Sister Crazy - Hardcover

Richler, Emma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375421084 ISBN 13: 9780375421082

Publisher: Pantheon, 2001

Synopsis

Emma Richler’s extraordinary fictional debut is the multilayered story of a middle child. Jemima Weiss, a neurotic, lovable loner and the third of five Weiss children, grew up fascinated with British commandos, American westerns, the Knights of the Round Table, bagels with cheddar on top, and, above all else, her family. In these seven episodes, which expand and circle back on one another to form a dense, rich impression of Jem’s world, she revisits her formative years and elaborates on her mythological views of her eccentric parents and siblings: her gruff Jewish father, whom she saw as a gunslinging cowboy; her prophetic, all-knowing mother, who had witchlike powers of discernment over her brood; her charismatic brother Jude, a foreign correspondent who remains Jem’s main object of affection; her ethereal younger sister, who becomes a surprising source of solidity and comfort in Jem’s adult life.

Through Jem’s ingenuous voice, charged with comedy and tension, we learn how each of these characters has come to represent for her a whole system of thought and feeling, and we experience at first hand the magic of a large, tight family, as well as its emotional perils. The triumph of the book is Jem’s sensibility itself, and the deeply satisfying intimacy we feel with her and her supporting cast as she progresses toward a tentative peace with herself, outside the cocoon of family.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

The sprawling Weiss family--as recalled by Jemima, the middle child in Emma Richler's amazing debut--live an almost idyllic existence. The feeling among the siblings is so palpable that we cannot help but share the acute nostalgia Jem experiences as she emerges from childhood.
In a darkly humorous voice she tells of playing elaborate war games with toy Action Man figures, composing a survival book ("Always have some sports news at hand for when your dad is in hospital after a scary operation to do with a fatal disease"), closely observing her beautiful Mum to fathom her magic, weaving the story of the Grail quest into her brother Jude's life. Jem's extravagant tales of her eccentric beloved family will linger long after the last line.

From the Back Cover

"These are wonderful stories. Richler's voice is true and intimate as she reveals a family of compelling characters in a way that is utterly unique. Moving deftly among the humorous and the serious, this quirky, forthright narrator takes us on an immensely readable ride."

-- Elizabeth Strout, author of Amy and Isabelle

About this edition

• Publisher: Pantheon
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0375421084
• ISBN 13: 9780375421082
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224