"A realistic coming of age tale"
Years ago in Nebraska, their father committed suicide and
their mother abandoned them to their grandmother. Now
their grandmother has left the two sisters by themselves to
live in and eke a living out of her antique shop that most
people would call a rural junk store. The Rollows, twenty-
one year old Mabel and nineteen year old Lily, struggle
with the latest renunciation of the two of them. This
leaves both sisters emotionally stunned and looking
introspectively as to why adults leave them. Though rather different in appearance and demeanor, the
siblings concur on two things that parents desert the young
and that gin guzzling Jordan is cute but in a destructive
way. Lily persuades Jordan to accompany her to confront
her mother somewhere in the southwest. This leaves Mabel
feeling further abandoned, but seeking solace and
understanding by using a medium to attempt to communicate
with her deceased dad. The powerful cast makes THE PHANTOM LIMBS OF THE ROLLOW
SISTERS into a strong angst-laden reading experience. On
the other hand, Timothy Schaffert provides so much insight
into the Rollow sisters, he slows down his plot and sends
the reader into character overload requiring the reader to
deliberately simmer over the tale. The story line remains
perceptive and intelligent enabling the audience to observe
two wounded young struggle to understand the meaning of at
least their lives. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 30, 2002
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