In My Mother's House

by Kim Chernin

Interwoven accounts of the author's life and of the life of her Russian-born mother, a leading Communist organizer in America, reveal a mother and daughter's attempts to make sense of one another's lives

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, History, Book Club, Biography Memoir, Feminism

307 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 1984

About the author

Kim Chernin (born May 7, 1940, Bronx, New York) is an American fiction and nonfiction writer, feminist, poet, and memoirist. She has published fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jennifer S. Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of my 1930s kick and it was fascinating. Kim Chernin tells the story of her activist, Communist mother Rose Chernin. Rose's life in Russia all the way through her immigration, marriage, work for the Communist party, imprisonment, and eventual decline into old age is fascinating reading. The stories of Rose's life are compelling and I found myself lost in her world. Rose was an unusual woman in her time, and I only wish I had even more of her.

The book, though, suffered during Kim's segments. I found the writing, when it wasn't in her mother's voice, to be downright florid. Kim is a poet, and her prose has that twinge of fussiness that feels held over from poetry. I also felt the relationship between Kim and Rose, which was tense at times, was never fully explored. We see Rose. We see Kim. But we didn't see enough of Rose and Kim together except for one or two moments, which, yes, were defining, but were not enough to completely explain the strained relations. If anything, it seems as if they would have been closer together.

Despite the flaws, Rose's stories are so fascinating that this is worth the read and I'm sure I'll be returning to these stories again.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was somewhat uneven. The parts that were exceedingly strong were Chernin's retelling of her mother's stories. Particularly captivating was the chapter about the year in which Chernin and her parents lived in the Soviet Union, and then, the chapters about her mother's jailing for being a member of the Communist Party USA.

Where Chernin did the book and stories an injustice was her interpretation of her mother's thinking and actions and her confidence in her own motivations. The reasons that people act the way they act aren't as simple as Chernin make them out to be. These interpretations and conclusions were so many that they took me out of the book as I wondered - is it really that simple? Or - is she jumping to conclusions?

Still, I enjoyed the book a ton because of the fabric of her mother's life, and Chernin's growing understanding of her mother. Recommended.

[Jolene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. I love most books with connections between the generations. Interesting look at communism and socialism and the differences between an ideal and what it becomes as a reality. Lots to relate to with balancing life work with being a mother.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. Kim Chernin had had a difficult relationship with her mother, Rose, dating from when she hit adulthood and set out to become her own person. But near the end of Rose's life, she asks Kim to write her life story. Rose Chernin was a remarkable woman, and the reader is drawn into her story, learning so much about life in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, immigrant life in New York in the 1920s, the communist Soviet Union in the 1930s, the McCarthy era in Los Angeles, and Rose's experiences in all these places. A lot more than a mere retelling of Rose's life, this is the story of four generations of women, each trying to live up to her own potential, and the love, guilt, and anger between mothers and daughters.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A coming of age story for 3 generations of a Jewish family, which came from Russia to the US and got involved with the Communist Party. So, many interesting themes. The two most salient concern the relationships between mothers and daughters, and making sense of left wing aspirations and efforts in our country. The writing is clear, and most moving when the author is describing her own reactions, rather than those of her mother, which are the central theme of the book.

[Priscilla Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kim Chernin wrote "In My Mother's House: A Daughter's Story" in 1983; in this 1994 paperback release Chernin has written a new Foreword, and included many family photos. The original book was seven years in the making, and to some extent, was a collaborative effort between Chernin and her mother.

Rose Chernin, a Polish Jewish immigrant, was a proud Communist in New York City, long before the Second World War. She later moved to California and was active in the anti-deportation efforts of the American Communist Party, for which she was arrested, jailed, and faced deportation herself. Her court victory was a major turning point during the McCarthy era.

Kim, active in Communist youth activities and outspoken in school, eventually travelled to the Soviet Union to attend an international youth conference. As she travelled in Russia and met Russian youths, she learned of the Stalinist atrocities, and that the model society presented by the Soviets was a façade - that the people were repressed, scared of their government, and suffering economically. Kim's disillusion with the CP became yet another bone of contention between her and her mother.

While the book is long on historical detail - from the points of view of two strong women who lived them - it is essentially a generational story of women, of mothers and daughters struggling to be independent of each other and yet realizing how much they depended on each other. While the book focuses on Rose Chernin, we also meet Rose's own mother, and Kim's daughter.

This is a book I'll be recommending widely, both for the mother-daughter story which I, as a daughter, find endlessly fascinating, but also for its historical commentary. I was a child during the McCarthy era; I remember the execution of the Rosenbergs, and "In My Mother's House" tells of these events from a very different perspective.

[Raz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book could have done with a different editor maybe. The subject matter is super interesting; four generations of women spanning from the early 20th century to the mid 1980s who lived through the cultural revolution in Russia, McCarthyism and modern feminism in the US among other things; but the author is one of those four women and her focus is so directed at how everything in their lives impacted her family that sometimes I was left wanting to know more about the wider implications.

The book is at its best when she's talking at length about things like her relationship with her mother and how that shaped her as a person (and how she sees it shaping her daughter)...or her mother's stint in jail or her sister's death at a young age. In these moments I really appreciated the way she openly discussed her family's relationships because they're very human stories so you need to be able to empathise with them. I feel like that language and focus could have been changed when it came to discussing communism or the Great Depression or life in early 20th century Russia though; as it is, it comes across a little self-absorbed and melodramatic that you never really get much of a sense of the wider world outside of how the Chernin women were impacted by it.

[Jolee11 · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was really interesting book, nicely woven together, about the lives of grandmother, mother, and author. i think my problem with it was that i never quite clicked with the two main voices . . . but if you're interested in memoir, mother/daughter relationships, communists in America and the McCarthy Era, this is really fascinating.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A captivating mother daughter story that encompasses so much of the American experience. It's a story about immigration, labor rights, civil rights, feminism, and family as seen through the opposing views of mother and daughter, and how they ultimately come to understand one another.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Kim Chernin tells her mother's story -- a feisty Jewish Communist organizer who went to prison under the Smith Act and was still not deterred from organizing rent strikes, picket lines, and rent strikes -- and in the telling also reveals her grandmother's story, a talented woman who was the victim of a violent husband, and her daughter's story, another talented woman headed to Harvard.
All of the stories are fascinating -- not something typical of an American family. Occasionally a little confusing. Who is the mother speaking? Who is the daughter? But overall a great read.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author's story and her mother's story intertwine to tell a tale of mothers and daughters, immigration, and the Communist party of the US in the first half of the 20th century. Well told, interesting but I was left not understanding the daughter's (author's) rage, which seems to be her dominant feeling as a young woman.

[Sophie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book. the story-telling of the past was a lot more compelling for me than the "current" interludes and all the mother's stories were wonderful. I thought the tongue-in-cheek attitude towards Communism at the beginning of the book was kind of patronizing, but maybe I was projecting.

[Jacob Woocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and moving. This book had less detail on Rose Chernin's political activities in LA than I was hoping for, but that's fine. Hits three topics close to my heart: communist party organizing, LA radical history, and jewish mothers.

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha! My review did not actually get posted.

I am in Moscow and my memories of this book are rushing back. My original copy died from so much reading.

[Elizabeth Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I edited the newest edition. :) This is such a compelling story of four generations of women. I couldn’t put it down.

[Julie]

Given to me by Karen Louisell to read.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging tale reflecting on the lives of the amazing women in the Chernin family. Rose, the tireless communist organizer, her mother, who had immigrated from a Russian shtetl, as well as the author and her daughter.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The book is about women in 4 generations (great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and daughter). The grandmother was an active Communist during the McCarthy era. The great-grandmother and grandmother immigrated to the U.S. from Russia.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

i loved this book when i read it in 1990. either my tastes have changed or the style of memoir writing has changed. everything seemed over dramatized and didn't always ring true.
and the print was too small!

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best memoirs I hae ever read.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book when I read it, carried it around with me for a while. I'll have to read it again so I can't remember why...

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Kim Chernin's mother, a Russian Jewish immigrant, who came to America and worked as a Communist organizer.

[JoAnne Halada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good Real life what unsaid secreats do to people and families

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top book 1985