The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters

This remarkable novel kept me spellbound on the afternoon the hem of Hurricane Ike lashed my neighborhood, but still I kept reading. Although I understood that the novel had reached its conclusion, the gift quest had ended, I was sad to put the characters away. They have the acid edge that some of Lopez earlier characters, but the Gabaldon sisters each exhibit a soft vulnerability as well. Lopez moves with ease among first, second, and third person perspectives, giving each sister her due while creating a perfectly balanced novel of a family in survival mode. Lopezs rich characterizations of the girls named for movie stars coupled with a strong clear plot make for a stunning and delightfully complex read. Unlike many books with a single heroine who is put upon or without flaw, these women can be mean and shrewd and we still cheer them on. Sexy, pitch-perfect, and superbly-written, this book should be on every book club list as well as in everyones briefcase.

I like the story line very much. Unfortunately, I read the book on my Kindle and several times it was necessary to look back at something and that becomes frustrating with the Kindle. I enjoyed the different view points from each sister and also how it all came together in the end.

Whenever I read a book, I cant help playing favorites. There is always one particular character that stands out, the one I follow with more attention and care, the one Id like to meet and become friends with. Now, it is difficult to choose among the four Gabaldón sisters. Not because they all are lovable, but rather because they are so human that one is almost afraid of hurting their feelings by singling one girl out. Then it is difficult for an animal enthusiast not to fall for Loretta, for a wine lover not to sympathize with Bette la borracha, for someone who has ever wanted her curses to become real not to emulate Rita...But it was Sophia who won my heart. My relationship with her had started several years ago. It began when I read the short story Sophia included in Soy la Avón Lady and Other Stories, winner of the 2002 Miguel Mármol Prize. There, the roly-poly, big-mouthed teenager ends up in a dangerous situation, so dangerous that the reader isnt sure if she will survive it. But the nerdy, fashion-afflicted, and above all, poignantly funny Sophia couldnt die so early, could she? Thankfully, it turned out that she couldnt die. Her first appearance in The Gifted Gabldón Sisters starts with the words: Once a pint of time... From then on Sophia embarks on a journey through life making people laugh, laughing at herself and sometimes laughing at the lousy cards that la vida hands her. Award-winning novelist Lorraine Lopez takes a look at family life through the lens of the individual. The sisters long to discover their true identities. Did they receive a gift from Fermina, their late housekeeper, a gift which makes each of them unique? And who actually was Fermina? How was she related to them? In their search for answers, they fight and make up; they love and betray each other; they fall and rise. They survive a lecherous uncle, spineless bosses, a long trip through Route 66 and their good-for-nothing husbands. And in the end, they discover their own true gift.

I did not like this book. Although the premise was interesting and got me to read the entire book, I found the ending to be pitifully weak. I found Ms. Lopez to simple have a weak premise for a story and forced the concept throughout the story. Anything interesting was grazed over. If the ending had been better, I might have understood some of the choices the author went with, but it was vague and overly simplistic. I felt Ms. Lopezs attempt to make these sisters gifted.

Believable, I laughed I cried. Im going to have my sisters read it too! Im going to look for other works by this author.

In Southern California, their mom named her four daughters after Hollywood actresses she enjoyed. When she passed away while her children were young, their dad raised them with the help of caretaker Fermina; though in reality Fermina raised the kids with the help of their father. When the ancieno Fermina realized she was dying after a century of life, she tells her beloved girls she will give each of them a special gift that they must use wisely. Bette Davis obtains the skill of making anyone believe anything no matter how farfetched or exaggerated she says; Loretta Young has the ability to heal injured animals; Rita Hayworth can curse anyone with bad things happening to them; and Sophia Loren has the uncanny gift of making anyone even those depressed and despondent laugh. Over the next two decades they help each other and wonder about Ferminas paranormal gifts; as they investigate their family tree and the background of their caretaker, the four GIFTED GABALDON SISTERS begin to question what was bestowed on them. This is an intriguing paranormal sister-lit tale with psychic elements crossing the story line. The four siblings rotate viewpoint, which enables the audience to understand their differences and more important their similarities and concerns; this makes each seem real even with possession of otherworldly powers. Fermina for the most part remains mystical and with each revelation her mysticism grows. Although the intermingling of Spanish throughout enhances the sense of reality, it also slows down the plot for many readers who stop to interpret within the context of the paragraphs. Still Lorraine Lopez provides a unique refreshing paranormal family drama. Harriet Klausner

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters begins in Los Angeles in 1966. We meet the four sisters - Loretta, Rita, Sophia, Bette and their brother Cary - all named by their late mother after movie stars. The girls are still mourning their mother. Their beloved housekeeper, Fermina, becomes ill as well. She has always promised that when she passes on she will give the girls each a gift. When she dies, the girls try to discover what each gift is. They arent tangible items, but maybe the gifts are abilities...... Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of one of the sisters. Interspersed are tantalizing excerpts from Ferminas life, beginning in the 1930s, taken down by a data collector from Work Projects Administration. This novel traces the lives of the girls through joy and heartache. Through it all runs the memory of their mother. Each girl remembers her differently. And Fermina - who was she really - her life with them is a bit of a mystery. The women in this story are the dominant, strong characters. I was caught up in the lives of the Gabaldon sisters. Their bickering, angst, joy and passion for life was intoxicating. Although they make some bad decisions in life, their acceptance of what life brings, their devotion to their children and their love for each other is compelling. The story rings true and real, with no sugar coating. As we follow the sisters lives, we also follow Ferminas in further reports from the WPA until the two tales meet and we discover who Fermina was and what the gifts truly were. This newly released novel is a story that will appeal to sisters and friends. It would be an excellent suggestion for a book club. Ferminas life is drawn from Lopezs own family history.

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters is a beautiful tale beautifully told. It is the story of Bette, Loretta, Rita and Sophie, four sisters who are inherently different yet share a common bond. This bond is an overwhelming desire to understand Fermina, the family housekeeper, and the gifts she said they would receive following her death. Each sister struggles to understand and control the gift she thinks Fermina has bestowed upon her. Lopez follows each sister through the twenty-year search for answers and allows the reader to share in their triumphs and bemoan their failures. Finally, the sister come together to learn the truth. The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters is a touching tale of family and finding ones role within it. Lopez has a true flair for words that lets the reader become part of the story.

The mother of four sisters dies, leaving them to be raised by an unobservant father and a beloved housekeeper, who has her own mysterious past. Unfortunately for the girls, the housekeeper dies shortly after. The girls are pretty much left to their own devices. They feel a void and begin to search to find out who their mother and their housekeeper were. The sisters lives are examined over more than twenty years as they reach maturity, go their separate ways, and reunite. Each chapter is taken by a different sister who reports the happenings from her vantage point. Using first-person, second-person, and third-person points of view, the tale unfolds in a smooth, easy-to-read fashion. Each girl has her own voice, and the reader has no difficulty following what could be a difficult read. The characters are believable--each one is well written so that personality flaws are evident. They squabble, but the bond of family is tight. Warning: A good bit of profanity is used throughout the book.

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez follows the lives of four sisters named for classic movie beauties: Loretta Young, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Sophia Lauren, and their brother Cary Grant Gabaldon, and their mysterious connection to their Indian maid Fermina, whose hidden letters and notes contain shocking revelations about the Gabaldon sisters. Motherless, the girls increasingly resent their father and rely on each other to get through Catholic school and beyond. Fermina, it was rumored, hung out with friends who dabbled in magic. The girls believe that Fermina left each one a magical gift unique to her, including telling believeable lies, healing animals, making others laugh, and the power to curse people to die. Along the way, they struggle through abusive relationships, childbirth, and heartbreak. Each chapter is narrated by a different sister, and interspersed between these are WPA archives of interviews with Fermina that gradually reveal the girls lineage piece by piece. The magic is largely psychological, but Lopez captures the cultural nuances of two decades that seem to pass in the blink of an eye, from the mid-1960s to the 1980s, and paints a lush, loving portrait of a chaotic family bound by secrets and tradition. Hispanic culture permeates the pages with hints of chile and hot buttered corn tortillas dripping with butter and a drizzle of lime, with the smoky incense of churches, and in the Spanglish spoken by family and relatives. Each of the girls must make her own way into the world, each fighting a personal demon: alcoholism, drug abuse, absent husbands, sexual orientation. They find strength in their shared memories and secrets, and return two decades later to fulfill a long-delayed journey to discover the real gift that Fermina left for them. Lopezs style is familiar and engaging; each sister has a unique voice and worldview, from the cynical and emotionally scarred Bette (who swears constantly and drops acid on her wedding day) to Rita, whose quick temper curses people to horrible fates (she ends up silent for most of her school years in order to avoid cursing people inadvertently). The four narrators are effective, although the flashbacks provided in the supposed WPA interviews felt disjointed. The writing style wouldnt have been permitted in actual reports; the supposed narratives are written in a highly ornamented style that the uneducated subject being interviewed wouldnt have been capable of expressing. But other than a few small missteps, this is a rewarding novel that reminded me of Joanne Harriss