May 2024 Monthly Question

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

May is the month of Mother's Day in the U.S. What are some good books that involve mothers and their children (of any age)?

[Thomas]

Controversial opinion but Anne of Green Gables. Yea I admit Marilla is strict sometimes overly so but as Claire says in Modern Family you can’t have two fun parents. She did her best and let’s not forget when she had every right to pass Anne on like everyone else did she choose to give her a home because she cared so greatly. I appreciate those who don’t know the book are already confused so apologies

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Thomas wrote: "Controversial opinion but Anne of Green Gables. Yea I admit Marilla is strict sometimes overly so but as Claire says in Modern Family you can’t have two fun parents. She did her best an..."

Excellent point, Thomas! it's not always the biological mother who has the role.

[Denise]

Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah .....daughters learn about their mom's past by the end and things start to make sense to them....

Little Women..Marmee is favorite mom

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

The mom's past reminds me of several books by Amy Tan. The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife for sure.

[Nina]

In looking through my books to jar my memory, it occurred to me that literature is populated with so many orphans that the Pirates of Penzance could crew a formidable armada with them.

Though the sisters are the main focus in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, their mothers play prominent roles.

The formidable Lady Jessica and her son, Paul, in Dune also comes to mind.

[Kendra]

My first thought was Little Women

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Ohhh I read Tom Lake earlier this year and it was PERFECT when looking at the relationship between mothers and daughters. The way that the mom chooses what to reveal about her past and what to hold back from her daughters was so REAL. I loved it so much.

[Marie (UK)]

Kendra wrote: "My first thought was Little Women"

OMG i hated little women far too saccharine for me

[Marie (UK)]

i a m not sure that Mothers are often portrayed positively in literature I do have a book Mother's Day on my `tbr maybe i should get round to it.

[Thomas]

Marie (UK) wrote: "Kendra wrote: "My first thought was Little Women"

OMG i hated little women far too saccharine for me"

Glad its not just me

[Misty]

The Elements of Cadence books (A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless) by Rebecca Ross have several mothers in them who play very important roles in the books.

In the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, after the first couple of books, Amelia is a mother, and it plays an important part in the books.

[Karin]

It's true that giving birth isn't the only way someone becomes a mother! Adoption, long term foster care and many other ways, both official and not official. Not all of these are happy ones, and I've read many others but they aren't coming to mind so I looked these up and have read some of them and may read the other two which is why I chose these.

The Joy Luck Club is about 4 mothers and 4 daughters
The Bonesetter's Daughter
Shopaholic Ties the Knot
The Accidental Mother
Big Little Lies

[Bekah]

The Crazy Rich Asians series is a favorite of mine (for when I want a soap opera of a book) and what initially pulled me in was the complexity of the family dynamics, especially with the women. Rachel and her mom, Eleanor as a mom and a daughter-in-law, Ah Ma, Astrid, etc. etc. I loved how the author portrayed these intensely complex relationships (as most real life family relationships are).

[Shahar]

Tom lake \ Ann Patchett
Great book about parents and kids .

[Anastasia]

Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks is about two mothers who are facing one of a Mother's biggest fears, having a child go missing.

[Book Concierge]

American Dirt ... A fierce mother shepherding her child to safety

Our Missing Hearts ... A mother who "disappears" in order to safeguard her child.

[Tammie]

Recent books that focus on mother/daughter…can’t say it’s the sole focus though

The Friendship Club - divorce, friendship
I Liked My Life - mystery, suicide possible triggers
Hello Beautiful - family
I liked them all :)

[♞ Pat]

Book Concierge wrote: "American Dirt ... A fierce mother shepherding her child to safety
..."

The book was my first thought!

And this my sound a little silly, but
The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly
is a really great motherhood story.

[Ciara]

The first book that popped into my head was All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki. Maybe because I just recently read another Ozeki book, so her ouevre is on my mind, & her relationship with her mother suffuses her books. Her mom had dementia, like the mother in All Over Creation, & while caring for a parent with declining cognition is not an experience I've had (or will have), her writing about it--the love, but also the helplessness & the rage she sometimes feels--rings so true.

This has been one of my favorite books ever since its release more than 20 years ago, but in that 20 years, I have also experienced the various permutations of motherhood the characters experience: abortion, childbirth, infertility. These are threads woven through a book that is on the face about agribusiness, environmentalism, "parents just don't understand". I wonder what my daughter will think of it when she's old enough to read it.

[Jaylia3]

Ciara wrote: "The first book that popped into my head was All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki. Maybe because I just recently read another Ozeki book, so her ouevre is on my mind, & her relationship wit..."

This looks good really good, thanks for posting about it.

[Böcker och kaffe med mjölk]

The Winter Hare, maybe?