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Her Fearful Symmetry cover art

Her Fearful Symmetry

By: Audrey Niffenegger
Narrated by: Sian Thomas
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Summary

At last ---another brilliant, original and moving novel from the author of The Time Traveler's Wife.

dearest e,

I told you I would let you know - so here it is - goodbye.

I try to imagine what it would feel like if it was you - but it's impossible to conjure the world without you, even though we've been apart so long.
I didn't leave you anything. You got to live my life. That's enough. Instead I'm experimenting - I've left the whole lot to the twins. I hope they'll enjoy it.

Don't worry, it will be okay.

Say goodbye to Jack for me.

Love, despite everything,

e

Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers - normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cozy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London. They feel that at last their own lives can begin...but have no idea that they've been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt's mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them, and even to their aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the twins' mother - and who can't even seem to quite leave her flat....

With Highgate Cemetery itself a character and echoes of Henry James and Charles Dickens, Her Fearful Symmetry is a delicious and deadly 21st-century ghost story about Niffenegger's familiar themes of love, loss, and identity. It is certain to cement her standing as one of the most singular and remarkable novelists of our time.

©2009 Audry Niffenegger (P)2009 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The incomparable Sian Thomas gives Elspeth the husky, sexy voice of Joan Greenwood, and throws in a guttural Dutch accent, several distinct posh English ones, light young American girly tones, a mid-Atlantic middle-aged female and, for good measure, a walk-on part for Nigel, a Brummie. Her reading is irresistible."( Independent on Sunday)

What listeners say about Her Fearful Symmetry

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Abridged version - not good!

I loved time travellers wife; this book I downloaded without realising it was the abridged version, and unfortunately even though the story was good it just did not work for me in this short format, my advice wait untill the full version is available.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Her fearfull symmetry

I loved this audio book as much as the time travelers wife. Wonderfully read too, but a shame it been abridged nevertheless it was still fab.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Another amazing book!!

I absolutely loved this story, this author has a very unique style that just captivated me from the start. Its an imaginitive story that i just couldnt wait to get back to at every available minute. Its a sad tale of love, deceit, death and the afterlife that involves a number of different characters whose lives all cross paths at some point and the effects that they have on one another. I dont want to give anything away about the story but if you liked the time travellers wife you wont be disappointed with this story. Cant wait for her next book.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars

Abridged version - they've left out too much

I kept waiting for the story to finally begin, but it never happened. When you abridge a book and gloss over this much detail, the whole story will seem like it's merely the introduction.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Entertaining events, unexpected turns. Very little more than that.

The story is like a movie paraphrased. It is more like describing a series of events. There is very little other things that I like in books such as an insight in how the characters feel or think or some ideas that make me think about my own life, about awesome things about human behaviour or about philosophical questions, etc. The actions are entertaining as there are some unexpected turns and there is a ghost who does some cool things. However if you want more in a book than just a series of events, this book is not really for you.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent, but a shame it wasn't unabridged.

Excellent audiobook that could have only been improved if it had been unabridged. There were points that I certainly felt were lacking some detail. Narration was outstanding though.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

I loved the quirkyness of the Time Traveller's Wife - and this is similarly bizarre as the story unfolds. It is beautifully read, with really distinctive voices and accents but it is trying to second guess the story that makes it so appealing - and the added layer of darkness and menace really gives the story an edge. Very easy listening - my only criticism was it was relatively short

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Another gripping novel from Ms. Niffenegger

I loved 'The Time Travelers' Wife' and so was excited to find Ms. Niffenegger's latest novel on Audible. Superbly read by Sian Thomas, I found the book gripping and finished it all too quickly. Multi-stranded with interesting characters the book provides some insight into what must be like to be an identical twin. The supporting characters were of no less interest. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was sorry to finish it so quickly.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Just over top quickly

In this story the main charcters are twins. When one of the twins dies, she finds that her out of body aura can snatch the life from another living thing , the first thing being a kitten . She is unable to leave the Walls of her home in her ghostly form and this new ability gives her ideas . I can't really say too much more without giving the story away , but Audrey has written a brilliant novel which will absorb you . My only critisism is that it ends abruptly and the story could have gone further . I actually had to check that I had downloaded everything because it seemed to end just when you feel it's really getting started.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Loved this audio book... just wished it was longer.. As good if not better than Time Travellers Wife. Looking forward to the next ones...KEEP IT UP :)

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1 person found this helpful