Reviewed by Kim
The Lost Sisterhood is a tale of two women separated by thousands of years. In the present day we have Oxford professor Diana, who much to the chagrin of her friends and colleagues is a trifle obsessed with the legend of the Amazons. This is due to her grandmother who not only insisted there are modern day Amazons, but she herself is one of them. Because of this she is seen as mentally ill and given a lobotomy. The reader meets Myrina, a young village girl during the Bronze Age, and watches her journey as she becomes an Amazon. Like Anne Fortier’s Juliet the best part of the book is the history. I found her take on the Amazons fascinating. Being a believer that there was a tribe of women who formed to protect themselves from the male dominated society at the time, it was exciting for me to read an author’s ideas on how it all came about. I especially loved how she tied the legend of the Amazons into the equally fascinating legend of the characters and the fall of Troy. The only reason why I would not give this book five stars is because of the modern day story. Diana, who of course is otherwise extremely intelligent, goes off with a complete stranger who tells her that he has possibly found evidence of the Amazons. I actually understood this to a certain degree because of the close relationship she had with her grandmother, and her wanting to prove to her colleagues that her theories are not just a fanciful obsession. What I didn’t like was the way she lets herself get pushed around by the other characters in the book. I especially did not care for the “hero”, Nick. I found him extremely arrogant and just about totally lacking in morals. Still, I’m glad I checked this out at my library. The plot was very fast moving and the end where the two stories meld together was for the most part very satisfying. I highly recommend this to readers who liked Juliet which was published in 2008. I’m hoping Anne comes out with her next book a little sooner.