A review by elfs29
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Baker's writing reminds me a lot of Salinger's, astute, witty and moving writing of family, covering only a matter of days in immense and fascinating detail. Both Cassandra and Judith's characters were complex and interesting, but what was most moving was their bond as twins and the different ways they both perceive it. Cassandra's immense loss because of her sister's imminent marriage says so much about her and her insecurity, her loneliness - this story more than anything else is perhaps one of what happens when things don't happen the way we allow ourselves to expect them to, when plans that were never spoken get overturned and we must figure out how else to live. Brilliant writing and character work, and a fascinating dissection of sisterhood, to me who does not have a sister.

One thing about being alive is that you can swim. Other things, too - you can look at the clouds in the daytime and the stars at night and think of space as something you can't terribly care about conquering. Let it go on being spacious while it can. There's lots of time if you think of it in terms of light years.