This is the 6th book I have read of Goldsteins', and it is definitely the creepiest!

For the first time, her protagonist is not beautiful - quite the contrary; Hedda is grotesquely ugly. Hedda is the author of complex 19th-century prose involving two sisters that turn out to be the same person along with the character William and his brother Henry James. Much of this novel is Hedda's book interchanged with what happens in Hedda's real and psycological life - which takes place in an old light house.

The back-and-forth between Hedda's prose and real existence is sometimes challenging to read, and I found her real life so much more intriguing and readable than her book. There is very heavy language at times - I felt like I missed a lot here and there; however, more often I felt so detached from the story that I did not really bother to reread what I might have lost... Other times Goldstein's language sparkles, which is why I enjoy reading her so much.

All in all, this story did not grab me all that much. Jewish references (another Goldstein trademark) were scant and not seemingly conclusive to the story. The Dark Sister was not a bad book at all; however, of Goldsteins' it is probably my least favorite... ( )