I didn't like the ending of this book. I didn't like much about the book actually. Ok, that's not completely true because I would have stopped way before the end.

I liked the sisters and their relationships because I never had that as a kid. I liked the magic that always fills a Hoffman novel. But then the book got dark and sad and depressing. I kept reading because I thought surely things would get better. They sort of did but not by much

And then...it just sort of ended. I was pretty disappointed in general and at this point I'm put off of Hoffman for a while. Maybe I'll try some of her newer stuff later. ( )

I was immersed in this book almost in spite of myself. Hoffman's mixture of the mystical with harsh reality is what gives The Story Sisters its momentum - the reader is always waiting for the other shoe to drop, or for Elv, the oldest of the Story sisters, to reach a new low. Ultimately, the fantasy world and talk of elves and faeries don't go anywhere, which is sure to disappoint some readers. These narrative dead ends effectively make the point that the real world and the truth are most important. ( )

Being one of three sisters is complicated at the best of times; and I should know, as I’m the oldest of a pretty challenging trio. Hoffman explores this complex set of relationships in the Story Sisters, weaving a tale that feels like a modern fairytale even though it is grounded in the harshness (and beauty) of reality. We see Elv, Meg, and Claire grow up and explore the world from the time they are young girls to their early-middling age, facing secretive challenges, inventing a made up world of escape, and growing closer and then inevitably apart. The world of sisters is almost never one of lightness and ease, even though the picturesque expectation remains, and the Story sisters are no exception. Hovering over them is a secret kept between Elv and Claire, of a day where terrible things happen and everything changes. Hoffman never describes the event, but from the start of the novel we can feel the event darkening the girls’ world, with things only growing darker as calamity and loss leave their own small scars. Most of the events are actually rather mundane when seen from a distance - drug use and mental health issues are all too common, family separations routine, and sometimes people just grow apart - but Hoffman writes her story and characters so compellingly that a soft haze of magic seems to sparkle over everything. The glitter may at times be dark, but without the darkness the points of light could not shine so brightly and make even the most mundane of happenings compelling. Throughout her novels, it is this seeing the world from a unique angle that makes her stories so enjoyable and so readable, and by the end of each tale making her readers see our own world infused with small hints of magic. ( )

I'm over half way and I don't agree with anyone that would say this is magical realism or fantasy. It is very much realistic fiction. And, the description of this book seems off. The horrors of the human soul, the consequences these people deal with. There is a slow, subtle destruction of the characters in this book and it is so realistic. There is mental illness caused by an abduction and implied rape of a child, drug abuse, neglect, death all tied to the original horrific event.
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It is the same narrator as the audiobook of The Third Angel. I was disappointed at first but that eventually washed away and I think she does a great job. It was that I pictured her voice as an adult character's voice because of that last story. She does a nice job changing the sound for the children and the mother and the grandmother.
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It took me awhile to love the book and be committed to the story. I'm about half way and am once again in love and awe of Hoffman's skill. ( )

Not my favorite book by Hoffmann but enjoyable. Northpoint Harbor Long Island, the book's setting seems suspiciously like Northport, near my own home town.
And... Paris! The settings alone make it a good read.
The main character is so unlkeable I almost abandoned the book at one point. ( )