It's not often I read a book and manage to relate in some way shape or form to every character, but somehow, Blue Sisters is the one that tops the list. I had zero expectations for this book and to be honest like most books I read I barely bothered to look at the blurb as it came as a recommendation. I have heard mixed things on this book and a few people at the local book club I went to actually didn't like it, I was halfway through it at this point and trying not to give spoilers to those who hadn't yet read it. But after finishing it, I still reserve the right to absolutely love it immensely.
It starts off describing what happened to the sisters and that one passed away young (not a spoiler, the basis of the entire book), and then goes on to show the grief hitting the family and each of the remaining sisters in different ways. It also touches on endometriosis which I actually have/had (that's a complicated answer) and isn't something you see usually in film or TV or books. This gave me a good idea of the fact that the writer really cares about women, and that the characters would be well looked after.
The three sisters Avery, Lucky and Bonnie, each have their own life in different countries with completely different circumstances and life paths however I still found something to relate to in each one. Avery and her incessant need to be perfect, work hard and be successful. Lucky with her floaty ability to want to just be pretty and travel the world, and finally Bonnie with her dedication to sports and using that as a way to channel her feelings. All of them showed something that a lot of us I believe can relate to although others have mentioned they found them to be unlikeable, so I'm not sure what that says about me ......
There were some real nuggets of heartfelt wisdom from multiple of the characters and least expectedly the mother, whom nearer the end kind of redeems herself a little from the rest of the book, so don't write her off too early.
"believe in nothing but a woman’s capacity to survive disappointment” - one of the quotes I really liked, purely because as women we tend to endure things better than men (generally speaking, I know there are anomalies) and it feels like in some way we are always disappointed, but we survive.
Another quote that came nearer the end of the book was "you are not that important" and although this sounds like something that would be meant in a negative way, it isn't. It is meant to alieviate the mental pressure of having to blame yourself for everything around you, or feeling like you were a catalyst for things to happen to other people. It struck a chord because there are so many billions of people in the world all having their own experiences, and for us to take things all on ourselves at some points can be more selfish and martyrdom that helpful, especially to ourselves.
It also doesn't have a 'happy ending' in terms of how the book begins. It has a more realistic view of how life changes and things ebb and flow and that actually make me like it more. Don't get me wrong I love a good chick flick where everyone is happy and they fall in love at the end but that isn't actually how life works most of the time and being able to have that in a book, really just made me appreciate how Mellors wrote about the hard hitting topics it does include.
I liked it so much I bought her first book (they aren't related, they are standalone books) and can't wait to read that one too! Have you read it? What did you think?
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