I was drawn into Mothers and Daughters right away. From the first paragraph of the first chapter, I was touched and impressed by author Rae Meadows’ insight into marriage and motherhood. I love reading a novel that makes me feel like I’m really connecting with the characters (or perhaps it’s the author??).
However, because this relatively short novel tells the story of three different mothers (who are also daughters) — Samantha, Violet, and Iris — I think in the end I didn’t get deeply enough into any of the three women’s lives to really connect with their story. With the flashes of past to present and the 3 different characters’ stories, it almost read like a collection of short stories.
Though I found the novel to be lacking something overall, there were flashes of great in each of the women’s stories.
VIOLET was put on an orphan train in the early 20th century, by her addicted mother who couldn’t care for her. Her story about her life on the streets and the orphan train experience was interesting, but I was affected least by her story.
IRIS’s story mostly centers on the present day, as she is preparing for her death after battling cancer. She is looking back on her life. I would have liked to know her more — more about those in between years — but I did like what I saw. She is Violet’s daughter and Sam’s mother.
SAM is a young mom getting ready to go back to work after her first child (in the present day portion). I probably connected with her most of all initially, but again, would have loved to know more. The other part of her story deals with caring for her dying mother.
AUDIO NOTES: Though I read this book, my Advanced Reader Copy included a CD with a preview of the audio. The reader Maggi Meg Reed is one of my favorites. She’s not overly dramatic, but has a wonderfully sonorous voice that I get lost in, even if the story might otherwise lag.
I tend not to judge as critically when I’m listening to an audio, because it’s a different experience, and if I had listened to the audio version, it might have left a better impression overall.
Jennifer Donovan always likes to look at the complex relationships that exist in families. She blogs at Snapshot, but keeps family secrets under her hat.
Pam ( says
That’s an interesting thing to know about yourself that audio is judged less critically. I am not a big audio fan so I can’t say whether I feel the same.
June says
3 totally different lives, but yet some how connect to an every day hectic world that we live in. Sounds like a good read.