Her Eerie Harmony

Expectations are funny things. They can set a book up to be a new favorite or a major disappointment, or they can set a low standard for a novel and make it work harder to impress us. Sometimes we are lucky enough to read a book that has not yet been tainted by our expectations, but more often we are intellectually carrying memories of recommendations, articles or reviews we have perused, or past novels by the same author.

When I began to read Her Fearful Symmetry, the only thing I had on my mind was The Time Traveler’s Wife, the only other novel I have read by Audrey Niffenegger. If you haven’t read it, The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read, and this is no exaggeration. I have not yet seen the movie, but the book was one of the most perfectly heart-wrenching, romantic works of art I have ever had the pleasure of partaking in—without degenerating into mindless chick lit.

Needless to say, the bar was set high.

At first, I was surprised by Her Fearful Symmetry. It is dark, eerie, and downright creepy, lacking all of the warm qualities that made me love The Time Traveler’s Wife. But once I consciously set aside all the unfair expectations I was bringing to the table, I began to appreciate Her Fearful Symmetry for what it really is: an engaging tribute to the genre of gothic romance.

I have a lot of words I could say about this story, but, in an attempt to narrow my focus, I will address my favorite character: Martin, a linguistically-talented, crossword-creating man with a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder that has driven his wife away. Martin and Mareijke (his wife) had a beautiful, loving relationship that has been all but destroyed by Martin’s mental illness. Seeing Martin’s progression throughout the story was a major strength the story, and made up for the face that a few of the main characters were hard to like/relate to.

I don’t want to give anything away about this story—I suspect some of you may want to read it (Kristin? Kelsha, perchance? I even think Luke would enjoy it), and I appreciated the fact that when I read it, I had no idea what was coming—so I want my friends to have the same luxury.

I am currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which are abrupt departures from Her Fearful Symmetry. Ah, winter break!