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The Sisters

This summer's most addictively entertaining family saga

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The Sisters

By: Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Narrated by: Aleksander Varadian
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Summary

 SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

'It's been a while since we were stunned by an ambitious family saga'
The Times

'One of this summer's most buzzed-about novels'
Financial Times

MEET THE MIKKOLA SISTERS: INA, EVELYN, AND ANASTASIA.
Ina is tall, serious, a compulsive organizer. Evelyn is dreamy, magnetic, a smooth talker. And Anastasia is moody, chaotic, quick to anger.

Following them from afar is Jonas. Like the sisters, he's Swedish Tunisian, raised in Stockholm but yearning for so much more. His life intersects with theirs across decades and continents, from Tunis to Berlin and New York. And when Evelyn goes missing, it's Jonas who tracks her down - and helps break the curse that has loomed over the Mikkolas for years.

'One of those books you live inside and miss when it's over'
Isabella Hammad, author of Enter Ghost

'If you welcome this novel into your mind, it will warm and transform you'
Tess Gunty, author of the Rabbit Hutch

'Astonishing . . . every character - every sentence - is startlingly, indubitably alive'
Katie Kitamura, author of Audition©2025 Jonas Hassen Khemiri Family Life Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Inspiring
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Critic reviews

A quilt in the winter, a fireplace of embers, a singing kettle, a blazing forest, a steaming bath, a controlled burn - what you hold in your hands generates every kind of heat. There is violence, and some of it burns, but its most consistent and miraculous energy - the energy radiating beneath every sentence of every page - is a kind of geothermal tenderness. Jonas Hassen Khemiri's The Sisters moves generation to generation, neighbour to neighbour, skin to skin, pulse to pulse. If you welcome this novel into your mind, it will warm and transform you (Tess Gunty, Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize-winning author of The Rabbit Hutch)
I try to avoid recommending too many novels whose length could rival a dictionary's. But I've been thinking about The Sisters ever since I finished it, and now that it's out I hope you linger over it, too. (Joumana Khatib)
The Sisters is a novel of unsurpassed tenderness. It is about the power of stories, to make and break and finally heal us. Jonas Hassen Khemiri is a born storyteller, of rare and astonishing gifts. Every character - every sentence - is startlingly, indubitably alive (Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies)
The Sisters made such an impression on me that I started dreaming about Ina, Evelyn and Anastasia and the brilliant structure of this capacious, moving novel. It will remain with me for a long time (Lara Haworth, author of Monumenta)
The Sisters is a thoroughly fascinating story about sibling rivalry, loyalty, and love, one that is about the microcosm of the family as much as it is about the bigger world. Jonas Hassen Khemiri is the very rare combination of a deep intellectual and a true storyteller, as smart as he is entertaining. He is an important voice, a curious mind, and a generous teacher to all of us who have tried to imitate him (Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove)
The Sisters is a moving appraisal of family, language, and the spiritual developments that accrue over a life. Jonas Hassen Khemiri ushers you through those developments with humanity and wit and illuminates complex familial intimacies with utter clarity (Raven Leilani, author of Luster)
The Sisters is a superb novel about the pangs and longings of sibling love, about being Arab in Sweden and Swedish in Tunisia, about the strange stories that sustain us and the long rush of time. Captivating and so full of life - one of those books you live inside and miss when it's over (Isabella Hammad, author of Enter Ghost)
All stars
Most relevant
Some threads were left in limbo .. I mostly enjoyed it - but was frustrated with some of the characters - felt he was trying too hard to weave things together .

A bit challenging - v long listen

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This book is fantastic an excellent family saga. There is no lull in this book it’s always interesting and I think that’s down to the constant changing of perspective and the number of characters. I really enjoyed the way the parts played with time and although there are time jumps I didn’t feel like the reader misses any information. Highly recommend this

5 stars all the way

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Such a lovely, warm, emotional and evocative book for anyone who has ever experienced isolation and aloneness. Sorry it ended! Warmly recommended!

Beautiful

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This was an absolute joy beginning to end. Well drawn character, strong narrative voice, depth and feeling - made me want to be a Tunisian.

Outstanding narrative, greta story well told

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It was too long and didn’t get really get to the point of the story. It would have been better if there was a natural conclusion for all the inter stories within the book

Too long and bit boring

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