The Sister
A Novel of Emily Dickinson
Book Review

THE SISTER BOOK SYNOPSIS

Emily Dickinson's life as a reclusive poet is detailed in this novel seen through the eyes of her sister Lavinia Dickinson. This book is about two sisters - One famous by today's literature standards, and One unknown. Author Paola Kaufmann sets the tone for a personal, yet revealing look at the ties that bind a family of distinction yet aloofness. This book is as much about Lavinia as it is Emily and reveals some of the mystery behind the famous poet.

QUEENIE B SAYS

Lavinia Dickinson is the story teller in The Sister. Written like a diary of Lavinia's, she is devoted, doting, yet as different from her sister as night and day and also the person responsible for the world knowing the genius of Emily.

Emily was a recluse by self appropriation, molding this image for herself. When asked if she was curious about the world outside her home, Emily simply said she was the queen inside her own castle. "Solitude was never a burden for a Dickinson" (130). She wouldn't even meet her favorite poet of the day, Ralph Waldo Emerson, as she said spending time with his book of poems was far better. She didn't want to be affected by his personhood less it take away from her world of writing.

Emily Dickinson Poet
"Emily enjoyed her extravagant fame as an inaccessible and unknown figure. That is why she dressed in white." (180). I gather she was obsessive-compulsive from this account of her. Lavinia lived life for the both of them, acknowledging the very solitary soul her sister set out to be. And after Emily's death, she gives her to the world by collecting hundreds of her poems and having them published. The book reads like a bit of a scandal, as Emily never wanted her poems published.

What I like about this book is that it gives an entirely new perspective to the life of the famous poet and unlike other accounts of her life this one is authentically derived from journals, documents and letters. As always, there is someone with the strength behind the famous character. Kauffman gives us lots to negotiate and an ending which can be viewed two different ways

When all is said and read - A Great Book club read!

Truly a miraculous story.

THE SISTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Do you think Emily Dickinson had a social disorder? Mentally disturbed?
2. Was it right for her sister Lavinia to publish Emily's poems after her death?
3. How much of a role do you think Lavinia played in Emily Dickinson becoming the well known poet she is today?