7. 11/8/09 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (402 pages)

I loved, loved, loved The Time Traveler's Wife, but I loved it before most other people. Everyone says things like that, I know, but I remember when I took the first copy out of the box at work and had never heard of it. The cover was intriguing, and there was time travel, so I gave it a shot. Then later, mostly after the trade had been released, the book clubs got a hold of it.
Audrey Niffenegger has made pretty clear, I think, that she's a little more Neil Gaiman/Edward Gorey than Nicholas Sparks and that her first novel was a fluke, so it shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone that her second novel is radically different, and a lot more effed up. I know a lot of people have been put off by this, but I really liked it. (Of course, I worship at the altar of Neil Gaiman- see the post that follows this one- so I may be biased.)
There's a ghost, her odd lover, the OCD neighbor upstairs, some really odd twin nieces, and an intruguingly lively cemetary next door. Personally, I think the weirdest bit is the relationship between the twins. They're adults, and should be in college, but they still sleep in the same bed? Did no one think to do something about this over the years? Doesn't strike me as a great way to socialize your already really weird children. The fact that three out of the four main characters talk to the ghost fits right in with the story, and is far less creepy than Julia and Valentina dressing alike at 21.
After The Time Traveler's Wife, a lot of readers will look for romance in this book. It is there. Julia gets a sort of crush on the middle aged OCD man upstairs who still loves his missing wife, and Valentina definitely gets involved with her dead aunt's lover. ( Apparently Robert went for Elspeth the Cougar, but was not averse to being all Experienced Older Man either. Talk about having your cake and eating it too, jeez). So, love is there, but its uncomfortable and kinda freaky.
As the story progesses things get creepier, twistier, and more unhealthy for all involved, and I don't want to give everything away and spoil the weird, but lets just say the happiness rate at the end point is only like 50/50. I thought it was a very interesting book, and I think others will too, if they don't go into it expecting more Epic Tales of Love.
Also, it was worth the whole thing just for the scene where Elspeth the ghost gets all hot and bothered when she realizes that David Tennant is playing the Doctor on Doctor Who. Best of all the episode was The Girl in the Fireplace! Good to know that Audrey Niffenegger likes Neil Gaiman AND Stephen Moffat. You really can't go wrong.