Rating  - Beautiful
The Three Incestuous Sisters is a novel in pictures by Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Travelers Wife. The basic story line is about three sisters who become jealous over a young lover who chooses Bettine, the beautiful, yellow-haired sister, to be his lover.
The story in words isn't much more than that--the fall out of jealousy and passion, but the story in pictures is so much more than that. The pictures are done in aqua tints, which Niffenegger describes as a very difficult and archaic medium with which to work. She doesn't know exactly how the picture will turn out until it's printed--which has to be exciting.
I bought this book because I loved Time Traveler's Wife so much. TTW was an intriguing book and was written while Niffenegger was in "writer's block" on TTIS. The 14 years it took to get TTIS completed was worth it, especially when you consider the "bonus" of TTW.
Rating - Stunning
This is a stunning piece of artwork. There were a few pages that I considered cutting out and framing. The art is dark, deep, and honest.
The story lacks in some areas but it is made up for in the artwork. A great conversational piece or coffee table book.
Rating - haunting
This is a lovely, hauntingly drawn illustrated novel about three sisters who love the same man. It is a story of passion, jealousy, and devotion, along with regret and forgiveness. It is obvious that the author of the Time Traveler's Wife is an accomplished artist along with her fine narrative talents. I recommend this book highly.
Rating - As the title would surely indicate, a intriguing picture book for adults
Actually what I noticed first was the dimensions of this book, which is basically 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches, so that it jutted out from the shelf and demanded attention. Then I noticed that the title was "The Three Incenstuous Sisters," which will certainly get your attention and that this was "A Novel in Pictures by the Best-Selling Author of 'The Time Traveler's Wife.'" What this means to indicate is not a comic book or graphic novel, but rather that each two-page spread offers a full-page illustration on the right side and a simple caption or few words of text on the left.
The drawings are hand-color etchings with aquatint, and they are the most compelling part of the proceedings. There are one hundred plates, including the first, the frontispiece that doubles as the book's cover, and the final double-page illustration, the only one included. I want to say that they strike me as combing Gerhard's attention to background detail with the coloring sensibilities of Toulouse Lautrec. I know that is but an impression and hardly indicative of any sort of competent artistic evaluation, but it might be enough to pique your curiosity. What you make of the story that is told with this pictures will end up being the greater debate.
The three sisters are Bettine, Ophile, and Clothilde, who "lived together in a lonely house by the sea, near the lighthouse, miles away from the city." Bettine, with her blond hair, is the youngest and the prettiest. Ophile is the eldest and the smartest, and has blue hair. Clothilde, the middle sister, is the most talented and has red hair. The story, which begins with a gathering storm, is divided into three part, each focusing on one sister. When the Lighthouse Keeper is killed by lightning, his son, Paris, is called and arrives on the scene. All three of the sisters experience sure signs of bad luck, so that when a few days later Clothilde practices levitation at breakfast and then Paris makes his coice and begins courting Bettine, we know this is not going to go well.
I cannot explain the way in which the relationship between the three sisters constitutes something that is incestuous, because the title appears to be provocative rather than descriptive. The net effect of reading the book is to be intrigued as to what it is all about. Granted, you can flip through the book, "read" all of captions and check out all of the illustrations in 5-10 minutes easily. Trying to figure out what it is all about will take you longer, and I am by no means convinced that there is a specific meaning to be unlocked. Ultimately, it will be Niffenegger's artwork that captivates you rather than the narrative.
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