We’ve been quoting the debut novel Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown for a while. The sisters’ motto is “There is no problem a library card can’t solve.”

It comes with a good pedigree. Its editor, Amy Einhorn, also brought us The Help and The Postmistress. Booklist says it exhibits “no false steps.”

Arriving today, it gets a stellar review from Janet Maslin. The three sisters’ father is a Shakespearean scholar who insists that the family continually quote the bard. Maslin calls this a gimmick, but one that works.

There are times when the sisters are exasperated by the burden imposed on them. “Sometimes we had the overwhelming urge to grab our father by the shoulders and shake him until the meaning of his obtuse quotations fell from his mouth like loosened teeth,” they say. Readers may sometimes feel similarly about Ms. Brown but more often appreciate the good sense and good humor that keep her story buoyant. She does have storytelling talent. Or, to quote one of the Weird Sisters quoting you-know-who: “This is a gift that I have; simple, simple.

The Weird Sisters Eleanor Brown Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam – (2011-02-17) ISBN / EAN: 0399157220 / 9780399157226

Penguin Audio; 9780142428948

Thorndike Large Print; May; ISBN 9781410437051; $30.99.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 17th, 2011 at 9:57 am and is filed under 2011/12 - Winter/Spring, Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.