Sisters: The Story of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine

Good book about their lives. Not very nice people, but fun to read about. Being a classic movie buff, I love reading about the old stars, and this was interesting and fun...

Even if you haven't ever heard of these two sisters before or seen their movies, it is no reason not to read the book or at least finish this review. Sisters opened my eyes to see how harsh sibling rivalry can be, and it could easily be a work of fiction. Joan Fontaine, the younger sister I feel sympathizing, came from a sickly, lonely childhood shadowed by her older, popular sister, but still came to just as much fame. Her parents were no help either: Mr. De Havilland, besides living away from his family in Japan his whole life, tried to seduce his own daughter, Joan, when she was over there. Her stepfather, George Fontaine, whose name she later took as her acting name, strangely had similar ideas. And Joan's mother always sided with Olivia. The book carefully details the various marriages the two women had (and why they fell apart) , their movies, and, of course the rivalry that still exists to this day. The two sisters, now in their early nineties, haven't talked since the '70s. This is a must read for anyone interested in movie stars, relationships, or the notion that you can't judge a book by its cover.

I did enjoy this book, which tells you about the lifes of joan fontaine and olivia de havilland. No surprises here at all, the sisters couldn't get on and it was a matter of who would be the most awful towards the other one; still what is funny is that those women are extremely similar and yet couldn't stand one another when indeed they were quite a reflection of one another, physically and mentally.