'Her Fearful Symmetry' incorporates wacky characters, but less heart than Niffenegger's first

I read Audrey Niffenegger's first novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" well before it was made into a movie last summer. The story was so well-written and unique, I couldn't wait for Niffenegger to write another novel. Though the movie wasn't very good, the book was excellent as it followed a man who time travels against his will and the love of his life in a story that transcends time.

So I was pretty excited when I saw a book review a few months ago that Niffenegger had a new novel coming out. I added it to my wishlist and got it for Christmas. So I figured this could be book No. 2 for my resolution to read 10 books this year (resolution No. 1.) The book promised to have some of the same magic as her first novel and I expected it to be a little bit off the wall, too.

This latest story revolves around two sets of twins - the first set Elspeth and Edie are British and have not talked to each other for 20-some years. When Elspeth dies of cancer, she leaves her London flat, which happens to be next to Highgate Cemetery, to Edie's twin daughters Julia and Valentina. The original set of twins have some secret the girls are hoping to unlock in the flat.

The characters are rounded out with a cast of wacky characters. There is Elspeth's much younger lover - who turns out not to be quite as young as I at first suspected - who hangs out at the cemetery giving tours and working on his long overdue thesis. And there is Martin, an obsessive compulsive man who hasn't left his apartment in years. And there is Elspeth herself who still seems to be around even after death.

The book was well-written and mostly interesting, but the characters just didn't draw me in quite as much as the husband and wife in "The Time Traveler's Wife." It's worth a read for fans of Niffenegger's first work, but don't expect it to outshine the first book.