The Murderer's Daughters Book

Vapid story, vapid characterization, vapid prose.

I was impelled to try out this book due to the number of positive reviews it got and the fact that it was translated into several other languages, but popular opinion proves to be vastly misleading. First of all, the plot is rather thin, and at times cliché - and those clichéd moments remind me of a cheap imitation of "White Oleander". The author of "The Murderer's Daughters" does not have the ability to flesh out her characters into authentic, three-dimensional individuals, nor to write in such a way as to give any of those characters their own distinct voices, despite the story being narrated in first person by the two sisters. Granted, the sisters ARE supposed to be quite different from each other, but the way the author writes that aspect into the story feels very contrived. Names of secondary characters are introduced and thrown around in the story without any personalities attached, and the few that do get a bit of focus are by no means memorable.

That said, a novel does not always have to be plot- or character-driven to be successful, if the writer is the type that relies on poetic style or experimentation. However, no such literary merit is present to redeem this novel, as the prose is highly plain and even more bland and uninteresting than the plot and characters, if such a thing is possible. The author's sparse attempts at poignancy are also feeble and ineffective and fall short of anything profound. Hence, there was nothing in this book to sustain my attention. Yet, I mustered enough willpower to plod through "The Murderer's Daughters" in hope of finally finding and taking away something worthwhile from it, but those tediously spent efforts sadly did not pay off.