Sisters by Danielle Steel

I recently read this novel for our genre study at work.

What madness will ensue when four beautiful, successful, wealthy sisters converge on their parents’ home in Connecticut for the Fourth of July Weekend? This being Danielle Steel you can be assured there will be plenty of tragedy, drama, descriptions of clothing, jewelry and residences and terrible dialogue.

Sabrina, a high-powered attorney, Tammy, a big-shot Hollywood producer, Annie, an artist studying painting in Florence and Candy, the biggest supermodel in the world meet for a traditional weekend in July. Tragedy soon strikes when their beloved mother is killed in a car accident in which Annie is blinded. How will the sisters survive this horrible ordeal?

At first, it was hard for me to discern the appeal of Ms. Danielle, until it was pointed out to me that people like junk reading just as they like junk TV. For some reason, junk reading doesn't appeal to me as junk TV does. I found the plot of Sisters to be standard Lifetime Movie fare, which I love to watch, but it was unpalatable to me in book form.

The positive aspects of Danielle Steel's writing are that she does give you a glimpse into a moneyed and unfamiliar world that can be fascinating to read about. There are many descriptions of what the characters wear, where they live, where they go on vacation, how their houses are decorated and the fabulous places they frequent. She also does a good job of providing a dramatic and varied plot.

The negative aspects, for me, outweighed the positive. The characters are one-dimensional and not well-developed. They are interchangeble except for their hair color and careers. The writing style is abysmal and so flat and wooden that I found the novel hard to get into. The lack of any lyrical beauty or imaginative writing was depressing.

I am glad that I read this novel so that I know why Steel is popular, however it still saddens me that people love her novels and devour each and every one that is published.