Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Grandmothers” as Want to Read:
Grandmothers
by
Grandmothers is the story of three very different women and their relationship with the younger generation: fiercely independent Nan, who leads a secret life as an award-winning poet when she is not teaching her grandson Billy how to lie; glamorous Blanche, deprived of the company of her beloved granddaughter Kitty by her hostile daughter-in-law, who finds solace in rebell
...more
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Grandmothers,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Grandmothers
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Grandmothers
A light and enjoyable read. Three grandmothers, three children, their stories gradually draw together after some ups and downs. Set in modern day UK with plenty of modern day problems to explore. I liked it although the writing is sometimes almost breathless, given the multiple commas per line. At the same time it’s colourful and imaginative, so mustn’t grump too much.
An absolute beauty of a book that has had me laughing out loud and sobbing hysterically. The writing is completely exquisite; the picture-painting incredibly moving. A wonderful celebration of the grace and goodness of the older generation, and their ever-relevance in modern society.
A sweet non-taxing story..pleasant enough.. made me remember my beautiful grandmothers and great grandmother.. I was lucky enough to have all three until my early 30’s
Pretty mild story about three older women and the children in their lives. None of them actually examine why they’re annoying the shit out of their family members or take accountability for their manipulations - though this is exactly what my grandmother was like so fair play. I found that they all blurred into each other.
I enjoyed this book a great deal as it seemed she really understand the various modern incarnations of grandmothers and so much of it spoke to me personally.
Grandmothers is a story about the unique bond and love between a grandmother and a grandchild. It is a theme that is touched on in fairy tales and mainstream stories but is often generic and falls into a trope and archetype - e.g. "fair god mother". Grandmothers delves deeper into the complex relationship between grandparent, parent and child.
It highlights the lack of rights a grandparent actually has when the parents decide to cut them off from seeing children. Blanche experiences this plight ...more
It highlights the lack of rights a grandparent actually has when the parents decide to cut them off from seeing children. Blanche experiences this plight ...more
Hmm mixed feelings about this book. There were some brilliant characters with potential that was never explored properly
Nan has her grandson Billy and they have the most conventional relationship even though the family is rather mixed up. Nan is the lynchpin of the story but the interesting part is her early lost love. She has an endearing character and her green coffin is wonderful.
Blanche does not have the contact she wants with her grandchildren blaming it all on her horrid daughter in law. ...more
Nan has her grandson Billy and they have the most conventional relationship even though the family is rather mixed up. Nan is the lynchpin of the story but the interesting part is her early lost love. She has an endearing character and her green coffin is wonderful.
Blanche does not have the contact she wants with her grandchildren blaming it all on her horrid daughter in law. ...more
"Grandmothers" describes the lives of three elderly women, it tells you about the love for their grandchildren and the insecurities and joys of three lives richly lived. It is also a book about friendships, connections found later in life and how these evolve. I like that the writer manages to make the grandmothers the centre of the narration, and that she does so in an unconventional way.
I just have a couple of issues with this novel: first, I found the way the three characters end up on each o ...more
I just have a couple of issues with this novel: first, I found the way the three characters end up on each o ...more
Three grandmothers. Three grandchildren. Three separate stories of their relationships which become entwined as the story progresses. I particularly loved the opening Chapter of Nan and her grandson Billy who spend time together shopping for Nan’s coffin. Some lovely insights of the role of grandparents in modern society.
I truly loved this book. I'm not a grandmother but not far off the age and there were loads in this story that I could really relate to, especially the character of Nan and her relationship with her son. I thought it was wonderfully written and do hope that the author will further Nan's, Blanche's and Mina's stories.
...more
A pleasant enough read, and the characters were interesting but not a lot in the way of depth. If you're looking for an easy and enjoyable read this does it however, the author may have lost an opportunity to break ground with society's relationship with our grandmothers and the importance they play within the family.
...more
This was a lovely , gentle book that explored the bonds between children and grandparents or other trusted older people. All three older ladies have issues in their backgrounds and the young people have some situations too. This is a lovely story about friendships, and I was sad when it finished.
A pleasant read. It was punchy in places, and had a lovely feminist thread running through it, but my issue was that it was just 'nice'. It didn't wow me; I don't think it dove deep enough into their characters and their motivations.
...more
Not my cup of tea. Read for my book club but really didn’t enjoy it. Found the writing stilted and couldn’t see the point of the story.
I’ve been a bit hit and miss with sally buckets of late but enjoyed this one as a quick read
Not my usual read, but I found the characters quite engaging and the writing had a nice flow to it.
Beautiful binding for the hardback edition. Bought as a present.
Bitter sweet tale of three women who are in different ways all grandmothers of sorts.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
News & Interviews
Twists, turns, red herrings, the usual suspects: These books have it all...and more. If you love mysteries and thrillers, get ready for dozens...
145 likes · 33 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
