My Soul Twin

Haratischvili (The Eighth Life) delivers an uneven tale of a German man and woman, raised as siblings, who fight a destructive mutual attraction. Stella and Ivo meet as young children in the 1980s when Stella’s father, Frank, and Ivo’s mother, Emma, have an extramarital affair. After Emma dies in events that are only fully revealed later, Frank’s marriage and mental health collapse, and Stella and Ivo are raised by Frank’s aunt Tulia. As teens, Stella and Ivo’s tumultuous sexual relationship adds to the chaos of their adolescence. They take other lovers as they become adults, but are unable to separate fully or to build a stable life together. Ivo, who becomes a successful journalist, avoids Stella for eight years, and she marries and has a son. When they’re in their mid 30s, he reappears and asks her to travel with him to Eastern Europe for reasons he won’t fully explain. Though he claims it will be a healing journey, Stella isn’t sure. Stella’s talky, overwrought narration and the late foray into the past involving a tangentially related Georgian family blunt the novel’s power. Despite an intriguing Wuthering Heights–inflected premise, the story never gels. (Dec.)