MY SISTER'S CONTINENT by Gina Frangello

There is nothing in this world more brutal than family. Nobody can twist the knife like a parent or sibling. The attacks come from all angles, and you never know whether to duck and cover or join in the fray.

I always laugh when women talk about sisterhood like it's a kumbyah thing. It can be, sometimes. And sometimes it's a war. Yet even when you swear you hate each other, the fact of the matter is your sister would do anything to save your life. And that brings us to Gina Frangello's My Sister's Continent, my nomination for Spring 2006.

Two years after her twin sister disappeared, Kirby Braun tries to piece together the truth of her sister's life. Kendra returned home just as Kirby entered therapy to deal with what is apparently a case of serious pre-wedding jitters. Kendra's very presence unleashes chaos, shattering the veneer of the Braun family. Without their glossy All-American surface, this family cannot hold together.

My Sister's Continent is a contemporary reworking of Sigmund Freud's "Dora" case study. As Kirby digs into her sister's journals, she discovers ugly truths about Kendra's world -- and the source of her twin's penchant for multiple types of masochism. Each layer of Kendra's life reveals another secret. While Kirby discovers her true self in her exploration, she learns the secrets that lead to Kendra's ultimate act of self-destruction.

A description of My Sister's Continent cannot do the story, the writing, the raw edges justice. This is a book that requires reading to appreciate the frankness and violence. And what better place to start than with an introduction:

Like most siblings, Kendra and I went to school, took family vacations. We separated when she went away to New York while I remained behind, close to our parents, whose sole attention was finally mine. Had she never moved back to Chicago at all (as was her intent), everything would have turned out differently. She did return, and we welcomed her, a prodigal daughter who, as always, would frighten us a bit but make our lives more interesting. My father, mother, and I, who had always formed a tentative union against her impropriety. Her impropriety. Mild by most standards: she was neither junkie nor criminal—not even prone to interracial dating or homosexuality. We were a tame family, and her small-scale rebellions, such as they had been, were enough to keep us awed and ill at ease. We worshipped her, and resented one another for it. Or do I misremember everything? You had known us, some of us, for a decade. No doubt there were demons to which you became privy that even now I cannot glean.

The storm that had been brewing in my family for that entire decade, though, did not officially hit until the November of my twenty-second year. The world was approaching a millennium. Nuclear weapons were becoming popular again. America had divided along lines of those who believed Bill Clinton the devil, and those who thought the devil to be Kenneth Starr. In a recently gentrified area of Chicago, in a newly constructed loft, I was living with my longtime boyfriend, Aris. Aris and I were getting married. Everyone was happy about the engagement. Everyone likes weddings, particularly when they are expected. My engagement ring was quite big. Aris made a good living considering his age, which was twenty-six, but the ring was a family heirloom, so neither of us was responsible for its grandeur. Since getting the ring, I had taken to polishing my nails. They were short and stubby, but looked reasonably nice if I didn't paint all the way to the sides—just a slash of red to elongate. I'd learned the trick from my mother, who despite her devotion to God, always managed to know such worldly details. Because my sister lived far away, in a universe where the ghost of Balanchine was the only parent a ballerina required, I was often able to receive the full brunt of my mother's considerable wisdom.

Kendra did not approve of my engagement. She found me, I assumed, a pathetic sell-out to some lofty, unspecified goal that marriage at an early age would surely thwart. Luckily, nobody much cared what she thought, since she rarely came home, and the fanatical rigor of her life, with its accompanying dismissal of love as a lower art form, made us squirm. All we required was that, come the following October, she dutifully don a maid of honor's dress that would not outshine my restored, Victorian wedding gown, and give a well-mannered toast before getting sloshed. Then she'd be free to seduce a groomsman or glare at my new husband as she chose.

First, however, before my father would fork over the requisite miniature fortune for my century-old dress, he insisted I make an appointment with his former psychiatrist (that'd be you) about the matter of my diarrhea. Mere vomiting he might have understood: we all have delicate stomachs in my family, and somebody or other was always throwing up in the bathroom, the car, along the side of the road. Even my mother began to suffer from nausea the longer she was exposed to my father's lineage, as if having borne my sister and me was enough to transmit our shortcomings into her purer blood. But diarrhea was another thing entirely. Vomit is bad, but shit transcends all boundaries of good taste.

Come back the week of May 8 to join in the discussion about My Sister's Continent. Gina Frangello will be guest blogging, Ed's put together a great podcast, and we'll be talking about the book. A lot.

Comments

[lidia yuknavitch]

What is astonishing to me about this book is that it wrestles the knot between culture and cultural inscription. i say that because the wickedly smart strategies Frangello uses to both "use" Freudian script and the sort of stage-play of a dysfunctionate family is utterly organic to the motion of character and scene. And the twin sisters--both lost and found at the level of narration--create a swell double helix for the reader to wind in and out of.

A lot of edge-y writers these days pull literary or cultural theory into their work, creating sometimes at least an almost impenetrable textual surface. Gina's book is fiercely intelligent, highly aware of its cultural riffs, and utterly, beautifully, accessible. Proving of course that one can stage a whip smart act of narration without losing the story--or the reader.

Every act of relationship carries with it an act of violence--families especially.

Oh and it's funny as shit in places, too.

lidia

[STEPHEN ( I Hit The G-Spot Everytime Do You )]

Yes this book rocks. Well done & great writing. Great Stuff Gina!

[batteries]

http://www.batterylaptoppower.com/hp/omnibook-xe.htm hp omnibook xe battery ,

[thesis writing]

Extremely long but very useful and informative article. How i wish i can do all of that in a short period of time. But for sure doing those will produce results. I will try to spread your words through my blog and link it back to you. Thanks a lot for those tips.

[Vintage Jewelry]

I read this book by the chance, I remember it has very interesting plot. I took it from my friend, in 2008. I like this kinds of books, deep analysis of family psychology in different situations in family relationship always interested me.

[gucci shoes]

I am not on this earth by chance. I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Do you think so? Posed By gucci shoes

[NFL Jerseys]

Yes this book rocks. Well done & great writing. Great Stuff Gina!

[WHOLESALE NFL JERSEYS]

NICE ARTICLE AND THANKS FOR SHARING

[ugg shoes]

Ugg boots typically has a unique glimpse from other kinds of boots. It is in fact this distinctive glimpse that makes it stand out inside the crowd. The expression ugg is truly the shot for ugly. Thus ugg boot in simple fact meant unsightly boot. But these days these boots are no longer deemed as unpleasant, they are moreover thought of as one with the most fashionable and snug footwear from the style industry. Just imagine walking miles on an undulated terrain in a pair of higher heels! What would be the result?

[green laser]

When we talk about somebody ,we need to think clearly!

[ugg bailey button]

A very good post ,I like it very much ,hope you will give another post asap

[ugg womens boots]

I enjoy your posts. You write beautifully. That’s all…

[Jordan Retro shoes]

I’m glad to see this blog.
I really like that because the post have many things to learn!

[usb drive]

Cool, I finally stumbled to a site about this! I was daydreaming about it this morning and now I discover this site. Coincidence alright. keep going on...

[coach outlet store online]

It seems that everybody is into this kind of stuff lately. Don’t really understand it though, but thanks for trying to explain it. Appreciate you shedding light into this matter. Keep up your work.

[proviron]

Das war ziemlich vorausgesetzt, es gibt eine Menge drauen warten nur auf der rechten Seite.

[Steelers jerseys]

Ellen thank you so much!! The shoes are fabulous. My friend's birthday is approaching and she loves shoes .

[contractor surety bond]

A lovely read for a simple artist like me.

[tivoli gm]

This article I must say is very compelling because it tells a lot of info. This is very interesting and I must say that keep it up. You did a great job. There are a lot of things in this world that we have to discover and I must say that I have learned a lot from what you have posted. 20110217pilipalagaga

[credit card processing]

This blog is a good news that must be spread out.

[authenticjerseys]

i am very interesting in this article!
write very excellent and beautiful!!
the style in this blog is very unusual!

[generic cialis]

It is a fantastic book, I do not agree on saying that the family is the worst, but there are moment in where you just dont want anything to do with your family.

[birkenstock outlet]

Very informative blog. Thanks for taking the time to share your view with us.

[Herve leger]

This article I must say is very compelling because it tells a lot of info. This is very interesting and I must say that keep it up. You did a great job. There are a lot of things in this world that we have to discover and I must say that I have learned a lot from what you have posted. ..

[coachusa outlet]

Thank you for you,I learned many from you.