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Sister Crazy
The sprawling Weiss family--as recalled by Jemima, the middle child in Emma Richler’s amazing debut--live an almost idyllic existence. The feeling among the siblings is so palpable that we cannot help but share the acute nostalgia Jem experiences as she emerges from childhood.
In a darkly humorous voice she tells of playing elaborate war games with toy Action Man figures, composing a survival book ("Always have some sports news at hand for when your dad is in hospital after a scary operation to do with a fatal disease"), closely observing her beautiful Mum to fathom her magic, weaving the story of the Grail quest into her brother Jude's life. Jem’s extravagant tales of her eccentric beloved family will linger long after the last line.
In a darkly humorous voice she tells of playing elaborate war games with toy Action Man figures, composing a survival book ("Always have some sports news at hand for when your dad is in hospital after a scary operation to do with a fatal disease"), closely observing her beautiful Mum to fathom her magic, weaving the story of the Grail quest into her brother Jude's life. Jem’s extravagant tales of her eccentric beloved family will linger long after the last line.
- GenresFiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 21, 2018
I enjoyed Sister Crazy by Emma Richler very much. Richler is the daughter of Canadian author, Mordecai Richler. Sister Crazy was her first novel.
It's a fascinating picture of a strange but wonderful family, a series of anecdotes and thoughts on movies, books, etc that adds to her perceptions of this family. Jemima is Weiss #3, with two older brothers; Ben (#1) and Jude (#2), her almost twin and then two younger siblings, Harriet (#4) and Gus (#5). They are raised by 2 wonderful parents, her Jewish father and her Christian mother.
The girls are sent to school at local convent schools, first in England and then in Canada (described only as her father's country).
Jem's closest relationship is with her brother Jude; I enjoyed their playing with Action Man figurines, the worlds they create and the pain of their growing apart as Jude starts to strike out more and more on his own.
The story moves between childhood and the present but is focused on their growing up. There are lovely vignettes / interactions between the children and their feelings towards their parents; the lovely mother (Good Witch?) and their loud father (the Sun around which life revolves?)
There are hints at other issues, especially Jem's mental issues but maybe they aren't important enough to the story to get into in detail, and also incidents that make you want to explore more; her mother taken away in an ambulance; what happens to the family as they grow older, does Jem marry? So many things left untold, which is why I can't give it a perfect 5. But even so, it's a truly wonderful, enjoyable first story and worth trying. (4.5 stars)
It's a fascinating picture of a strange but wonderful family, a series of anecdotes and thoughts on movies, books, etc that adds to her perceptions of this family. Jemima is Weiss #3, with two older brothers; Ben (#1) and Jude (#2), her almost twin and then two younger siblings, Harriet (#4) and Gus (#5). They are raised by 2 wonderful parents, her Jewish father and her Christian mother.
The girls are sent to school at local convent schools, first in England and then in Canada (described only as her father's country).
Jem's closest relationship is with her brother Jude; I enjoyed their playing with Action Man figurines, the worlds they create and the pain of their growing apart as Jude starts to strike out more and more on his own.
The story moves between childhood and the present but is focused on their growing up. There are lovely vignettes / interactions between the children and their feelings towards their parents; the lovely mother (Good Witch?) and their loud father (the Sun around which life revolves?)
There are hints at other issues, especially Jem's mental issues but maybe they aren't important enough to the story to get into in detail, and also incidents that make you want to explore more; her mother taken away in an ambulance; what happens to the family as they grow older, does Jem marry? So many things left untold, which is why I can't give it a perfect 5. But even so, it's a truly wonderful, enjoyable first story and worth trying. (4.5 stars)
April 2, 2012
More a series of interlocking vignettes than a novel, the delightfully written family saga really captures that limbo of late childhood and the time when certainties about the world are so fluid as to open to constant revision.
"Actually I did think the Sun turned into the Moon at night until quite recently...." our heroine admits towards the end. "Okay. At least I owned up, unlike some."
Jemima is a very endearing,empathic and precocious child attempting to make sense of things like science, religion, and personality traits, and she takes her responasbility as a sister very seriously. My only complaint with the book is that I wanted urgently to know more abot her life in the intervening years from the time she was that wise child to her current sad status. I need to know, what happened to everybody, what was the big unexplained disappointment that lurked in the centre of this marvelously eccentric families life?
I will certaily seek out more of ER's work and easily recommend this book especially to Ellie, Abigail, and those who love great YA revelations.
"Actually I did think the Sun turned into the Moon at night until quite recently...." our heroine admits towards the end. "Okay. At least I owned up, unlike some."
Jemima is a very endearing,empathic and precocious child attempting to make sense of things like science, religion, and personality traits, and she takes her responasbility as a sister very seriously. My only complaint with the book is that I wanted urgently to know more abot her life in the intervening years from the time she was that wise child to her current sad status. I need to know, what happened to everybody, what was the big unexplained disappointment that lurked in the centre of this marvelously eccentric families life?
I will certaily seek out more of ER's work and easily recommend this book especially to Ellie, Abigail, and those who love great YA revelations.
November 30, 2009
I just could not get into it and I read about 4 chapters before finally giving up.
February 6, 2020
Aspiring Canadian novelists eventually face the cold reality that having one’s work published is a long shot at best. Measures of success must be sought internally, personally, as fame and fortune are bestowed upon only the very few.
As the daughter of someone named Richler, the challenges around publishing one’s first work must be quite different than the norm. I imagine there would be no shortage of contacts in the business willing to publish the daughter of a famous and respected Canadian literary artist. However, herein lies the rub. How can the author feel confident that her work is accepted based on its merit alone? (My limited publishing successes have felt more ‘legitimate’ when my work has been accepted as an unsolicited offering rather than through connections on editorial boards). And how does the reading public approach the work? Is Emma Richler given a fair and unbiased reading by most who pick up her book? Or are expectations skewed from the outset? How many readers approach the work with the attitude: “Another privileged progeny of a famous artist…”? (In some respects, I think tackling the industry as an unknown artist has its not so obvious advantages).
All wondering as to Emma Richler’s personal challenges aside, the author’s talent speaks for itself.
Sister Crazy is an enjoyable read. Not quite a book of short stories, but not a novel either, the work is a collection of linked reminiscences on childhood and family, narrated by Jemima Weiss. Interwoven throughout the stories are snippets of Jemima’s current travails as she reflects on the often idyllic life she shared with her parents and siblings while growing up. More about Jemima’s contemporary (rather bleak) situation is yearned for by this reader (call me a masochist), though the emphasis placed on the character’s past is deliberate. Jemima’s troubled adulthood seems to stem very directly from her inability to create a life that measures up to her incredible family of origin. (I made every effort not to associate the story’s father figure with Mordecai Richler, but the many references to his tousled hair and unkempt appearance, his predilection for Scotch Malt whisky and bringing drifters home from his neighbourhood pub, his love of practical jokes and his ability to find irony in almost everything, his particular passion for books and the written word, his Jewish heritage…make it extremely difficult to avoid the fatal error of assuming autobiographical content). And it is with a sincerely guilty conscience that I admit that the commission of this fatal error only adds to the fascination with the text.
After what I found to be a weak start with the story “Talking Man” (an introduction to Jem’s sibling relationship with her closest brother Jude), the stories progressively improve, with “Angel’s Share” and “Party Spirit” representing poignant “tributes” of a sort to Jem’s father and mother respectively.
What Richler does beautifully is address the many uncertainties (in both childhood and adulthood) we each face in our attempt to understand the workings of the world and how we might “fit” into the constantly moving apparatus of life. And as in any life the “moments” she portrays are sometimes deeply moving as when her distraught father must drive her to the pharmacy to retrieve yet another new prescription for an anti-depressant; and sometimes so hilarious this reader had to laugh out loud, as when Jem (not a Science/Maths enthusiast) discovers the best use she has ever had for a protractor…that is pretending to shave alongside her bemused father.
Richler’s main strength lies in her ability to realistically and artfully portray Jemima’s struggles. And the key conflict she has yet to resolve is understanding the role of the relationships she has forged in her family of origin and how she must move forward…and therefore away from… deep love connections in order to create new bonds of love in adulthood. It is this universal struggle that resonates powerfully throughout and makes Emma Richler’s Sister Crazy a memorable read in its own right.
As the daughter of someone named Richler, the challenges around publishing one’s first work must be quite different than the norm. I imagine there would be no shortage of contacts in the business willing to publish the daughter of a famous and respected Canadian literary artist. However, herein lies the rub. How can the author feel confident that her work is accepted based on its merit alone? (My limited publishing successes have felt more ‘legitimate’ when my work has been accepted as an unsolicited offering rather than through connections on editorial boards). And how does the reading public approach the work? Is Emma Richler given a fair and unbiased reading by most who pick up her book? Or are expectations skewed from the outset? How many readers approach the work with the attitude: “Another privileged progeny of a famous artist…”? (In some respects, I think tackling the industry as an unknown artist has its not so obvious advantages).
All wondering as to Emma Richler’s personal challenges aside, the author’s talent speaks for itself.
Sister Crazy is an enjoyable read. Not quite a book of short stories, but not a novel either, the work is a collection of linked reminiscences on childhood and family, narrated by Jemima Weiss. Interwoven throughout the stories are snippets of Jemima’s current travails as she reflects on the often idyllic life she shared with her parents and siblings while growing up. More about Jemima’s contemporary (rather bleak) situation is yearned for by this reader (call me a masochist), though the emphasis placed on the character’s past is deliberate. Jemima’s troubled adulthood seems to stem very directly from her inability to create a life that measures up to her incredible family of origin. (I made every effort not to associate the story’s father figure with Mordecai Richler, but the many references to his tousled hair and unkempt appearance, his predilection for Scotch Malt whisky and bringing drifters home from his neighbourhood pub, his love of practical jokes and his ability to find irony in almost everything, his particular passion for books and the written word, his Jewish heritage…make it extremely difficult to avoid the fatal error of assuming autobiographical content). And it is with a sincerely guilty conscience that I admit that the commission of this fatal error only adds to the fascination with the text.
After what I found to be a weak start with the story “Talking Man” (an introduction to Jem’s sibling relationship with her closest brother Jude), the stories progressively improve, with “Angel’s Share” and “Party Spirit” representing poignant “tributes” of a sort to Jem’s father and mother respectively.
What Richler does beautifully is address the many uncertainties (in both childhood and adulthood) we each face in our attempt to understand the workings of the world and how we might “fit” into the constantly moving apparatus of life. And as in any life the “moments” she portrays are sometimes deeply moving as when her distraught father must drive her to the pharmacy to retrieve yet another new prescription for an anti-depressant; and sometimes so hilarious this reader had to laugh out loud, as when Jem (not a Science/Maths enthusiast) discovers the best use she has ever had for a protractor…that is pretending to shave alongside her bemused father.
Richler’s main strength lies in her ability to realistically and artfully portray Jemima’s struggles. And the key conflict she has yet to resolve is understanding the role of the relationships she has forged in her family of origin and how she must move forward…and therefore away from… deep love connections in order to create new bonds of love in adulthood. It is this universal struggle that resonates powerfully throughout and makes Emma Richler’s Sister Crazy a memorable read in its own right.
December 28, 2017
i’m honestly not totally sure what exactly i just read but it was very crazy and i liked it? as one review i read said, « a family romance, mercifully devoid of incest plot ». i liked how the story, which was not a linear narrative but a constant cycling in & out of different times, uncovered more & more of what was good in jem’s family instead of fulfilling this tedious trope that you can trace mental illness to a Cause and that cause is usually some Big Trauma. like. sometimes. and sometimes we have no major trauma and yet are batshit bananas anyways. relatable content.
September 3, 2019
What in the serious hell is this garbage? Terribly boring, for one thing. Confusingly shifting from her childhood to, I assume, her adulthood.....it's impossible to follow, way too much detail about nothing. 75 pages just about did me in. Going to skim through and see if I can find even ONE page that doesn't bore me. Unlikely. I give up.
February 20, 2011
"Sister Crazy" ist kein ganz einfaches Buch. Es hat keine durchgehende Geschichte, wie man sie von anderen Romanen gewohnt ist und gerade das ist es was einem an diesem Roman verwirrt und verzaubert.
Jemima ist das mittlere von fünf Geschwistern, die sie alle liebt, genau wie ihre Eltern. Vielleicht liebt sie ihre Familie auch etwas zu sehr. Während alle um sie herum erwachsen werden und ihren eigenen Weg finden, hat Jem Probleme loszulassen und den ihren zu finden.
Das lebt sie durch selbstzerstörerisches Verhalten aus, das sie selbst nicht wirklich erklären kann, außer, dass sie den Gedanken ihre Familie zu verlieren nicht ertragen kann und deshalb zuerst gehen will.
Jems Liebe zu ihren Geschwistern und Eltern wird auf eine herrlich erfrischende Art beschrieben. Sie macht sich Gedanken über alles, sei es darüber wie sehr ihre kleine Schwester Harriet einem Vögelchen gleicht oder wie sehr sie und ihr "Fast-Zwilling" Jude sich gleichen, während sie zusammen Action-Man spielen.
Die Autorin springt mit Jem durch die Zeit ohne klare Linien dafür vorzugeben. Wenn ein Gedankengang angefangen wird, dann endet er auch-irgendwann. Jems Konflikt mit sich selbst und der Zeit wird dadurch sehr gut dargestellt. Sie fängt Gedankengänge an, verirrt sich darin, verstrickt sich in neue Gedanken und kehr zum Ausgangspunkt zurück um diesen abzuschließen. Diese Irrungen und Wirrungen machen den Roman teilweise nicht so leicht verständlich oder können einigen sicher die Geduld rauben, aber es ist Jems Geschichte und es ist das was Jem ausmacht.
Es steckt sehr viel Detailliebe in dem Buch, die Beschreibungen sind originell und die Charaktere sehr lebendig und liebenswert.
Ein tolles Buch, sicher nicht für jeden das Richtige, aber trotzdem sehr lesenswert.
Jemima ist das mittlere von fünf Geschwistern, die sie alle liebt, genau wie ihre Eltern. Vielleicht liebt sie ihre Familie auch etwas zu sehr. Während alle um sie herum erwachsen werden und ihren eigenen Weg finden, hat Jem Probleme loszulassen und den ihren zu finden.
Das lebt sie durch selbstzerstörerisches Verhalten aus, das sie selbst nicht wirklich erklären kann, außer, dass sie den Gedanken ihre Familie zu verlieren nicht ertragen kann und deshalb zuerst gehen will.
Jems Liebe zu ihren Geschwistern und Eltern wird auf eine herrlich erfrischende Art beschrieben. Sie macht sich Gedanken über alles, sei es darüber wie sehr ihre kleine Schwester Harriet einem Vögelchen gleicht oder wie sehr sie und ihr "Fast-Zwilling" Jude sich gleichen, während sie zusammen Action-Man spielen.
Die Autorin springt mit Jem durch die Zeit ohne klare Linien dafür vorzugeben. Wenn ein Gedankengang angefangen wird, dann endet er auch-irgendwann. Jems Konflikt mit sich selbst und der Zeit wird dadurch sehr gut dargestellt. Sie fängt Gedankengänge an, verirrt sich darin, verstrickt sich in neue Gedanken und kehr zum Ausgangspunkt zurück um diesen abzuschließen. Diese Irrungen und Wirrungen machen den Roman teilweise nicht so leicht verständlich oder können einigen sicher die Geduld rauben, aber es ist Jems Geschichte und es ist das was Jem ausmacht.
Es steckt sehr viel Detailliebe in dem Buch, die Beschreibungen sind originell und die Charaktere sehr lebendig und liebenswert.
Ein tolles Buch, sicher nicht für jeden das Richtige, aber trotzdem sehr lesenswert.
February 23, 2008
Overall I enjoyed this book, and was riveting at times. At others I found myself drifting off. The telling of the narrator's childhood days was great--I really understood the character's devotion to and adoration of her older siblings and mother and her doting care for her younger sister. I thought it was realistic that they had particular interests as a family--war and westerns, but unfortunately because I am not that interested in these things, the long descriptions of their capers with them were a bit boring. Ultimately, when we discover that the author is suffering from depression and alcoholism etc, we don't really find out when and how it happened. I suppose that's what the author wanted--that it wasn't a straightforward tale of how she got that way but rather a woman in that position who looks back at her life. It isn't important for us to know how she got there. But I just wanted to know.
June 16, 2008
My brother bought this book for me because I am his sister and he feels like I am crazy. He then read the book and was slightly embarassed.
I have mixed feelings about this book...on one hand I felt that the protagonist was stuck in an annoying rut and dwelled too much on the past but on the other hand I could almost understand the source of her despair. Strange book.
This book might have made me cry. I can't quite remember. I always think the sign of a good book is when you find yourself thinking about it spontaneously years after the fact. This book did that for me.
I have mixed feelings about this book...on one hand I felt that the protagonist was stuck in an annoying rut and dwelled too much on the past but on the other hand I could almost understand the source of her despair. Strange book.
This book might have made me cry. I can't quite remember. I always think the sign of a good book is when you find yourself thinking about it spontaneously years after the fact. This book did that for me.
August 27, 2010
I am not sure what aim the author had, but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel for its strong voice and affectionate yet open-eyed depiction of one family's life. The cultural references which place the work specifically in both time and place, were wisely used and in no way irritating (as I often find them to be). Despite not fully understanding the drift, I liked the characters and wanted to understand their relationships.
July 26, 2011
A really rewarding read with a quirky narrative style. Jem, our narrator, introduces us to her eccentric family through a series of flashbacks, with just enough of a hint of what is happening in the present day for the memories to become even more resonant. Reminiscent of Augusten Burroughs "Running with Scissors" in terms of its portrait of a chaotic, dysfunctional childhood.
June 3, 2012
For shore this is novel of deconstruction..Searching for something, for sometimes it was hard to find out the way out. But the moments in the catholic school is very good described. How did you as Jewish child feel between teachers and nuns..catholic..Twisted point of view which I have had so during my school time..
May 21, 2008
Ughhh. Maybe it would be better for in a different time, different place. I though it was supposed to be funny, but I am having a hard time even getting through a paragraph knowing who or what they are talking about.
May 9, 2007
Found ending unfulfilling.
February 17, 2008
i loved the narrator's wistful, poetic remembrance of her family.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2011
Made me laugh out loud..loved it.
January 22, 2011
An enjoyable and very mercurial selection of stories.
Want to read
July 29, 201102 long list-orange prize
September 17, 2012
A very well written book and one to recommend.
January 4, 2013
Excellent depiction of her childhood memories and unique relationships with her siblings. She also reveals the sad depictions of her struggles woven throughout the memories. Enjoyable read!
January 11, 2017
I remember absolutely loving this book, it made me cry a little.
11 Jan 2017
11 Jan 2017
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews