Scan barcode
book_concierge's review
2.0
Book on CD read by Christina Delaine
2.5**
From the book jacket The strong but flawed women of Mothers, Tell your Daughters must negotiate a sexually charged atmosphere as they love, honor, and betray one another against the backdrop of all the men in their world. Such richly fraught mother-daughter relationships can be lifelines, anchors, or they can sink a woman like a stone.
My reactions
I think it was a mistake to read/listen to Campbell’s novel (Once Upon a River) back-to-back with this collection of short stories. I can take only so much distress, so much sexual tension and acting out, so much of watching women make bad choice after bad choice after even worse choice. There were a few stories that were quite funny in their hysteria – a young bride convinced her ex-husband was reincarnated in the mongrel dog she has adopted, or a pregnant woman imagining all the possible hazards (shoelaces, paperclips, the refrigerator…) her soon-to-be-born baby will face. But most were distressingly dismal and depressing.
And, frankly, I just have to wonder what kind of background the author has to write such gritty scenes – mothers virtually selling their daughters to a man, daughters overtly stealing their mothers’ boyfriends, rapes and molestations, cruelty and despair. Campbell took me to a dark place, and I’m glad to be out of there and back in the sunlight.
Christina Delaine does a very good job performing the audio version. She had a plethora of characters to portray and she was definitely up to the task.
2.5**
From the book jacket The strong but flawed women of Mothers, Tell your Daughters must negotiate a sexually charged atmosphere as they love, honor, and betray one another against the backdrop of all the men in their world. Such richly fraught mother-daughter relationships can be lifelines, anchors, or they can sink a woman like a stone.
My reactions
I think it was a mistake to read/listen to Campbell’s novel (Once Upon a River) back-to-back with this collection of short stories. I can take only so much distress, so much sexual tension and acting out, so much of watching women make bad choice after bad choice after even worse choice. There were a few stories that were quite funny in their hysteria – a young bride convinced her ex-husband was reincarnated in the mongrel dog she has adopted, or a pregnant woman imagining all the possible hazards (shoelaces, paperclips, the refrigerator…) her soon-to-be-born baby will face. But most were distressingly dismal and depressing.
And, frankly, I just have to wonder what kind of background the author has to write such gritty scenes – mothers virtually selling their daughters to a man, daughters overtly stealing their mothers’ boyfriends, rapes and molestations, cruelty and despair. Campbell took me to a dark place, and I’m glad to be out of there and back in the sunlight.
Christina Delaine does a very good job performing the audio version. She had a plethora of characters to portray and she was definitely up to the task.
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tahmeka's review
3.0
This book was really well written. The author is very talented. Some of the stories were more interesting than others and I would have liked them as a novel. The best story in this book was "Mothers, Tell Your Daughters". It was so well written.
I am giving this book 3 stars instead of four because some of the stories were a little boring. I really wish Goodreads would give us half stars, my goodness.
I am giving this book 3 stars instead of four because some of the stories were a little boring. I really wish Goodreads would give us half stars, my goodness.
amber_lea84's review against another edition
4.0
I never quite know how to feel about Bonnie Jo Campbell's stories. Her writing flows so much better than a majority of the writers I read, and her descriptions are so thoughtful I can't help but stop and admire them. She tackles topics like sexism, poverty, drug addiction, child abuse, and mental illness. But I feel torn when it comes to some of her characters. Some of them are gritty and flawed in ways that makes me absolutely love them, and others...think their dog is the reincarnation of their ex husband.
There's always gotta be one or two stories where the protagonist is painfully out of touch with reality and I'm left going, "Oh my god, are there people who are actually like this?" Everyone else feels so realistic (no matter how horrible they are) that whenever someone seems really out there that character ends up taking up more space in my brain than all the others.
There's always gotta be one or two stories where the protagonist is painfully out of touch with reality and I'm left going, "Oh my god, are there people who are actually like this?" Everyone else feels so realistic (no matter how horrible they are) that whenever someone seems really out there that character ends up taking up more space in my brain than all the others.
amb3rlina's review against another edition
5.0
I am awestruck my how she so quickly and deftly paints the vignette of each character. The honesty is heartbreaking and yet feels relatable and fresh.
brooke_review's review
3.0
I was going to do 4 stars, but then I remembered that 4 stars means that I "really" liked the novel, and I can't say that's the case. This was definitely an interesting set of short stories, with frank writing, but a common thread ran through much of them. These were the stories of the broken women, the scorned women, the jaded women, the vengeful and regretful women.
I enjoyed most, and would have liked to have seen fleshed out into longer stories: The Greatest Show on Earth, 1982, A Multitude of Sins, Daughters of the Animal Kingdom, and Somewhere Warm. Though, I found it hard to hold me attention at times, I thought Children of Transylvania was interesting because it opened my eyes to 80's Romania.
Overall, these stories go deep into what it is like to be a woman, and I can appreciate that.
I enjoyed most, and would have liked to have seen fleshed out into longer stories: The Greatest Show on Earth, 1982, A Multitude of Sins, Daughters of the Animal Kingdom, and Somewhere Warm. Though, I found it hard to hold me attention at times, I thought Children of Transylvania was interesting because it opened my eyes to 80's Romania.
Overall, these stories go deep into what it is like to be a woman, and I can appreciate that.
sonia_reppe's review
3.0
Some readers noted that every story has a rape in it; that doesn't bother me as much as all the cancer--almost every story mentions someone with cancer. A downer, but still good writing.
roof77's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0