The Secret Lives of Sisters

The story that unfolds reads like a beautifully written memoir. The lonely formality of Hannah's l950s childhood, the tragic and disturbing loss of her mother in her early teens, her sexual awakening in l960s Paris and her eventual discovery of true love, followed by the heartbreaking loss of her husband, are all vividly and truthfully told. But it is the portrayal of her relationship with her sister that is most compelling. The vulnerability she feels about winning her sister's love and their see-sawing between adoration and rivalry is so astutely crafted that it is painful to read.