Twins, The
Sarginson, SaskiaViola and Isolte. Michael and John. Two sets of identical twins bound by a momentous Suffolk summer spent together when they were children. Now adults, the tragic consequences that flow from an innocent mistake they made continue to reverberate throughout their lives. For life to be worth living, they must do as all who wish to live fulfilled lives must do: confront their past and accept what really happened.
With credible characters and its deep understanding of twin ship, this is a compassionate story that explores the consequences of childhood trauma and the very special challenges of being a twin. [Larger font]
Comments from Groups
A fantastic read. So gripping! Couldn't put it down, and it was so very well written. Christchurch 148 Loved it. Robust discussion! Timaru 013 Overall the group enjoyed this book. There was a lot of discussion about peoples' personal experiences of twins. The descriptive talent of the author was appreciated. This was a title that our group probably wouldn't have selected off the shelf, so it exposed them to a new author. There was a lot of chopping and changing in the narrative of the 2 girls, but it wasn't difficult to follow. Christchurch 396 Certainly one of the more popular books this year. Flows well. No problems with the switching between characters. A rather abrupt ending, with members feeling that there were some unresolved questions. Wanganui 008 The author puts words together well, but repeated herself which some readers didn't like - they felt the story could have been told in fewer words. Most enjoyed the book, which wasn't as 'girly' as expected... For a simple book, there were quite a lot of issues to discuss. Greytown 003 A mixed-bag of comments for this debut novel by Sargeson from our group. Some liked the descriptive writing and format, others found it confusing. The chapters were short, and written so that reading-on was compulsive - all agreed on that. There were many characters in the story, and the 'actions of' these were not always believable. However, we all had to agree that life is all of these incidents (particularly in people from dysfunctional families) and if we didn't think that, we must all have had a very protected upbringing. The observations and experience of 'twins' behaviour' were enlightening for some of us - confirming for others. Our general consensus was that the book was certainly worth reading. We thought the notes of Elizabeth Hope Little were very good. Hamilton 026
Pages
339
339
Year
2013
2013
Reviews
04-04-2022
One of our members has identical twin sisters and commented " it was like reading my life". Great group discussion.
04-04-2022
Generally well received, an enjoyable read but not hugely thought-provoking.
04-04-2022
Good for a summer read. Some thought it was a little slow to reveal the secret of what happened. One person who is a twin thought it was very insightful about twins.
04-04-2022
Mixed reviews - we felt the author depicted early childhood well, but not the girls' later years. A bit light for most.
04-04-2022
Good read, interesting concept.
04-04-2022
Very different views on this book. Some folk loved it. Some thought it was a little contrived. All agreed it was an interesting perspective on identical twins. A good discussion ensued.
04-04-2022
Everyone read and enjoyed this book - all agreed the author had an excellent way of engaging the reader without "telling all". We loved the descriptive writing, which painted the picture so well. It touched on many themes with excellent insight and sensitivity - an excellent choice of book for us.
04-04-2022
A complicated love story essentially, with a lot going on in the story.
04-04-2022
The general opinion was that it was too long. A good beginning and end but no substance in the middle.
04-04-2022
A lot of members felt like the ending was a bit flat after such a build up throughout the book. Also sometimes it was not easy to remember which twin was narrating.
04-04-2022
A seemingly easy read which slowly developed into relentless depressing episodes, too many of which seemed to overburden too few people. The writing had amazing descriptions. One felt as if they were experiencing the situation at hand. A good effort for a first novel. Hopefully there will be other novels, maybe where the characters don't highjack the writer!
04-04-2022
The book was enjoyed by most of the group and generated a lot of discussion.
28-03-2022
Well-written. Members with experience of identical twins thought the description of twin relationships in the book were authentic. Good suspense.
29-07-2019
Evoked a good free flowing discussion, especially on themes of twins, anorexia, and tragedy. The story had good descriptive writing, perhaps too much and too "earthy" for some. The movement of the story back and forth in time was good for some and too much for others. Setting excellent.