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There are currently 35 member reviews
for The Sisterhood
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Priscilla M. (Houston, TX)
The Sisterhood
When I first started reading The Sisterhood, by Helen Bryan, my first impression was that the main character, Menina, was too "pat." She was beautiful, smart, and I was sure she was not going to be very interesting to follow. I admit I am more drawn to quirky people on the pages I read. As the plot developed, though, I found myself liking the story and the way it moved from one time period to another. The plot was complicated, but followed the theme of secrecy, faith, and the fellowship of women from beginning to end. I am still not sure how present day Menina ended up with the ancient and valuable artifacts , but that doesn't really detract from the story. It was a fun read, and I think it would be a good choice for a book club. It has a smattering of romance, intrigue, and history, so there would be lots to discuss.
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Judy K. (Oshkosh, WI)
Unique Read
This book is very unique in the way it is written. It jumps from one time frame to another. This book has lots of characters. Sometimes it is very hard to keep track of the characters. A lot of events do happen in this book. I would suggest to read the title of every chapter before beginning to read that chapter. Now that I finished the book, I would like to reread it again, knowing what I know regarding the book's format and really focus in on the characters.
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Betty B. (Irving, TX)
Sisterhood Through The Ages
The Sisterhood tells a beautiful story of women caring for the abused and neglected through the ages. If you can accept that artifacts from an ancient convent in the mountains of Spain find their way to a convent in South America in the 1500's, then to a 19 year old Southern Baptist college student in Georgia in 2000, you will enjoy this book. It may take a leap of imagination (or faith) at times, but you will enjoy the journey. I thought both the writing and characterizations in the 1500's stronger than the contemporary events or this would have earned 5 stars from me.
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Nona F. (Evanston, IL)
A page-turner
I very much enjoyed The Sisterhood, which I found to be a real page-turner. The author is skilled at creating individual characters (and there are a lot of them in this book), and I think she was successful in managing her dual narrative structure. This would be a good book for book clubs with its non-preachy examination of women's rights and religious tolerance through the ages. Be warned that there are a few logical disjuncts and at least one mighty fortuitous coincidence as well as some quibbling caveats such as why does the Spanish police officer who attended an university and a police academy in America for five years speak in pidgin English? On the whole, a very enjoyable and fast read.
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Kat F. (Palatine, IL)
I was so looking forward to it...
I've been mulling over this review for a week or so now. I couldn't figure out what the problem was for me.
There are several interesting story lines and the author did a good job telling each story. I really enjoyed reading each story for its own sake.
I couldn't figure it out and then it hit me – none of the stories were completed. The author did not tie up the loose ends of each story, and did not weave them together so the reader saw the whole picture.
The story(s) spanned from 1500's through current date. That's a lot of time to cover and there was only one weak thread that went through all of it. It was kind of like saying I am attached to my female ancestors for the past 400 years because we all had brown hair on our head.
The reader (and the author) would have been better served if each story line had been its own book with a beginning, middle and end. They should have been part of a series that clearly the relationship between the story lines and how each impacted the other. I would have bought them all.
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Laurette A. (Rome, NY)
Good...but...
Having recently begun researching my own family tree I was excited to read this book. I liked it, but not as much as I had hoped. While the author put great detail into the background stories of the girls in the convent, I never felt she fleshed out the main character, Menina very well. I would have liked more of her back story and more about her relationship with Alejandro. For such a long book, the ending felt rushed as if the author was tired of writing and wanted to wrap things up quickly. As I said, I liked it and am glad I read it; however, I'm not sure I would recommend it to my friends.
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Julie M. (Minnetonka, MN)
Past and Present
If you liked "The Eight" by Katherine Neville or "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks this book will appeal to you with common themes of secrets, the need to know your ancestry and history. This story is not as strong as the above mentioned books, but it did hold my interest to the end.
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