We Are Completely Besides Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler

What do you do if both your brother and sister disappear from your lives? How would you cope knowing your childhood was just an experiment to your father?

                                            

This book was not like my usual chiclit style and I found it very slow and difficult to get into.

The book is a story about a female, Rosemary, and starts with her being at college. Rosemary narrates the book herself and the first half of the book jumps back in time to various memories, then back to college before more memories and for me, didn't really flow into a natural reading pattern.

The second part of the book was no doubt easier and quicker to read. Once Rosemary brought you back to college life it then moved forward to her present.

If you can get past the topsy-turvy layout of the book, there is a fairly good story laid down of which at just 5 years old, Rosemary is shipped off to her grandparents for a few weeks. 

On her return home her sister, Fern, has suddenly disappeared. No one talks about Fern or asks too many questions, that is until their brother, Lowell, also vanishes.

Over time we learn that Fern is a chimpanzee and Lowell is on the run from the FBI.

The book takes you through many paths of blame, guilt, sibling rivalry and trying to understand why Rosemary's life is as it is and is well worth a read if your open to new styles.

The book goes to show however, that it doesn't matter how different we are in appearances, you can form bonds with any human or animal and call them family.