Her Fearful Symmetry (2009)

Set in and around the Highgate Cemetery, this story is about the intensity of the relationships between twins and about a ghost who won't move on. When Elspeth dies of cancer, a letter is sent to her twin Edie, who is the mother of twins Julia and Valentina. The sisters had been estranged for 20 years since Edie stole Elspeth's fiance, the twins' father. Elspeth leaves her London apartment to Julia and Valentina. The American girls have seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago. They also have an abnormally intense attachment to one another. As they move into the apartment, they start to get to know the other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the story unfolds, the girls realise that under the surface, there is a lot going on at the cemetery, including the presence of their Aunt Elspeth, who just can't make it to the other side. (PP)

The Time Traveler's Wife (2003)

This book focuses on a lifelong love between two people, librarian Henry and artist Clare. Henry was born with a genetic condition called Chrono-Displacement Disorder which causes him to time-travel back and forth - and unfortunately most of the time Henry doesn't have control over it. They first met when Clare was six and Henry was in his 30s. Over the years, Clare and Henry develop a relationship, get married and start a family - all the time dealing with Henry's constant disappearances. In their final meeting Clare is 82 and Henry is 43. Alternating between both characters' points of views, this book is a mixture between The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks with its message of everlasting love no matter what obstacles stand in the way and The Lake House with its characters living in different years. The bestselling book has been made into a 2009 movie starring Eric Bana as Henry and Rachel McAdams as Clare. (PP)

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