Things spiral out of control, for both Yoli and Elf. However, through all this she has a determination to make her frail sister happy and keep her alive. We see her life as slightly off the rails – random sexual encounters, over drinking, her efforts in parenting teenagers. Elf is determined to talk to Yoli (the only one who really seems to understand her desires) into getting her to Switzerland so she truly can end her life. It looks at the close relationship between the sisters through their whole life – as Yoli says “enemies who loved each other” – from when they were children. This might sound rather morbid and dark, but it actually isn’t. Just weeks before her world tour, she makes an unsuccessful attempt at her life, and Yoli is determined to keep her alive.
But of these two very different sisters, it is Elf, the successful one, who wants to end her life. Even though she has written an adult, the story is confusing for her and her readers.
Yolanda, on the other hand, is an author of romance books who, somewhat ironically, has gone through two husbands, is a single mother to two children with different fathers, has no money. Elfrieda grows up to become a talented concert pianist, hugely successful with a darling husband and caring people around her. And it is also the story is of two sisters – Yolanda and Elfrieda (the book is narrated by Yolanda) who grew up in a Mennonite Community in Canada.Įlf was wild and rebellious in her youth, and her piano playing was certainly not encouraged by the Mennonite elders.
It’s autobiographical to a certain extent, as Toews’ father committed suicide when she was young, followed by her sister 10 years later. My first impression was that title is a little odd, but don’t let that put you off this book it is in fact a quote from Coleridge’s poem To a Friend, with an Unfinished Poem.Ī poignant tragi-comedy (if there is such a thing) this is a sad story that makes you laugh at the same time. Miriam Toews has written 6 other novels, although this is the first that I have read.
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