Our favourite books about sisters
Three classics and a modern homage
Three seminal novels about sisters coming of age and moving out into the world. In I Capture the Castle, Cassandra Mortmain captures the genteel poverty and eccentric lifestyle of her family, including her sister Rose, a 'classic English beauty' who yearns to live in a Jane Austen novel. The sisterly bond is torn asunder when wealthy neighbours in the form of handsome brothers, arrive from America. An astute and funny classic.
Wealthy neighbours are the catalyst for change in the Bennett family too, in perhaps the most famous of sisterly pairings on our list. In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen the sisters Jane, Lizzy, Lydia, Kitty and Mary navigate life in Regency England. Pride and Prejudice highlights Austen's deft wit and wonderfully astute observations on the place of women in the society of her time.
The March sisters in Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott experience a rollercoaster of sisterhood. Jo and Amy bicker, Meg offers support, and Beth acts as a gentle peacemaker. Though they squabble, their unwavering love and loyalty shine through, proving that true sisters are there for you, laughter and tears alike. In her homage to Alcott's classic, Ann Napolitano sets Hello Beautiful in 1980s Chicago, where four sisters, once inseparably intertwined, now find themselves torn asunder by love, relationships and secrets. Napolitano's novel explores similar themes as Alcott's original, made fresh for the contemporary setting.
Tragedy, history, humour and social commentary
Are you there for your sister through thick and thin? What about if she was a serial killer? Set in modern day Lagos, Nigeria, My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is a darkly comic novel about how far the bonds of sisterhood stretch, and how difficult blood is to get out of the carpet.
After their mother's death, Gopi and her sisters find themselves on an unexpected court: the world of competitive squash. Set in the grey and grimy world of 1970s London where their grieving father, seeking solace, throws 11-year-old Gopi, into a relentless training regimen. As her talent blossoms under her father's obsessive eye, a wedge grows between Gopi and her sisters. Chetna Maroo's Western Lane is a meditation on the fragility of innocence, the complexities of sisterhood, and the arduous journey of self-discovery.
No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood meshes the real and unreal through the eyes and voice of an unnamed woman, a social media celebrity who navigates the often absurd and emotionally charged world of online discourse. The story takes a sharp turn when she receives news of a family tragedy, forcing her to grapple with the contrast between the virtual and the real. Our narrator and her sister have both a supportive relationship and a strained bond as they navigate these new waters in a book fresh with biting social commentary.
Sisters against the world, or against illness, is often a common theme in these novels, including in New Zealand author Meg Mason's much lauded tragicomic Sorrow and Bliss, where Martha and Imogen must deal with the scars of their traumatic childhoods well into adulthood. Their sisterly bond, when up against the darkest of days during Martha's unnamed mental illness, shines a wonderfully warm and funny light on this otherwise emotionally exhausting read. In Homesick by Jennifer Croft, a small gem of a book, the author (as the character Amy) and her sister (named Zoe in this fictional account of real events) who suffers from debilitating seizures explores themes of sisterhood, the power of language, and the impact of chronic illness on a family.
One sister sold into slavery, one married to a slaver. Following the alternating stories of the sisters and their descendants over a period of 250 years, from Ghana to Alabama, tracing the impact of slavery on one branch of the family and the legacy of colonialism on the other, Yaa Gyasi's epic saga Homegoing (and it's sequel Transcendent Kingdom) explores themes of family, race, identity, and the enduring impact of history.
Magic and mystery
In Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, generations of Owen family women have been blamed for everything in their small town and sisters Gillian and Sally are just the latest generation to suffer the family curse. They long for normal lives, but they find that magic is always a part of them. In this seminal work of modern magical realism, the sisters must learn to embrace their unique gifts and use them to protect themselves and the people they love.
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley follows the stories of seven adopted sisters who set out to discover their heritage after their adoptive father, the mysterious millionaire Pa Salt, dies. Each book focuses on a different sister's journey as they travel to the corners of the world guided by clues left by Pa Salt. Full of allusions to mythology and astrology and replete with strong female characters, the Seven Sisters is a series that celebrate the bonds of sisterhood that go beyond blood ties.
