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I enjoyed the intent of this book--to share the research process and information found by Klam about her unique, intriguing relatives, the Morris sisters--yet the execution of this endeavor left me wanting.
Klam shares funny research anecdotes with conversational ease. As a reader, you can tell she's deeply interested in correcting the family fiction and many questions about her relatives' lives and her excitement piques your interest as well. Unfortunately, as she states numerous times throughout the novel, even with all of her research and discoveries, there's still not much there, "there." The Morris sisters were experts, it seems, at living lives of barrier breaking for women at the time, especially in regards to their financial success, yet they were also very adept at keeping their lives confidential from not only the public at large, but also their own extended family.
The teases are truly intriguing: They were Romanian immigrants whose father put his daughters in an orphanage after their mother was admitted into an insane asylum. Marcella, the oldest sister, who was a whiz at the stock market (unheard of for women at the time) to the tune of a multi-million dollar legacy. Ruth, Malvina, and Selma, each mysterious and unique in their own way. The even more distant brother Sam. I don't want to give too much away re: what Klam finds out, but the tidbits certainly whet the reader's appetite for more.
And that's my main issue with this book. The tidbits don't add up to complex, well-rounded portraits of the sisters. Klam even admits this numerous times: How much she wasn't able to find out. It seems too sparse for a novel. Much of the book's pages are used by Klam discussing the people she met with, the locales she traveled to, the food she ate, and there's even a long section the repeats--word for word--the judgment in a court case involving Ruth Morris. And, sadly, litigious text is dull when plopped in the middle of a novel.
I appreciate Klam's zeal for search and discovery, her funny anecdotes and asides, and her deep love for these women she never met, yet this book could have probably been a funny long-form article or essay. As compelling as the lives were that these four sisters seemed to have lived, the reality of the situation--that there is so much no one will ever truly know--takes away from the enjoyment of Klam's journey/process.
Klam shares funny research anecdotes with conversational ease. As a reader, you can tell she's deeply interested in correcting the family fiction and many questions about her relatives' lives and her excitement piques your interest as well. Unfortunately, as she states numerous times throughout the novel, even with all of her research and discoveries, there's still not much there, "there." The Morris sisters were experts, it seems, at living lives of barrier breaking for women at the time, especially in regards to their financial success, yet they were also very adept at keeping their lives confidential from not only the public at large, but also their own extended family.
The teases are truly intriguing: They were Romanian immigrants whose father put his daughters in an orphanage after their mother was admitted into an insane asylum. Marcella, the oldest sister, who was a whiz at the stock market (unheard of for women at the time) to the tune of a multi-million dollar legacy. Ruth, Malvina, and Selma, each mysterious and unique in their own way. The even more distant brother Sam. I don't want to give too much away re: what Klam finds out, but the tidbits certainly whet the reader's appetite for more.
And that's my main issue with this book. The tidbits don't add up to complex, well-rounded portraits of the sisters. Klam even admits this numerous times: How much she wasn't able to find out. It seems too sparse for a novel. Much of the book's pages are used by Klam discussing the people she met with, the locales she traveled to, the food she ate, and there's even a long section the repeats--word for word--the judgment in a court case involving Ruth Morris. And, sadly, litigious text is dull when plopped in the middle of a novel.
I appreciate Klam's zeal for search and discovery, her funny anecdotes and asides, and her deep love for these women she never met, yet this book could have probably been a funny long-form article or essay. As compelling as the lives were that these four sisters seemed to have lived, the reality of the situation--that there is so much no one will ever truly know--takes away from the enjoyment of Klam's journey/process.