Reviews

Oh My Mother!: A Memoir in Nine Adventures by Connie Wang

turophile's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

A good solid memoir. Despite the name, it's focused on the author, Connie Wong. Her mother and their relationship do play a significant role. As described in the subtitle, it's a story told in a series of adventures, most involving her mother.  Themes of life as an in immigrant are woven through out. 

I enjoyed it  - very simple, fairly short. The downside is that I was missing a lot of who the author was. Still it's a good read - or better yet, listen. The audio book is narrated by the author. 

angelofmine1974's review

reflective medium-paced

3.0

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/NiHKABzz5Ys

Enjoy!

yipeng's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.25

An easy to read essay collection that serves as a reflection on motherhood, the immigrant experience, and travel. Recommended as a book you read before bedtime.

marlmar3000's review

3.0

i really enjoyed the literal writing, though i agree with some commenters that the actual mother figure disappears quite a bit. but in the intro, connie does say her mother feels herself to be rather boring, so i feel like it matches that idea — the smaller moments that aren’t as literary or complicated can still tell you a lot about a person. i do wonder what other essay topics connie chose not to write about — i could have gone without a few of these on first read, while i also wanted to know more about qing and connie’s relationship

ggrillion's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

meixiaotian's review

4.0

I don’t think Wang’s life, mother, or relationship with her mother is interesting or unique enough to justify a memoir, to be honest. But it’s a good, light read. There’s a lot of funny anecdotes and I laughed a few times. I liked reading about how everyone changed over the years, in the mundane ways that people do.

crouchingdoctorhiddenbias's review

adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.25

katiez624's review

4.0

They say reading can be like looking out of a window or into a mirror. This book of essays tells stories that are eerily similar to the experiences I had growing up with immigrant Chinese parents. Every immigrant story is different, yet the many parallels make me feel seen and heard and not so alone.

Her stories are earnest and genuine, painting a true picture of her childhood and the many formative interactions she had with her mother. Wang's writing is entertaining, humorous, and unabashedly transparent. As the book progresses, the stories get more literary and, in my opinion, less compelling. However, the focus is always on the evolving relationship between mother and daughter and the difficult situations they face together.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my ARC.

emily_miller's review

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.0

There is nothing earth-shattering about this book, no reverberating message, no lasting impression but it is enjoyable and entertaining, enough. 

keaross's review

adventurous funny reflective medium-paced

4.0