★美國《柯克斯書評》評選為2011年最佳小說
★美國書商協會評選為「十二月嚴選好書」
★本小說的澳洲版由澳洲知名文學出版社Text競價簽下版權！

這部小說是從兩姊妹身上看到一個家庭的悲歡故事，是美國新人作家Nancy Jensen的第一本作品。這個故事的靈感來自於她約十歲時，看到祖母自從收到一封信後就整天鬱鬱寡歡，原來信中寫到她許久沒有往來的姊姊去世了。自作者有記憶以來，她只知道祖母有兄弟，從沒聽過祖母有姊姊。她當時好奇想問祖母，卻被姊姊和母親即時阻攔。直到祖母去世後，她仍不知道祖母的姊姊究竟犯下什麼過錯，讓全家人徹底忘記她的存在。她對祖母與姊姊、以及這位從沒蒙面的姨婆與家族之間的秘密一直有諸多揣測，而這些也成為她撰寫第一部小說的最好題材。

A dazzling debut novel about the family bonds that remain

even when they seem irretrievably torn apart

Growing up in the hardscrabble South in the 1920s, with their mother dead and their stepfather an ever-present threat, Bertie Fisher and her older sister Mabel have no one but each other—with perhaps a sweetheart for Bertie waiting in the wings. But on the day that Bertie receives her diploma, good intentions go terribly wrong, setting off a chain of misunderstandings that will send the sisters on separate paths and reverberate through their daughters’ and granddaughters’ lives.

What happens when nothing turns out as you planned? From the Depression through World War II and Vietnam, and smaller events both tragic and joyful, Bertie and Mabel forge unexpected identities and raise daughters—and sisters—of their own, learning that love and betrayal are even more complicated than they seem. Gorgeously written, with extraordinary insight and emotional truth, Nancy Jensen’s debut novel illuminates the far-reaching power of family and family secrets.

 

Nancy Jensen is a graduate of the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College. She teaches writing and lives in Kentucky. This is her debut novel.

 

“A beautiful and touching novel about the events and choices that shape not only our lives but the lives of generations to come. Nancy Jensen takes us on an epic yet intimate journey through eighty years, ultimately revealing the flawed but lovely landscape that makes up a family. Her characters will stay with us long after the book’s final pages.”

—Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader

“I’ve rarely seen a novel that moves through a number of characters in such a sure-footed and always rewarding way. I really could not put it down. Nancy Jensen has the natural storyteller’s ability to command attention, but with sophisticated psychological understanding and beautifully crafted writing. The Sisters is a needed novel that will become a very popular classic.”

—Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Abundance, a Novel of Marie Antoinette