Blue Sisters

Published 2024 · 368 pages · 111,968 words · about 9 hours at an average pace

How hard is Blue Sisters to read?

Blue Sisters scores 58 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it quite demanding. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 48 out of 100
The vocabulary is contemporary and accessible, with occasional use of foreign phrases (French, Spanish) related to settings or characters. There are some specialized terms related to boxing, but they are generally explained in context. This is similar to *The Great Gatsby* in its accessibility, but with slightly more specialized language.
Sentence structure: 55 out of 100
The sentences vary in length, with some longer descriptive passages interspersed with shorter, punchier sentences. Paragraphs are generally manageable, and while there are some complex sentences, they are not overly convoluted. This is comparable to *Pedro Paramo* in its readability, but with more variation in sentence structure.
Abstraction: 55 out of 100
The narrative balances concrete storytelling with reflections on sisterhood, grief, and identity. While the characters are grounded in their experiences, the text also explores broader themes of family dynamics and personal struggles. This is similar to *The Great Gatsby*, which uses a specific story to explore social observations.
Information density: 58 out of 100
The text presents a moderate amount of information per page, balancing plot development with character insights and descriptive details. While there are multiple plotlines and character arcs, the narrative remains relatively focused and easy to follow. This is comparable to *The Great Gatsby* in its compressed but clear storytelling.
Narrative indirection: 62 out of 100
The narrative relies on character actions and dialogue to reveal underlying emotions and motivations, rather than explicitly stating them. Readers must infer the complexities of the sisters' relationships and their individual struggles through their interactions and internal thoughts. This is similar to *The Great Gatsby*, where Nick's narration shapes the reader's understanding but requires interpretation.
Symbolic density: 68 out of 100
The text employs recurring motifs, such as the 'blue' theme and specific objects like the framed blue butterflies, to represent deeper meanings related to memory, loss, and connection. The settings, such as Venice Beach and Paris, also carry symbolic weight, reflecting the characters' emotional states and journeys. This is comparable to *Heart of Darkness*, where the journey itself becomes a symbol.
Ironic distance: 48 out of 100
The narrative maintains a relatively close distance to its characters, offering both sympathy and critique without heavy irony. While there are moments of humor and satire, the overall tone is sincere and emotionally engaging. This is similar to *Moby-Dick*, where Ishmael's humor exists alongside the tragedy of the narrative.
Resolution withholding: 68 out of 100
The excerpt leaves many questions unanswered about the sisters' futures and the resolution of their individual struggles. The ending of each chapter creates a sense of anticipation and uncertainty, encouraging readers to speculate about what will happen next. This is similar to *Lolita*, where the aftermath is known but the meaning remains open to interpretation.
Structural complexity: 52 out of 100
The narrative employs shifts in perspective, focusing on different sisters in each chapter and incorporating flashbacks to reveal their past experiences. While the overall structure is relatively straightforward, the shifts in time and POV add a layer of complexity. This is comparable to *The Great Gatsby*, which uses Nick's retrospection to frame the story.

How Blue Sisters is regarded

Blue Sisters holds a literary regard score of 23 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

Prizes

Where Blue Sisters sits in Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism

Placed by a full reading of the text (209 passages), not from reputation. Each verdict quotes the passage that earned it. On the axis from myth to irony, Blue Sisters scores 66 out of 100. A second mythos, comedy, pulls at it with a weight of 0.3. About the map of stories.

Mode: Low Mimetic
Avery would like to be all backbone, but she is tender flesh too.
Symbol: Formal
By the end of that year, the sisters were like four blue irises outgrowing their shared pot.
Mythos: Irony iv (irony iv)
She was alive and Nicky was not. It wasn’t right, it simply was.
Genre: Novel + Confession
“I miss her and I miss her and I miss her,” she began.

Where the story of Blue Sisters takes place

  • Paris, Venice Beach, Hampstead and New York around the Fourth of July anniversary (2022 to 2024), the main setting
  • Upper West Side childhood and the sisters' youth, Nicky's last year (1995 to 2022)
  • Blue family apartment, Upper West Side, July-August (2022 to 2024)
  • New York hospital, ten years later: Bonnie's labor and Nicole's birth

5 things that are true of Blue Sisters, with the passage for each

  1. Lucky counts how often she says she needs a drink: 132 times so far this year, more than the number of times she has said 'I love you' in her life.

    She has said the words I need a drink one hundred and thirty-two times so far this year.

  2. Bonnie's last professional fight ends when her own corner throws a white towel into the ring.

    A single white towel sails across the ring, landing in the center. The fight is over.

  3. Nicky had been dead four minutes by the time Bonnie found her.

    And by the time Bonnie found Nicky, she had already been dead for four.

  4. The three sisters carry a pink Smeg fridge they found on the sidewalk back to the apartment.

    They looked across Eighty-ninth Street, to where a pink Smeg fridge was standing placidly on the sidewalk, as though waiting for a friend.

  5. Bonnie names her baby Nicole Petrovich Blue.

    “Nicole,” said Bonnie. “Nicole Petrovich Blue.”

Scenes in Blue Sisters that Frye would name

52 sightings of Frye's terms in the text. The strongest:

Pathos, untitled
And by the time Bonnie found Nicky, she had already been dead for four. The central death scene: Bonnie carries Nicky's body to the elevator and the paramedics.
Lyric, untitled
If you had been my twin, intoned Lucky, could I have shared the pain you were in? Lucky's song for Nicky, overheard from behind the shower curtain.
Pathos, untitled
She looked like something that had just spilled, like a vase of violets tipped over. Bonnie's memory of finding Nicky's body.
Anagnorisis, untitled
“I’m an alcoholic, Riley. And an addict. And I really think I need to be sober, but I have no fucking clue how.” Lucky admits her addiction aloud for the first time, which pivots her toward recovery.
Anagnorisis, untitled
She put her mouth next to Avery’s ear to speak in a fierce whisper. “You are not that important.” The mother's words release Avery from her belief that she could have saved Nicky.
Cognitio, untitled
“We’re making up,” she said. The sisters' quarrel dissolves in the bathroom and the family is reconstituted.

Books that share these scenes with Blue Sisters