Heartbreaking stories about sisters

by Sarah Easter Collins
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10 books
Whether their bonds are marked by love or conflict, sisters will always have a unique relationship and one that evolves over time. There are many wonderful stories about sisters, and these are some of the ones that stand out for me.
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All My Puny Sorrows

Miriam Toews, 2019
I finished this novel on a plane and, much to the horror of my traveling companion, promptly burst into tears. I defy anyone to have a different response, especially when you learn that its roots are autobiographical. The story explores the profound love and deep affection that exists between two very different sisters, one of whom no longer wants to live. Toews has an incredible voice and a sharp eye for the absurd: this deeply sad novel is also very funny.

Sister

A Novel
Rosamund Lupton, 2011
Everyone thinks Bee’s sister took her own life – except Bee who, determined to discover what really happened, embarks on a transformative journey to uncover the truth. Sister is a literary page turner, but at its heart is a story about the powerful bond that exists between sisters, and a loyalty that goes beyond the grave. I loved this book. It’s brilliantly written: the sense of grief, loss and love that Bee feels for her younger sibling is poignant, authentic, and deeply moving.

The Vanishing Half

A Novel
Brit Bennett, 2021
This is a story of identical twin sisters, Stella and Desiree Vignes, light-skinned African Americans born in 1938 who, in the 1950s, run away to New Orleans. From this point on, their lives diverge, with Stella constructing a new identity and choosing to “pass” as white. Beautifully written, this is a powerful novel that explores the compelling political and social reasons behind Stella’s masquerade, its long-term consequences, and its cost. It’s a story that has stayed with me, and one I’ve thought about a lot.

We are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Karen Joy Fowler, 2013
Aged five, Rosemary is sent to stay with her grandparents for a week. When she returns, her somewhat wild twin sister Fern has been removed from the family home. Set in the 1970s, this compelling, unusual sister story manages to be at once both brilliantly funny and deadly serious. The book explores some hugely important themes, and has a truly astonishing twist/secret that I won’t spoil here. It was shortlisted for the Booker, and for good reason.

The Poisonwood Bible

A Novel
Barbara Kingsolver, 2009
Should I ever be abandoned on a desert island with just one book, this would be it. In 1959, Nathan Price, a Baptist missionary, takes his family to live in a remote village in the Congo. The unfolding story – which is variously funny, heartbreaking, and tragic – is told by turns by his wife, Orleanna, and their four daughters, each of whom has a highly distinctive point of view and narrative voice. I love this novel for those female perspectives, for its wisdom, and for its extraordinary, vivid sense of place. Every time I read it, I find something new.

The Paper Palace

A Novel
Miranda Cowley Heller, 2022
This stunning debut captures not just an incredible sense of place but also the complex nature of human relationships, particularly between those who love each other the most. I especially love narrator Elle’s relationship with her sharp, wise, tricky sister Anna. Against a background of inadequate parenting, the author describes to perfection the prickliness of their teenage relationship and how that later evolves into a profound and important love. Tragically, Anna is not around to protect her sister when she needs her the most.

Sorrow and Bliss

A Novel
Meg Mason, 2021
Sometimes the saddest novels can also to be the funniest, and Sorrow And Bliss is testament to this. Martha, whose eight-year marriage to gentle, good-natured Patrick has ended, suffers from severe bouts of a debilitating mental illness. But Martha is not navigating life alone, and one of the many aspects of this novel that I truly adore is Martha’s relationship with her foul-mouthed, funny, acerbic, devoted sister Ingrid. Sorrow and Bliss is a wonderful read.

Things Don't Break On Their Own

Sarah Easter Collins, 2024
I’m including my own novel in this list because at its heart is a story not just about sisters, but about sisterhood in all its forms. Willa Martenwood’s entire adult life has been coloured by the disappearance of her younger sister, who vanished without trace at the age of thirteen. Twenty-five years later, she still thinks she sees her everywhere. Things Don’t Break On Their Own is a story that explores both the nature of loss and trauma, and the tricks that our memories can play.

The Most Fun We Ever Had

Claire Lombardo, 2021
With echoes of Little Women, I loved this epic debut. It features a happy but somewhat dysfunctional family, with four adult sisters trying to live up to the impossibly high bar set by their parents’ great romance. Their lives are further unbalanced by the appearance of a secret child, given up for adoption at birth but who re-enters their lives fifteen years later. This is a wonderful family saga and a highly rewarding read.

The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold, 2018
This deeply moving novel is narrated by Susie Salmon after her brutal rape and murder by a neighbour at the age of fourteen. Watching from heaven, she sees her family torn apart by grief. This is a story about longing and disconnection: from her lonely vantage point, Susie lives vicariously through her super-smart little sister Lindsey, and bears witness as Lindsey surpasses her in age, investigates her death and, eventually, poignantly, learns to live without her. Original, powerful, and unforgettable.