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theextensivereader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A wonderful compendium of diverse, great writers.
toni_says_smile's review
5.0
An unusual collection of short stories featuring daughters and their mother-figures.
I gave this five stars for a variety of reasons:
1. Sheer range. The authors, the story style (semi-autobiographical, post modern, retelling of a fairy tale, historical etc), the cultures, the pacing - I wasn't bored for a moment, regardless of how much I liked each story. And the authorship ranged from very well-known authors (Sylvia Plath, Margaret Atwood) to authors I hadn't heard of.
2. Pacing. The order the stories are presented in is fantastic. It can be difficult to keep momentum in a collection of short stories, but they were ordered in a way that made it easy to keep going on to the next story.
3. Topic. The stories weren't written for this collection, so they aren't all obvious in their approach to the mother-daughter relationship. As a result, there isn't an overarching message, which I really liked. Each story was allowed to bring up and treat differently the (often difficult) emotions brought up by the bond. Regardless of your relationship with your mother, you will find a story that you relate to and that makes you die a little on the inside. It ends up feeling very truthful, which I don't always feel when reading mother-daughter stories.
4. It just contained some really lovely stories. My favourites were 'The Voice of Authority' by Dina Mehta, and 'Everyday Use' by Alice Walker, because I related to them the most. I don't think I'll forget the story 'A Visit from the Foot Binder' any time soon either.
The other reviews here don't seem to like Jamaica Kingsland's piece 'My Mother,' and I can admit it's an acquired taste. It's heavily symbolic, and if you're not interested in working out the meaning of every sentence, it might be worth skipping. It reads like a series of dreams, so I guess it depends if you're the kind of person who likes to listen to other people describe their dreams. If you're interested in it, it reveals a really complex and intense relationship relationship where both mother and daughter fight for physical and emotional space, keeping in mind the unbreakable tie between them. I enjoyed it.
5 stars, will pick through it again.
I gave this five stars for a variety of reasons:
1. Sheer range. The authors, the story style (semi-autobiographical, post modern, retelling of a fairy tale, historical etc), the cultures, the pacing - I wasn't bored for a moment, regardless of how much I liked each story. And the authorship ranged from very well-known authors (Sylvia Plath, Margaret Atwood) to authors I hadn't heard of.
2. Pacing. The order the stories are presented in is fantastic. It can be difficult to keep momentum in a collection of short stories, but they were ordered in a way that made it easy to keep going on to the next story.
3. Topic. The stories weren't written for this collection, so they aren't all obvious in their approach to the mother-daughter relationship. As a result, there isn't an overarching message, which I really liked. Each story was allowed to bring up and treat differently the (often difficult) emotions brought up by the bond. Regardless of your relationship with your mother, you will find a story that you relate to and that makes you die a little on the inside. It ends up feeling very truthful, which I don't always feel when reading mother-daughter stories.
4. It just contained some really lovely stories. My favourites were 'The Voice of Authority' by Dina Mehta, and 'Everyday Use' by Alice Walker, because I related to them the most. I don't think I'll forget the story 'A Visit from the Foot Binder' any time soon either.
The other reviews here don't seem to like Jamaica Kingsland's piece 'My Mother,' and I can admit it's an acquired taste. It's heavily symbolic, and if you're not interested in working out the meaning of every sentence, it might be worth skipping. It reads like a series of dreams, so I guess it depends if you're the kind of person who likes to listen to other people describe their dreams. If you're interested in it, it reveals a really complex and intense relationship relationship where both mother and daughter fight for physical and emotional space, keeping in mind the unbreakable tie between them. I enjoyed it.
5 stars, will pick through it again.
vasha's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
I enjoyed this very much! Even the stories that were depressing were good to read (a bit surprisingly, the grimmest was also the oldest, "An Everyday Story" from 1884). But overall there was a warmth to the collection, but not sentimentality, the very last story skirting closest to sentimentality. There were subtle examinations of the things that mothers and daughters learn from each other; tales of rebel daughters, of course, and a rebel mother in the comic story "Meet My Mother"; a trio of depictions of the crushing burden of domesticity and marriage, with the women in the first two sinking and the third walking out of her life with magnificent anger ("Virgin Soil"). Some standouts in my mind include Janet Frame's "Swans", two very young children whose perceptions of their mother contrast with her own worries; "Given Names" by Sue Miller, which doesn't seem very distinguished superficially, but wouldn't go out of my head; "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, with the narrator's personality and experiences revealed in every sentence, and a contrast of worldviews between the stay-at-home daughter and the mover-and-shaker; some typically vivid writing by Jeanette Winterson; "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother" by Judith Chernaik, which was very painful but true -- well really most of the stories were very good.
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