The Grammarians: A Novel

An Amazon Best Book of September 2019: Light-as-air but free of fluff, this funny, moving book plunges the reader into the life of identical twins Laurel and Daphne, “two names for the same minor Greek goddess.” From an early age, the parents are bewildered by their closeness and word play, which the sisters turn like a double-barreled shotgun on their psychiatrist uncle who finds them altogether unnerving: “’We revolt you.’ Laurel said, running past him. ‘We are revolting,’ Daphne said. ‘Against you,’ she added.”

The first half of the book, when Laurel and Daphne are always together, is just plain fun. The second half reminds you that the real pleasure here is the author’s heartfelt but unsentimental portrayal of how relationships change over time: the interior experience of growing apart from the person you love best, how a mother can go from an amiable stranger to a friend. The sibling rivalry between the girls' father and his brother is also spot-on and affecting. While the novel ends just as you’re in full thrall to the characters, this lithe slip of a story is too complete a pocket universe to regret it’s not longer. --Katy Ball