a series of linked short stories, and each chapter provides a brief look into an important moment of life before a curtain falls and the next chapter begins. As readers, we start to focus on the swirling variations and patterns that define the sisters’ relationships with one another and with their family, friends, and lovers, and we see how darker betrayals of the past dog both women into their adulthoods.
Like her painter father, author Freud is meticulous at catching every line, shadow and nuance in her (presumably somewhat) autobiographical world-building. Much as Lucy works with fabric and thread, the author adeptly weaves together disparate sensory details: the thoughtless, impulsive acts; the freedom of utter abandon; the ache of loss; the half-remembered, tossed-off phrases that become important only in retrospect; the sudden shocking revelations; the nauseating panic of true disaster; the many close calls that turn out just fine; the dull unspooling of a dying relationship; the communication misses and the electric spark of new connections. All these moments add up to complex and conscious lives, and Freud delivers the goods in a spectacular way. I highly recommend this novel.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
September 6, 2025
One of my very favorite writers ever as soon as i finished this i thought i want to read it again. seemed like a continuation of Hideous Kinky the later years. i know its part novel part autobiography. I love to hear about their wild bohemian up bringing ,which was sometimes good sometimes damaging. I love the two sisters lying on the floor talking smoking sometimes drinking,two very different girls much like me and my sister. we are so different but that family thread runs through us .We don`t always get along have had fierce fights .now that we are older (today i am 72) we talk endlessly our memories differ so much but we have always lived far far apart so when we are together we talk ourselves to sleep,and cry when we have to part. beautiful read.I bought it for myself for this birthday.
December 3, 2024
Review to follow one week before publication date.
I first read Hideous Kinky in 1992 when it was first published. I loved it! I’ve reread it numerous times since and never tire of it. One of my all time favourites and it introduced me to Esther Freud . I have all her books and so when I saw My Sister and Other Lovers on Netgalley I crossed my fingers and requested it. To my delight I was approved. Imagine my joy!
It was lovely to be back in Lucy and Bea’s world and see the women they became. I’ve enjoyed every word of this book. Esther’s writing is still pulling me in. The only criticism I have is sometimes I lost the thread of the story and didn’t realise the time and place had moved on. Probably my fault and not the writing. If you haven’t read Hideous Kinky I would definitely read it before My Sister, as much for the enjoyment as anything else. It will also help you understand the life Lucy and Bea lived as children. I can’t wait now for the hardback to be published as I have a space ready on my bookcase.
Thank you so much Netgalley and Esther Freud for the opportunity to read and share this amazing book.
I first read Hideous Kinky in 1992 when it was first published. I loved it! I’ve reread it numerous times since and never tire of it. One of my all time favourites and it introduced me to Esther Freud . I have all her books and so when I saw My Sister and Other Lovers on Netgalley I crossed my fingers and requested it. To my delight I was approved. Imagine my joy!
It was lovely to be back in Lucy and Bea’s world and see the women they became. I’ve enjoyed every word of this book. Esther’s writing is still pulling me in. The only criticism I have is sometimes I lost the thread of the story and didn’t realise the time and place had moved on. Probably my fault and not the writing. If you haven’t read Hideous Kinky I would definitely read it before My Sister, as much for the enjoyment as anything else. It will also help you understand the life Lucy and Bea lived as children. I can’t wait now for the hardback to be published as I have a space ready on my bookcase.
Thank you so much Netgalley and Esther Freud for the opportunity to read and share this amazing book.
October 6, 2025
#gifted
For as long as Lucy can remember, she’s been caught between love for her rootless, idealistic mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. Their childhood—hitchhiking across Ireland, life in communal houses, the dream and chaos of Morocco—has the shimmer of freedom but the shadow of neglect. Little brother Max is also caught up in the swirl of it all, and you get the sense that their mother is living completely in her own head as she follows one exciting plan after another, without ever thinking whether she is an inconvenience or unwelcome.
At first, their nomadic existence feels exciting and full of possibility. But as the girls grow older, the adventure begins to fray. What once seemed liberating starts to feel unstable; what once glowed with warmth now feels steeped in sadness.
This novel has that unmistakable autofictional quality, is intimate, slightly disorienting, and is so steeped in emotional truth that it feels like memory. Through Lucy’s eyes, we see a mother who is both loving and reckless, living from one impulsive decision to the next, and two sisters who bear the weight of her chaos in different ways. Freud captures perfectly how siblings can share a childhood but emerge from it as though from two different worlds, one trying to please and smooth over the cracks, the other pushing against them in fury.
Despite its whimsical cover, this is not a gentle read. It’s dark and sad, filled with moments of quiet danger, loneliness and longing. Their mother, Julia, feels forever caught in her own head chasing one exciting plan after another, moving through life with a manic energy that leaves her children perpetually unmoored. Lucy’s anxious efforts to appease reluctant hosts and make herself welcome broke my heart; it’s that desperate empathy children of chaotic parents often learn too young.
The book’s structure mirrors that same instability; shifts in time and place happen without warning, so you’re left momentarily lost, unsure where or when you’ve landed. It can be frustrating, but perhaps that confusion is intentional: a way to draw us into Lucy’s fractured perspective and the uncertainty that defines her life.
This is a novel about unreliable narrators, blurred memories, and the impossible loyalty of family. I often found myself wishing Lucy and Bea had spoken more to each other instead of taking sides between two deeply flawed parents, but perhaps silence is its own kind of survival.
Freud’s writing is sharp, elegant, and full of emotional nuance. It is a study of love and damage and how we learn to carry both. It’s not an uplifting read, but it lingers long after the final page, the kind of story that leaves a quiet ache.
Read if you love: literary fiction, unreliable narrators, sister stories, melancholic coming-of-age tales.
Thank you to the publisher for kindly sending me a finished copy. As always, all opinions my own.
For as long as Lucy can remember, she’s been caught between love for her rootless, idealistic mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. Their childhood—hitchhiking across Ireland, life in communal houses, the dream and chaos of Morocco—has the shimmer of freedom but the shadow of neglect. Little brother Max is also caught up in the swirl of it all, and you get the sense that their mother is living completely in her own head as she follows one exciting plan after another, without ever thinking whether she is an inconvenience or unwelcome.
At first, their nomadic existence feels exciting and full of possibility. But as the girls grow older, the adventure begins to fray. What once seemed liberating starts to feel unstable; what once glowed with warmth now feels steeped in sadness.
This novel has that unmistakable autofictional quality, is intimate, slightly disorienting, and is so steeped in emotional truth that it feels like memory. Through Lucy’s eyes, we see a mother who is both loving and reckless, living from one impulsive decision to the next, and two sisters who bear the weight of her chaos in different ways. Freud captures perfectly how siblings can share a childhood but emerge from it as though from two different worlds, one trying to please and smooth over the cracks, the other pushing against them in fury.
Despite its whimsical cover, this is not a gentle read. It’s dark and sad, filled with moments of quiet danger, loneliness and longing. Their mother, Julia, feels forever caught in her own head chasing one exciting plan after another, moving through life with a manic energy that leaves her children perpetually unmoored. Lucy’s anxious efforts to appease reluctant hosts and make herself welcome broke my heart; it’s that desperate empathy children of chaotic parents often learn too young.
The book’s structure mirrors that same instability; shifts in time and place happen without warning, so you’re left momentarily lost, unsure where or when you’ve landed. It can be frustrating, but perhaps that confusion is intentional: a way to draw us into Lucy’s fractured perspective and the uncertainty that defines her life.
This is a novel about unreliable narrators, blurred memories, and the impossible loyalty of family. I often found myself wishing Lucy and Bea had spoken more to each other instead of taking sides between two deeply flawed parents, but perhaps silence is its own kind of survival.
Freud’s writing is sharp, elegant, and full of emotional nuance. It is a study of love and damage and how we learn to carry both. It’s not an uplifting read, but it lingers long after the final page, the kind of story that leaves a quiet ache.
Read if you love: literary fiction, unreliable narrators, sister stories, melancholic coming-of-age tales.
Thank you to the publisher for kindly sending me a finished copy. As always, all opinions my own.
July 11, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
Silly silly me, I’ve been missing out again it seems, Hideous Kinky was absolutely nowhere on my radar but 30 years later after catching up with the family I’m desperate to take a step back in time to hear mum’s take on the modern day telling of the story from the mouths of her daughters in My Sister and Other Lovers. I was drawn almost immediately to the story and the characters, I was both enthralled and horrified by the lives that these woman lived. I’m positive had I been familiar with the original story that I’d have rated far higher and I’ve added it to my tbr.
Great narration!
Huge thanks to Bloomsbury UK Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
Silly silly me, I’ve been missing out again it seems, Hideous Kinky was absolutely nowhere on my radar but 30 years later after catching up with the family I’m desperate to take a step back in time to hear mum’s take on the modern day telling of the story from the mouths of her daughters in My Sister and Other Lovers. I was drawn almost immediately to the story and the characters, I was both enthralled and horrified by the lives that these woman lived. I’m positive had I been familiar with the original story that I’d have rated far higher and I’ve added it to my tbr.
Great narration!
Huge thanks to Bloomsbury UK Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
August 3, 2025
I enjoyed picking up with Sophie and Bea and learning how their childhood shaped their later years, however I found the episodic nature of the storytelling difficult to follow, a dizzying array of characters came and went without ever developing and key themes like the powerful storytelling in chapter one about the mum’s parents in Ireland were introduced and then abandoned.
June 14, 2025
Thanks to @eccobooks for the free advanced copy of #MySisterAndOtherLovers for my pool day today. This literary fiction book from the author of Hideous Kinky is not my typical style, but it’s good to get outside of our comfort zones once in awhile.
The writing is thoughtful and transparent. It is a continuation of the characters from Hideous Kinky- which I recommend you’ve read first before this one. It explores the complicated relationships we have with our siblings who have had the same growing up experience.
“Do you wonder why I stay with him?”
“I do wonder that occasionally.”
“It’s hard,” I said “to leave a man who’s never really there.”
Book to be published 8/5/25
#gifted #litfic #eccobooks
The writing is thoughtful and transparent. It is a continuation of the characters from Hideous Kinky- which I recommend you’ve read first before this one. It explores the complicated relationships we have with our siblings who have had the same growing up experience.
“Do you wonder why I stay with him?”
“I do wonder that occasionally.”
“It’s hard,” I said “to leave a man who’s never really there.”
Book to be published 8/5/25
#gifted #litfic #eccobooks
November 8, 2025
3.5 stars
My Sister and Other Lovers is my first Esther Freud novel, though Hideous Kinky has been sitting on my to-read list for years—and now I can see why people rave about her. Freud’s writing has that quiet, hypnotic quality that sneaks up on you.
The story follows sisters Elise and Bea through a free-spirited, sometimes fractured youth—bohemian communes, reckless love affairs, and the constant pull between independence and belonging. Freud captures the ache of sisterhood perfectly: the love that steadies you, and the resentment that simmers just beneath it.
That said, the novel occasionally wanders, its time jumps and tangents as unruly as the lives it depicts. But when it lands, it really lands—raw, intimate, and aching with nostalgia. My Sister and Other Lovers might not dazzle every page, but it lingers, tender and true, like a memory you’re not quite ready to let go.
My Sister and Other Lovers is my first Esther Freud novel, though Hideous Kinky has been sitting on my to-read list for years—and now I can see why people rave about her. Freud’s writing has that quiet, hypnotic quality that sneaks up on you.
The story follows sisters Elise and Bea through a free-spirited, sometimes fractured youth—bohemian communes, reckless love affairs, and the constant pull between independence and belonging. Freud captures the ache of sisterhood perfectly: the love that steadies you, and the resentment that simmers just beneath it.
That said, the novel occasionally wanders, its time jumps and tangents as unruly as the lives it depicts. But when it lands, it really lands—raw, intimate, and aching with nostalgia. My Sister and Other Lovers might not dazzle every page, but it lingers, tender and true, like a memory you’re not quite ready to let go.
October 6, 2025
I hesitate to count this as read because I skimmed so much of it... I loved Hideous Kinky (especially the movie), and I loved all the scenes in this involving the sisters and the mother. The lovers though... I just wasn't interested. there are some really good scenes in here, though. I liked the younger sister making a movie about their childhood especially.
June 26, 2025
A great novel about sisters, mothers and daughters, love and (dysfunctional) families. Although I’ve seen the Hideous Kinky film, this was the first book of Freud I read and I really liked her writing!
Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley UK for the ARC.
Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley UK for the ARC.
July 2, 2025
I’m too much of an introvert to keep up with all those different characters xoxo
June 30, 2026
This was a slow burn - but really glad I kept going. I haven’t read Freud before and her “jump right in” story telling is what took a bit to follow. But I became quite enamored with the characters - not that they were likable or necessarily sympathetic - but just fighting their way through life (with a lot of baggage).
January 24, 2026
I am obsessed with the Freud sisters sorry
November 21, 2025
Thanks Netgalley and author for an arc in exchange for a honest review.
My Sister and Other Lovers follows sisters Lucy and Bea as they navigate complicated family ties, fractured communication, and the lingering impact of their past. Told in three parts with alternating perspectives, the story explores sisterhood, secrets, and the messy work of trying to rebuild relationships both within their family and with the men who have shaped their lives.
I read this using both the audiobook and the eARC, and honestly, the audio carried the experience for me. The voice actors did a great job bringing the characters to life, and the narration felt more manageable than the written format.
I was immediately intrigued by the premise, but I quickly learned that this is actually Book 2 in a series, something I wish had been noted more clearly. Without that context, I often felt like I had been dropped into the middle of a story that had already unfolded, and it made certain emotional beats harder to connect with.
At times, the pacing felt choppy, and several characters didn’t seem to add much to the overall arc. What did stand out, though, was the raw, tense dynamic between the sisters and their mother. The author does portray the difficulty of having honest, painful conversations within a family that rang true and relatable.
Still, I found myself wondering whether things were supposed to improve for these characters. The tension and dysfunction felt constant, and I never got the payoff or emotional shift I was hoping for. There were glimpses of genuine sisterhood between Lucy and Bea that I enjoyed, but overall the story felt a bit chaotic and unresolved to me. If I had read Book 1 first I would’ve enjoyed more but as a standalone experience, this one left me mixed.
My Sister and Other Lovers follows sisters Lucy and Bea as they navigate complicated family ties, fractured communication, and the lingering impact of their past. Told in three parts with alternating perspectives, the story explores sisterhood, secrets, and the messy work of trying to rebuild relationships both within their family and with the men who have shaped their lives.
I read this using both the audiobook and the eARC, and honestly, the audio carried the experience for me. The voice actors did a great job bringing the characters to life, and the narration felt more manageable than the written format.
I was immediately intrigued by the premise, but I quickly learned that this is actually Book 2 in a series, something I wish had been noted more clearly. Without that context, I often felt like I had been dropped into the middle of a story that had already unfolded, and it made certain emotional beats harder to connect with.
At times, the pacing felt choppy, and several characters didn’t seem to add much to the overall arc. What did stand out, though, was the raw, tense dynamic between the sisters and their mother. The author does portray the difficulty of having honest, painful conversations within a family that rang true and relatable.
Still, I found myself wondering whether things were supposed to improve for these characters. The tension and dysfunction felt constant, and I never got the payoff or emotional shift I was hoping for. There were glimpses of genuine sisterhood between Lucy and Bea that I enjoyed, but overall the story felt a bit chaotic and unresolved to me. If I had read Book 1 first I would’ve enjoyed more but as a standalone experience, this one left me mixed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2025
I could not keep track of the characters and didn’t really care to dig more.
January 24, 2026
3.75. Absolutely LOVED returning to this dysfunctional codependent trio, Lucy, Bea and their hopeless mother. It made me both want to return to Hideous Kinky and fast forward to the next book to see what happens to them all in the future. Steadfast, furious, charismatic, hurting Bea has a tough ride of it, yet again, dealing with her many abandonments, facing up to the inadequacy of her itinerant and selfish mother. Lucy is more measured, able to forgive their mother for her failings despite seeing them clearly, struggling with her own marriage troubles, an intense experience of new motherhood and veering towards following in her mothers footsteps by roaming around constantly, feeling lost in new palces, having terrible adventures, as well as trying to find a real steady home for herself.
As aslways Freud's emotional astuteness astounds me. I love these characters. I loved the descriptions of Bea's wild party days in London, the descriptions of lavish dinners with their distant, brilliant, heroic, awful Father 'there are 3 boys?'. Loved the way new siblings kept popping up all over the place 'how many is it he has now...35?' Lucian, you dog. So much sadness amongst the upper classes - this book is tough, it looks face on at multiple suicides, sexual abuse, self-harm, heroin addiction, infidelity and abortion, but it never feels heavy. How does she do it?
It can feel hard to keep track of chronology and setting in this book, which I think it deliberate...events blur into each other with no breaks, it can be jarring and confusing, but I think I understand why....the patchiness of memory, the disabled sense of time when you have been hurt or endelssly forced to be uprooted.
As aslways Freud's emotional astuteness astounds me. I love these characters. I loved the descriptions of Bea's wild party days in London, the descriptions of lavish dinners with their distant, brilliant, heroic, awful Father 'there are 3 boys?'. Loved the way new siblings kept popping up all over the place 'how many is it he has now...35?' Lucian, you dog. So much sadness amongst the upper classes - this book is tough, it looks face on at multiple suicides, sexual abuse, self-harm, heroin addiction, infidelity and abortion, but it never feels heavy. How does she do it?
It can feel hard to keep track of chronology and setting in this book, which I think it deliberate...events blur into each other with no breaks, it can be jarring and confusing, but I think I understand why....the patchiness of memory, the disabled sense of time when you have been hurt or endelssly forced to be uprooted.
Review of advance copy
I was cruising through Waterstones in London in the summer and this book was right there with a signed by the author sticker attractively staring at me, so I had to buy it right then and there. It took me a while to work my way through some of the other books on my must read pile but I got to My Sister a couple of weeks ago.
It is a challenging read in many ways. Content wise it deals with girls who have been partly abandoned in their growing up years and what are the consequences of this on their later lives, which means, at times, that the book is disturbing: you worry for Lucy and Bea, the two sisters who are the core of the narrative. The novel does sequentially and logically follow Lucy as she grows up but it is still episodic. We see and feel events through the eyes and skin of Lucy and often we are moved swiftly from one event to the next in her life with little warning that things have changed. You have to be alive to the brain shifts that happen in the text. I suppose the novel is an archetypal coming of age text as Lucy in particular comes to terms with the what has happened to her. The title is enigmatic but it is nonetheless true that Lucy's love for her sister Bea is true and constant. It is not clear if the other loves in Lucy's life are as important or if we are meant to compare them together. That in the end is for us as readers to think about and dwell on. I loved the way the novel evoked the late 70s early 80s which were also my teen years so the music references, of which there are many resonated with me. I enjoyed what is a challenging book but I did not love it in the glorious way you sometimes can do with a novel.
It is a challenging read in many ways. Content wise it deals with girls who have been partly abandoned in their growing up years and what are the consequences of this on their later lives, which means, at times, that the book is disturbing: you worry for Lucy and Bea, the two sisters who are the core of the narrative. The novel does sequentially and logically follow Lucy as she grows up but it is still episodic. We see and feel events through the eyes and skin of Lucy and often we are moved swiftly from one event to the next in her life with little warning that things have changed. You have to be alive to the brain shifts that happen in the text. I suppose the novel is an archetypal coming of age text as Lucy in particular comes to terms with the what has happened to her. The title is enigmatic but it is nonetheless true that Lucy's love for her sister Bea is true and constant. It is not clear if the other loves in Lucy's life are as important or if we are meant to compare them together. That in the end is for us as readers to think about and dwell on. I loved the way the novel evoked the late 70s early 80s which were also my teen years so the music references, of which there are many resonated with me. I enjoyed what is a challenging book but I did not love it in the glorious way you sometimes can do with a novel.
July 19, 2025
A complex listen which involved lots of playbacks. I can see why the author narrated it herself to get the correct rhythm and nuances. Definitely one to read too and would make an interesting group book. However, might not get nominated as people would need to read Hideous Kinky first, or watch the film, plus it requires a long discussion. The prose is beautiful and the style works well. I was reminded - positively - of the writing of Tessa Hadley and Zadie Smith. Another reason I was interested in the family is that I have recently studied Great Granny Webster written by caroline Blackwood another of Lucien Freud’s muses. Sibling and family relationships, politics, secrets and lies, sexual abuse and the trauma of pregnancy termination are vividly described. Morocco, Ireland, Scotland and England all provide authentic backgrounds.
October 12, 2025
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars.
It is not the sort of genre I normally read. It must have been recommended somewhere, but I do not remember exactly. The first chapter was hard to get through, not knowing who was who in the story. Even after finishing the book, I feel the need to go over again to work out each character in the story. I must have got used to the author’s writing style, dream-like and not necessarily in the order of the timeline. By the time I finished the book, I thought to myself, “It was not too bad!”, especially the description of the protagonist’s inner feelings, which is brilliant.
It is not the sort of genre I normally read. It must have been recommended somewhere, but I do not remember exactly. The first chapter was hard to get through, not knowing who was who in the story. Even after finishing the book, I feel the need to go over again to work out each character in the story. I must have got used to the author’s writing style, dream-like and not necessarily in the order of the timeline. By the time I finished the book, I thought to myself, “It was not too bad!”, especially the description of the protagonist’s inner feelings, which is brilliant.
May 10, 2026
Verwarrende verhaallijnen. Veelheid aan karakters en plekken waar je maar sporadisch echt mee ‘inkomt’ (tegen het ende van het boek wordt dit wat beter). Een boek waarvan je zeker niet elke letter wilt lezen maar wel benieuwd bent naar hoe het eindigt en daarom verder leest. Al kreeg ik (ook meer naar het einde) sympathie voor de protagoniste.
September 6, 2025
it was okay! host of confusing characters particularly in the middle section and constantly felt I was missing a whole load of information maybe better if I had read the previous book
September 25, 2025
There is semi-detailed talk about the main character getting an abortion and there were absolutely no TW or anything mentioned at the beginning of the audiobook that there may be triggering topics for some readers. I will not be finishing this book. I dnf’d at 28%.
February 2, 2026
10/10!
June 11, 2026
Sometimes a little confusing and chaotic, as is life, and relationships, and indeed inner thoughts.
July 13, 2025
As always a pleasure. Both stylish and soulful I tore through this book in stolen moments.
August 10, 2025
so many novels concerning the troubled relationships between mothers and daughters, there must be a reason for this?
perhaps the implication is that very few women get it right, and the mother/daughter situation is destined to be fraught with difficulties, children in general blam.ing their parents for every subsequent issue in life thereafter.
I wonder how it is we continue to produce offspring when we're just setting ourselves up for failure!!
To be fair, she was one crazy lady, this mother, so suppose she is responsible for the various traumas experienced by her hapless girls.
Not sure if I really gained anything positive from reading this novel. Confused and rather saddened that there was no tangible ending.
Don't think I'd rush to read another of hers.
perhaps the implication is that very few women get it right, and the mother/daughter situation is destined to be fraught with difficulties, children in general blam.ing their parents for every subsequent issue in life thereafter.
I wonder how it is we continue to produce offspring when we're just setting ourselves up for failure!!
To be fair, she was one crazy lady, this mother, so suppose she is responsible for the various traumas experienced by her hapless girls.
Not sure if I really gained anything positive from reading this novel. Confused and rather saddened that there was no tangible ending.
Don't think I'd rush to read another of hers.
July 31, 2025
Just okay, I was intrigued enough to keep reading, but the rambling end section left me feeling unsatisfied.
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