Lucinda Rosenfeld's The Pretty One is a fascinating novel about the sometimes complicated relationship between adult sisters. Please click HERE to read my review in its entirety. ( )

It's a good book but ends rather abruptly. I was like, um...where's the next sentence? Oh, she's done with the book? Okay then. ( )

It's a good book but ends rather abruptly. I was like, um...where's the next sentence? Oh, she's done with the book? Okay then. ( )

Sisters. Is there a more complicated but meaningful relationship in the world? Many authors have discussed this complex dynamic with varying levels of success — and being the oldest of two girls myself, I’m often drawn to tales of sisterhood and its many incarnations.

I went into The Pretty One hoping for an entertaining, thought-provoking examination of family — and while I got that in small bursts, those moments were few and far between. I found Rosenfeld’s novel to be a fairly depressing mash-up of stereotypes that didn’t shed any light — or delight — on her twisty, ambivalent characters.

I finished it, but mostly because I was stranded at an auto body shop. For three hours.

My major beef: I found every woman in this novel to be unlikeable, selfish or clueless. Not once did I feel warmth toward Gus, Pia or Perri — though Gus was generally the least loathsome of the trio. Perri’s pursuit of perfection became tiresome, and the points at which I think I was supposed to feel empathy — like during her emotional breakdown, say — I just shook my head. Pia seemed lost in her own world, oblivious to anyone else’s problems, and Gus’s brief dalliance with a dude was ridiculous. In each and every dynamic, something was missing.

I might have been able to cling on and push this one up to a 3-star rating (Rosenfeld’s writing is solid) if this whole weird subplot hadn’t erupted late in the novel. In an effort to not blow that out-of-nowhere revelation wide open, I won’t say much more — other than to acknowledge that while I understood the goal of forcing the sisters to reevaluate their traditional family roles, it came off as forced and completely unrealistic. At that point, the book really jumped the shark.

Oh, there were a few moments of clarity in The Pretty One . . . and I did enjoy the pursuit of discovering the identity of Lola’s father. But overall, lack of emotional connection to the Hellingers made this feel like half a book. I would have loved to explore Carol and Bob’s relationship — now that is a story — but wasn’t given that opportunity. Instead, the cheating and lying and cursing and “I’m never speaking to you again!” nonsense that typically runs rampant in homes with teenagers left me feeling cold. These were grown women, after all. ( )

Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-pretty-one.html

The Pretty One is a story of sisters - Perri, Pia, and Gus. Perri is the one with the successful business, a solid marriage, and accomplished kids. Olympia or Pia is the beautiful one choosing to be a single mother. Gus is the free spirit in the throes of a breakup.

However, sometimes all is not what it seems. All three have aspects of their lives they keep hidden - an old flame returning, an affair, and other things. Their relationships ebb and flow with love and resentment mixed together. Through it all and at the end of it all, they are sisters and all that entails.

I expected to relate to the characters in the book and their relationships. I did not. The characters seemed somewhat one dimensional and tailored to stereotypes. They do not really evolve or develop as the book progresses.

They also sounded self-indulgent and sometimes petty and mostly very negative. Unfortunately, that feeling seemed to permeate through the book making it not an enjoyable read.

*** Reviewed for the GoodReads Giveaway Program *** ( )