Mother of Pearl

by Maureen Lee

A tragedy tears a family apart - a superb novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL.

Pretty Amy Curran was just eighteen years old when she met Barney Patterson, the love of her life, on Southport Pier in 1939. Their romantic, passionate marriage was made in heaven - but with the outbreak of war, Barney volunteered to fight, and the couple were separated for five long years. When he returned to Liverpool after VE Day, he wasn't the same person - and neither was Amy.

How could things have become so twisted that one day Amy would kill the husband she once so adored? And what happened to their little girl, Pearl, just five years old at the time?

In 1971 Amy is released from prison - although her freedom will change the lives of others, not least that of her daughter. But Pearl has her own demons to exorcise in her quest for happiness. And the greatest question she must ask herself is can she ever love her mother after what she did?

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, War, British Literature

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Maureen Lee was born in Bootle, England, UK, near Liverpool during the World War II. She attended Commercial College and became a shorthand typist. She married Richard, and they had three sons, now adults. The last years the marriage lives in Colchester, Essex.

During years, she published over one hundred and fifty short-stories, before published her first novel Lila in 1983. She continued published dramatic historical sagas mainly setting in Liverpool since 1994. In 2000, her novel Dancing in the Dark won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Lorena · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia está bastante bien pero le he bajado un poco la nota porque tiene partes realmente pesadas y la lectura deja de ser ágil. Aún así, ha merecido la pena leerlo.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Recommended.

[Masteatro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tal y como pensaba me ha gustado la manera de escribir d eMaureen Lee y la historia que nos cuenta. Siempre me han gustado las historias familiares con trapos sucios y secretos ocultos. En ese sentido, ésta no me ha decepcionado.

Además, aunque no me suelen gustar las novelas o las películas sobre la guerra, sí me gusta ver cómo viven las personas que en tiempos de guerra no van al frente sino que se quedan en sus casas e intentan seguir con sus vidas cuando en realidad, sus vidas han dado un giro de 180 grados debido al conflicto bélico. En esta novela vemos a través del personaje de Amy, como vivían las mujeres en Liverpool mientras sus maridos luchaban en el frente en la Segunda Guerra Mundial y también vemos como cuando éstos vuelven (si vuelven) sus vidas ya no vuelven a ser las mismas. Esto me ha resultado muy interesante.

En cuanto al secreto de la novela en sí, no lo destriparé aquí pero sí que debo decir que el desenlace me ha parecido algo precipitado y que sí que creo que, en ese sentido, la novela pudiera haberse pulido un poco más. Con todo y con eso, seguro que volveré a leer a Maureen Lee.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como otras novelas de Maureen Lee, esta es muy simple, pero entretenida. No llega a ser tan "folletinesca" como otras que he leído de la autora, se centra en dos personajes, madre e hija en dos épocas distintas (durante la segunda guerra mundial y en los años 70). Lo bueno: que va al grano, que no paran de pasar cosas. Lo malo: que no profundiza demasiado en los personajes y algunos resultan poco creibles.

[Leyendo con Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*


Uno de los mejores descubrimientos literarios de este año ha sido esta autora. Este es el 4° libro que leo de ella y nuevamente, me ha encantado y es una de esas historias que se quedarán en mi para siempre.

[Redfox5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never expect these books to be as good as they are and I certainly wasn't expecting the story to turn out like it did.

This is the story of Pearl and her mother Amy. Amy has been in prison since Pearl was 5 for stabbing her husband Barney to death. I expected to hate Amy but as the story unfolds, it's told in flashbacks and present day, the true tragic story emerges.

I would recommend this to all fans of war time fiction and I'm going to be keeping an eye out for more books by Maureen Lee.

[Hayley Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really proves that a mothers love is everything. An excellent book that kept me reading long past bedtime and made me sob. A twist I didn't see coming and has even shot up to one of my favourite books of all time! I can not wait to read more Maureen lee!

[Ayny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and there was a real twist near the end. Maybe too many secondary characters, however, good story and interesting situation. I'm going to check out some more of Maureen Lee's books, especially wartime UK.

[Liz Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a while to get into this book and it was a slow moving story. It did get better about half way through so glad I continued and didn't give up on it.

[Sophie Giddens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I literally didn’t want to put it down, despite me being fairly slow to finish it. The characters were so loveable and what i loved was that the author told the stories of their lives so perfectly and in so much detail, so that you really get attached.
I’ve always loved Cathy since the start - she’s just amazing. end of.
And harry is lovely!
I could go on and on but I really loved the whole story, how I much i actually learned about the second world war and what it was like for women and young couples at the time. Likewise, I really enjoyed how the chapters shifted back and forth from one period of time to another. It was great to basically read 2 different stories at the same time and how they came together at the end. It wasn’t even the big reveal that made me love the book - that was a little part of the likeness, surprisingly, because I would have loved the book without the revelation anyway. So yeah, five stars lol.
Some authors just fail to get your interest and describe the setting, event and character in detail but this author is amazing at all three of those things.

[Irunesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen estreno con Maureen Lee. Seguro que repetiré con la autora!

[Quilu Vamos a leer... · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le doy dos estrellas por ser generosa,porque el libro es aburridísimo. Solo se salva cuando desvelan el secreto pero pasa tan por encima de él la autora que se pierde en medio de mil descripciones que no vienen a cuento, diálogos tontos y la sensación de no avanzar nada en la historia. Pocos libros me han aburrido como éste y si lo he terminado ha sido por pura cabezonería y para saber cuál era el secreto. Y hay errores en la traducción, como que la madre de uno de los personajes muere ahogada, primero en España, luego dice que en Francia y por tercera vez, corrobora que es en Barcelona.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably a 3.5 for me. It was a good story being told from a the different viewpoints of the mother and the daughter. There were a lot of secondary characters which were hard to keep track of. I didn’t really get the ending ( meeting the guy on the plane). I am assuming they got married given the title of the chapter.

[Idoia blanco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una bonita historia alternando presente y pasado. Tiene que ser así para que podamos entender cua es el secreto del pasado. Es un libro muy entretenido,  con mucho diálogo y muy fácil de leer. Me ha dejado tan buen sabor de boca que buscaré alguna novela más de la autora. 9/10

[Sandra Berger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Musste mich leider durchquälen, sehr langatmig. Viele unnötige Details wie 100 mal beschrieben wer welche Kleidungsstücke trägt, dafür wichtige Wendepunkte teilweise in einem Nebensatz. Nicht mein Stil.

[Xcena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was thoroughly surprised by this 😳😳😳

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time around for this book! I recognized parts of it, but kept going, as it is a really good read, and I did not remember a lot of it!!!! A story of love and sacrifice and overcoming horrendous obstacles. A story of mental illness. A story of triumph. A story of forgiveness.

[Gail Amendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a seriously deep, "drag your heart over the coals and then trample on it" kind of WWII novel, this book is not for you. But if you are like me, and enjoy the WWII time period, but sometimes don't want the full trip through the emotional wringer, then there is a place for this lighter and fluffier kind of WWII novel. Told in two time periods, this story is about the disintegration of a previously good marriage after the husband, Barney, returns from a long period in a German POW camp a changed man. His wife Amy tries to make it work, but in the more modern story line set in the early 1970's, she has just been released after spending years in prison for Barney's murder. Their daughter Pearl struggles to reintegrate her mother into her life and to understand what happened to their family all those years ago. I know this doesn't really sound like light fluff, but the author tempers this story with a lot of romance and a nice tidy happily ever after ending, albeit with an interesting plot twist. I kind of like my WWII history packaged like this sometimes, as I've made the trip through the emotional wringer many times and am not always in the mood for it. There are parts of this story that I found highly improbable, but for the most part I enjoyed it and will definitely try something else by this author.

[Anshika Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting story. In the beginning, you will feel what a weird, dysfunctional family this is. But as the story unfolds, as the characters' past lives and secrets are revealed, which change your perception about them completely.
It's a good book to read when going through a slump.
This story has drama, romance, a bit of mystery and a punch of humour too.
For me, it was a delightful read.

[Elaine Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I'm an avid fan of Maureen Lee and naturally some books are better than others and this one did not disappoint. Read it in the space of a few days and instantly warmed to all the characters. Curiosity remained throughout the story and I actually didn't want this story to end when it did.

[María · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta es la historia de Pearl y su madre Amy narrada en dos tiempos, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial conocemos la juventud de Amy, cómo se enamoró del que sería su marido y sus primeros años de matrimonio, y en la actualidad conocemos a su hija Pearl, que se reencuentra con su madre después de 20 años separadas. Amy ha estado en prisión desde que Pearl tenía cinco años por matar a puñaladas a su marido Barney.

Esperaba odiar a Amy, pero a medida que se desarrolla la trama, que se cuenta entre flashbacks y la actualidad, emerge la verdadera y trágica historia, el secreto tan bien guardado. Realmente se muestra hasta dónde puede llegar el amor de una madre.

Una muy buena historia pero no me entusiasmó, hubo trozos del libro que fueron bastante aburridos, relatando hechos no trascendentes en la historia.

Mi valoración es de 3 estrellas.

[tinareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

me gustó como los capítulos se alternaban entre la historia de pearl contada desde su perspectiva y luego años antes la de su madre.
es concisa, entretenida e informativa. me resultó muy interesante especialmente cómo vivieron la guerra amy y barney y la manera en la que ambos cambiaron.
sentí el desarrollo de amy desde cuando recién conoce a barney hasta cuando se reencuentra con pearl. aveces incluso te enteras de algo en el final de un capítulo de la historia de any que arranca teniendo relevancia en el siguiente de pearl.
empaticé muchísimos con cathy y la manera en que la trata amy luego de conocer a barney, they did her dirty. aunque a veces me confundía entre young amy y pearl.
overall la disfruté mucho y me resultó fácil de leer

[Sekhmet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una buena historia para una peli de tardes de sofá y manta. Se hace ligero y poco pesado porque los capítulos van alternando en momentos y vidas de las 2 protagonistas principales del libro. El final es acelerado, de estas novelas que da la sensación que hasta la misma autora pareciera que está deseando zanjar, y lo hace de la forma más previsible, rápida y cómoda. Sin ánimo de hacer spoiler, no me gustan los finales más que idílicos y perfectos, donde todo encaja con todo y todos acaban encajados con todos en plan felicidad suprema.

[Rubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo he disfrutado; es una historia de amor sin igual, como solo el amor de una madre lo puede ser. Los personajes son maravillosos y la gran historia que teje la autora con sus destinos no solo me conmovió sino que me hizo desear pertenecer al circulo de Amy, Cathy y Charlie.
I have enjoyed it; It is a love story without equal, as only the love of a mother can be. The characters are wonderful and the great story that the author weaves with their destinies not only moved me but made me want to belong to the circle of Amy, Cathy and Charlie.

[Jean St.Amand · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ''surprise''/twist was very obvious right from the beginning but that didn't take anything away from the story. I like books that have different chapters told from the perspective of different characters and also books that go from the past to the present, depending on the chapter. Liked all the characters, even poor Marion LOL
I live on Vancouver Island, so it was cool that the island became part of the story right at the end too.

[Micr2005 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historia de personajes corrientes ante hechos que cambiarían la historia, (y que también de alguna manera, trastocan la de cada uno de los personajes. Un libro a dos tiempos, contando la historia de
Amy y la de su hija Pearl. La autora es una narradora excelente y ninguno de sus personajes se desdibuja, hecho que se agradece en los personajes secundarios.

[Tracy Griffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Work book club choice. I usually love a saga and was excited to read it as it reminded me of books my nan would read.

I felt it was pedestrian and I wasn’t drawn in. I love the era so I can’t yet quite put my finger on why I didn’t connect. The story meandered but I didn’t fall in love with any characters. Nice little twist. Liked pearl but didn’t love her. Didn’t know Amy well enough!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading this book. A heartbreaking story of the struggles of war, coming home from war and trying to build a life after the war. Love, happiness, heartache. This book had it all and had me looking forward to each turn of the page.

[Sal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having never read a book by this author before I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy the storyline and the era that it was set in but I was pleasantly surprised. A nice little twist at the end as well.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always love a Maureen Lee, her style is so comforting and relaxing. This wasnt my absolute favourite as I'm not keen on the first person perspective for this type of book, but I liked the characters from wartime.