With the breadth and cumulative force of a novel, Mother of Sorrows presents ten interwoven stories of an American family starting out in th...
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reviews
Jul 21, 2011
Donald
rated it: 
In Mother of Sorrows Richard McCann establishes himself as a master of language. His prose alternates from simple and punchy to fancy and ostentatious. There is movement in the writing and the vibrant descriptions often explode into poetry. The lyricism of McCann’s sights and sounds push each sentence forward. He leaps across the boundaries of genre, clearing the hurdles of mixing styles with feet to spare.
He writes with authority. In “My Mother’s Clothes” there is a moment whe More...
He writes with authority. In “My Mother’s Clothes” there is a moment whe More...
Jul 16, 2009
Micah
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I felt as though the author was trying to tell two different stories here. The vignettes set during the main character's childhood are poignant and beautifully written, and the stories set during his adulthood have an raw emotional brutality that's hard to forget. The problem arises from the fact that both of these settings appear in the same book without really interacting with each other. The themes from childhood don't seem to echo in adulthood, and it's often jarring to compare the charac
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Jun 23, 2011
Lisa
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Beautifully written essays about childhood and a few about adulthood. McCann's memories of his mother hold the various times and places and themes together, as the title implies. As is common nowadays, the book is touted as simply a "memoir," but it's really a collection of short pieces, each of which stands by itself, and not a continuous narrative in any sense of the word. Even though I get discombobulated by these inaccurate descriptions of books, I enjoyed reading this one once I f
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May 02, 2009
Rachael
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This book has been sitting on my wishlist for a couple years, and had perfect ratings from Amazon reviewers. I think those perfect ratings may have set the bar for my expectations too high. I liked it, but it won't make it onto my top books list.
His stories are tragic, yet I felt removed from them. It had the feel of a memoir, but I wanted to feel the emotions a little more. I also would have liked it better if he had better shown how his brother in childhood was related to the s More...
His stories are tragic, yet I felt removed from them. It had the feel of a memoir, but I wanted to feel the emotions a little more. I also would have liked it better if he had better shown how his brother in childhood was related to the s More...
Dec 17, 2011
Ivan
rated it:
Richard McCann's "Mother of Sorrows" is a unique work of autobiographical fiction rich in emotion and illuminated by a painful, polished prose, breathtaking in its clarity.
In ten related stories a nameless narrator recounts episodes from his life that expose his often troubled relations with a brother cast in a role of family black sheep, a doomed father unable to recognize or nurture a gay son with a delicate nature, and an adored, self-absorbed mother of a thousand confl More...
In ten related stories a nameless narrator recounts episodes from his life that expose his often troubled relations with a brother cast in a role of family black sheep, a doomed father unable to recognize or nurture a gay son with a delicate nature, and an adored, self-absorbed mother of a thousand confl More...
Nov 04, 2009
Carla
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This is a collection of fiction short stories which reads like a coming of age memoir about a gay boy who grew up in the DC area in the 1950s. The stories are interconnected with the same narrator, and most of the stories are about his relationship with his mother, a colorful, self-absorbed storyteller/dramatist. The most powerful story is about his brother who dies of a heroin overdose.
Jun 11, 2010
Tina
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Good book, well written. Would have like to got more insight into his brother when they were younger. I was suprised to find out his brother was gay. I liked the contrast of the brothers, both gay but dealing with it in completely opposite ways. His brother dying of an overdose was sad and shocking.
Sep 20, 2009
Jennifer
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A well written collection but I felt it sparse. The stories didn't seem like stories for the most part, except for "Brother in the Basement" which delved deep into the relationship between the narrator and his older brother. There were a bunch of scenes that tied together and brought up the consistent element of the narrator being too scared to disclose his sexuality and regretting the life he's lead in someways for his cowardice.
As a collection I felt it more like a novel More...
As a collection I felt it more like a novel More...
May 27, 2009
Lisa
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This is a collection of interwoven short stories all based on the same characters, mostly focused on the relationship between the narrator and his mother. I thought it was incredibly well written, poetic, and sad.
Mar 25, 2011
Karen
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I loved this book. It's beautifully written, the linked short stories build perfectly on each other and the voice is so strong and true.
Sep 02, 2010
Kate
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Appears to be: Gay man with AIDS writes series of autobiographical essays. Called short stories, so maybe not true, but way depressing.
Oct 05, 2008
Moira
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I really liked this book, and some of the moments in this were just wonderful. There is such a pervasive sense of sadness, it made me pause. The only thing that bothered me about this book was it's disjointed nature: the first half seemed to build up to a portrait of family that was never finished, the second half brought in spirituality and the death of a host of characters that we never knew much about. I wanted the sections to weave together a little more than they did-- in non-fiction, we
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Dec 09, 2009
Michael
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Haunting. Reading Mother of Sorrows was like holding a mirror up to my own life. A must read.
Jan 07, 2008
Elly
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This is one of the times I wish Goodreads offered a half-star option, because I've been teetering between three and four stars for this book. Overall, I liked the stories presented in this book quite a bit. McCann's writing is beautiful. It's detailed but easy to read and almost poetic. The book was a quick read and a good read. Some stories were truly captivating and emotional, others I felt were good--not great--hence the teetering between 3 and 4 stars.
Jul 01, 2008
Gregory
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McCann's prose is haunting, yet this collection of "connected" stories oddly feels more like a memoir than fiction. Definitely the gayest book I've read thus far this year. I left it with the same feeling I did after reading Mary Gaitskill's Veronica.
May 06, 2008
Sarah
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Raised lots of questions for me--I had seen several of the chapters of this book before in different forms, as personal essay, here reworked as fiction. Beautiful writing, but I'm still puzzling over the blurred lines of the genre.
Oct 21, 2007
David
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What's not to learn from a master like Richard McCann? His prose is stunning, his stories glittery with tears of sadness, pathos and joy. A true writer's writer if ever there was one.
Dec 03, 2010
Carrie
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First chapter or two was interesting, great descriptive language but I struggled to stay with it and ultimately returned it, unfinished, to the library.
Apr 27, 2010
Melissa
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I need to stop reading short stories. They just don't do anything for me. And these stories just made me feel sad.
Apr 20, 2009
Gwinne
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Best book of fiction I've read in a while. Assumed it was autobiographical.
Dec 16, 2009
Rachel
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An insightful, beautiful book about growing up gay when no one admitted to being gay.
Feb 05, 2012
Jan 31, 2012
