Daisy Johnson
Sisters by Daisy Johnson is a haunting tale about the unnerving bond between two sisters, September and July. Born ten months apart, the sisters are in their teens when the novel opens. Their mother is taking them to their aunt’s secluded, ramshackle house in Yorkshire to escape from some ominous event hinted at throughout the novel but never fully revealed until the end.
September and July are as inseparable as twins joined at the hip. They fuel each other’s thoughts, finish each other’s sentences, and share each other’s sensory perceptions. September, the oldest, is abusive. She taunts July, pinches her, punches her, and demands complete submission. Prone to cruelty and a violent temper, September has complete control of July’s movements and activities. July acquiesces. She submerges her identity since she craves her sister’s love and approval. The two function independently of their mother who is severely depressed and spends most of her time locked away in her bedroom.
The novel unfolds primarily through July’s first-person point of view. Her jarring shifts in time and place and the fragmentary nature of her narrative mirror her seemingly fragmented mind and shifting mental states. Snatches of the past mingle with present-day events. She taunts the reader with glimpses of the ominous event that precipitated their hasty departure to Yorkshire. Above all, she exhibits an almost hypnotic obsession with September, allowing her to intrude on her thoughts and control her behavior while harboring feelings of intense love and hate mingled with fear.
The family’s tragic past is unveiled in bits and pieces that gradually fit together like a jagged puzzle. Daisy Johnson skillfully evokes a haunting, unsettling atmosphere that permeates the novel from beginning to end. The tension is palpable. A sense of foreboding threads its way throughout. Even the Yorkshire house, ironically named “Settle House,” is anything but settling. It is assigned a section in which it seemingly assumes the form of a living organism with its dark passages, closed doors, unidentified noises, and suggestion of harboring spirits of people long since dead.
This is a deftly executed narrative depicting social and psychological dysfunction, sibling rivalry, sibling love, family relationships, and the psychological trauma of separation. Although not as riveting as Everything Under, it is, nevertheless, a compelling read delivered by a talented author.
Highly recommended.