Throughout this process, multiple folks have brought up how few sibling stories there are out there. So, obstinate virago that I am, I set out to list those I've encountered, as well as find new ones. I've done it before, and I'll do it again -- here's this show's shout out to influential, instrumental, and essential writers. All my literary bitches stand up.
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
Jacob Have I Loved is about these twin sisters growing up on a tiny Maryland island. Sara Louise is super tough and goes out crabbing like a man and is always sacrificing for her sister, who is delicate and takes voice lessons and who everyone is always gushing over. It's stunningly good at making you feel how miserable Sara Louise is without it being a pity party. It’s also good at hinting at the fact that maybe she’s missing something, that her own stubbornness is what’s dug her into this miserable hole.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I don't know if most folks think of Ender's Game as a story about siblings, but Ender's relationship with brother and sister drive most of his actions and his basic understanding of other individuals and environments. Ender, Valentine, and Peter are each incredibly intelligent and hyper aware of the irrelevance of the adult world, and the subtle changes in their love for, fear of, and understanding of one another feel wildly real.
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Cat's Eye is mostly about the twisted friendships of the main character Elaine's youth, the ways that children can and do torture one another that we hardly ever talk about. But for much of the beginning, Elaine's family lives on the road hunting bugs with her entomologist father. Her only real companion is her brother Stephen, and from the chain of command in games they play together ("Lie down - now you're dead.") to the way they grow apart but remain essential to one another once they start going to school (Stephen goes through this hilariously stoic crush on a girl that he relays in code only to Elaine), Atwood conveys the particular relationship of siblings perfectly. In case you haven't heard enough from me about Ms. Atwood.
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
Okay, there's a shit ton of secrets in this one, and I don't want to spoil a single moment because it's all so goddamn lovely. I will say that a combination of early sibling rivalry and perceived parental favoritism plays a huge role in the characters' lives. I think I need to re-read this one, and get the new remix reissue from the library.
- Invisible Monsters on Amazon
- An interview with Palahniuk on the 2012 remix reissue of Invisible Monsters
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Okay, so this one's about siblings living alone because one of them may have killed off the rest of the family in a lovely little arsenic-in-the-sugar-bowl incident. And they're both probably in need of some major psychological assistance. But the way they feel they need to protect each other from the outside world, and the way they can't manage to protect each other from themselves is awfully familiar. Additionally, Jackson does a phenomenal job of detailing the feeling of a private person entering a public space, how hard you have to work to pretend that you don't feel like everyone is paying close attention. Liz likes to talk about the "electric public" in my writing, and I think this is the kind of thing she means.
Every goddamn thing by JD Salinger
All the stories about the Glass family ("Franny," "Zooey," "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters," and "Seymour: An Introduction") are basically an extended meditation on how family, especially siblings, get you into the mess you're in, and how they're usually the only ones who can get you back out. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden's sister Phoebe is just about the only person who can motivate him to do a damn thing. And then there's "Just Before the War with the Eskimos," "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor, " and "Teddy" in Nine Stories. Ugh, just read every goddamn thing by JD Salinger.
- Every goddamn thing by JD Salinger on Amazon
- JD Salinger's NYTimes obit, which talks about everything
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