Rosalind or Rose is the first born in the Andreas family, Bianca or Bean second, and Cordelia (Cordy) last. Recognize any of these names? They're all taken from Shakespeare. You see, their father, Dr. James Andreas is a professor of English literature at Barnwell College and he LOVES Shakespeare and raised his girls with the "...sonnets as nursery rhymes..." and taught his girls to say things like you're: "...a fat-kidneyed rascal..." while mad at a friend instead of calling them an idiot. To say Dr. Andreas isn't eccentric wouldn't be far from the truth.
Each daughter comes home because they've learned that their mother has breast cancer and the funny thing about the novel, we never do find out their Mom's name throughout the entire story. Hmmm....wonder why that could be? Anyway, Cordy who is broke and basically homeless steals a pregnancy test from a drugstore and confirms her suspicions that she is indeed pregnant. And how does she think she can be a Mom and raise a babe in arms when she has to "steal" the very test to prove she is having a baby? Bean gets caught stealing money from her company to finance her bent for expensive jewellery, shoes, clothing, and Broadway shows in Manhattan's elite district. Luckily for Bean, the company only requests her letter of resignation and a promise to pay back the money she stole from them. She immediaately goes home, packs her stuff, empties her ATM account and buys an old car from a friend and heads home to her parents. Bean realizes the company could have called the police and had her arrested like a criminal and she'd be in jail. She'd never even thought this as a possibility while she was 'doing' the stealling, only after she got caught.
Later, Rose, Jonathan (Rose's fiance), James and Rose's Mother were sitting in a Chinese restaurant having dinner when James says he has an announcement to make but before he can say anything, Rose's mother blurts out: "I have breast cancer." She further informs them they've been to the oncologist and the tumour is malignant, quite large but hasn't spread. She would have chemo first to shrink the tumour and then a mastectomy. The following day, Rose broke her lease, packed up and moved home, uninvited!
Rose asks Bean what she is doing here because her parents hadn't said she was coming home. Bean retorts: "I didn't tell them I was coming." Rose and Bean continue their "snipping" and "sarcasm" back and forth: "Not everyone wants to live in New York City" Rose says to Bean. "And that's a good thing. It's crowded enough already there", Bean retorts. "You really quit your job?" asks Rose. "Yes. Why is that so hard to believe" answers Bean. "I don't know. I guess I just thought you might have mentioned it to us or something. That you were plannning to" responds Rose. "What, in our chatty once-a-week calls?" Bean sneered, and on it went. Rrreeow, and the cat's nails come out!!!
Beans begins to realize that her mother is dying, she herself was a criminal, Rose was a bitch and life wasn't about to get better anytime soon.
These three sisters are always imagining and playing in their heads what they think each of their other sisters would say about something they were doing or seeing. They perceive each other as "snippy, snappy and sarcastic."
Cordy arrives home at 2:00 o'clock in the morning and Rose finally had her wish that all three sisters were home again. Remember, she is pregnant.
Rose begins to realize her "need" and "desire" to be the caretaker for everyone in her family and her life comes from within herself. There are no extrinsic factors, it's all intrinsic. Rose also begins to realize that their parent's lives didn't just suddenly start with the birth of the three of them. But that they both had lives prior to them. Hmmm...what a humbling thought, and it dawns on her that she doesn't really know her mother at all.
Cordy too is finally figuring out that her parents were human too, that they had: "...dreams and feelings and scars."
But in the end, they discover they are much, much more alike than they could have ever dreamed and that "snippy, sarcastic" bond; well, let's just say it too is much more than they ever imagined possible. These 'Three Weird Sisters' could NEVER function alone, without each other and there is a lot more to this story that what I've mentioned here.
Eleanor Brown has penned a stupendous novel and one that everyone should read! I was sorry to see it end and would love to see a sequel!! You're gonna love it!
January 17, 2011
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