The Ballad of Two Sisters

The Ballad of Two Sisters is a character-driven novel about a uniquely American loneliness and the struggle for certainty in an uncertain world. The book alternates points of view in story-like chapters to capture key moments in the timelines of its characters. At the center of the story are Stella and Helen, two sisters who die on the same day. The sisters grow up in an abusive household - their father abuses their mother - and with an abusive grandfather - a man who abuses Helen. Stella, the older sister, struggles to overcome their upbringing and find happiness in family life, but the life she wants doesn't come to fruition when her son returns from the military with an Other Than Honorable Discharge and her chemist husband is diagnosed with lung cancer. Helen, on the other hand, spends her life trying to connect with others aside from her sister in a meaningful way, but ultimately rejects love interests, instead choosing a life that is small and solitary. Intermingled with these women are Gerald, Jesse, and The Mortician, characters whose trajectories are inextricably linked with those of the women. Though at times circuitous, the paths the sisters travel ultimately lead them back to each other, until finally, they can never be parted.