The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters

One of the odder well-written books I've read in a long while. Author Schaffert crafts sentences in a beguiling way, piling up details and creating situations with the logic of dreams, propelling the reader along, until the book becomes a lot like getting lost in a fun house. And looking back at vantage points in the narrative, it doesn't all make a lot of sense. The Rollow Sisters (Mabel, not her real name; and Lily) don't have "phantom limbs" except in some metaphorical sense that's left to the reader to puzzle out. Abandoned by every member of their family (one of them a suicide) the two young women live in a house crammed with mostly worthless junk for sale, which clutters the story itself in fascinating detail. Meanwhile, their heads are filled with another kind of clutter - attitudes, poses, bits of storylines from movies, magazines, tabloids, and a dozen other forms of popular culture. The two of them inhabit a world of imagination in a suspended state of arrested development. One of them suddenly leaves with a boyfriend in search of their mother. The other becomes strangely involved with a grieving family of brothers. Recommended for readers who like out of the ordinary and not so obvious fiction that keeps you guessing how all the pieces will eventually fit together.

Warmhearted and assured, this debut novel sparkles. Hotheaded Lily and perverse Mabel are wonderful characters, longing to find their places in a precarious world. There are many delightful and quirky touches along the way, and beneath the lively surface there is a sure and steady heartbeat. Mabel and Lily lingered in my mind long after I finished the book.

A great story of sisters dealing with suicide and abandonment. I truly emersed myself in the characters Lily, Mable, and Jordan.