I was fortunate to accidentally came across a book titled Not Telling, which is a story about two sisters who create new value for the term sibling rivalry. They were consumed with jealousy and mutual hatred for each other brought on by a series of traumatic events that, combined, disrupt the life of Jenny, the story's main character. Jenny realizes that she may never be able to escape her terrible past, because the past, you see, had a funny way of coming back to haunt her. This story takes place on a farm in a small township in South Africa — where a young woman has to try to reveal to her friends and family the most stressful events of her life.
Jenny van Tronder can keep a secret. She killed her mother when she was seven years old. Her sister, Karen, also believes that Jenny killed their mother. Her father blames her for his wife's death and may even hate her for his wife dying. The real story is with the sisters, Jenny and Karen. Each sister is different from the other; Karen is the smart, beautiful and more popular of the two. The main character Jenny is the overweight, non-academic social outcast. The only two commonalities are that these sisters share is that they have the same father and deceased mother. But what is also the most dramatic part of their relationship, is the rivalry between them.
The author keenly identifies the distinctions in the relationship between Jenny and Karen. Karen asserts herself with the advantages of being the older sister, doing things as uncomplicated as taking control of the phone and TV, and all the time dumping any kind of anguish on her younger sister, Jenny.
Not Telling also discusses in depth adversities and the socially awkward events that occur as the two sisters approached young adulthood and the difficulties of attempting to recover after physical and emotional abuse. The other characters and events in the story are extremely well developed and in some way are all connected. Jenny and her best friend Brian share a devastatingly similar tragedy. The situations depicted in the book are memorable and are sometimes emotionally painful to read through because of the situations Jenny has to endure. A rape is particularly written in careful and thoughtful consideration. It was as if I was actually there, with Jenny — wanting to help her, wanting to reach out — wanting to do something, to save her.
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