Mothers and Daughters: From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a captivating family drama

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OWN AFFILIATION: I am an editor/contributor to this book or another book in the Series (where applicable) and/or on the Editorial Board of the Series, of which this volume is part.

The mother-daughter relationship is complicated, and deathbed scenes don’t lend themselves to nuanced expression. Set in the 1960s American Midwest, this moving coming-of-age story follows Grace, an 11-year-old girl who must hide the gift of her psychic intuition from her father, a conservative pastor. When my mother died in 2018, my grief was compounded by how much I didn’t know about my mother, of my mother, and when I had a daughter in 2002, I knew I wanted my daughter to know me, the girl I had been, the young woman I missed, yet often regretted, and the woman I am, as me, as Jill, the woman beyond her mother. The ambitious scope of the novel—narrated by three Chinese mothers and four American daughters—allows Tan to explore multiple stories, seamlessly moving from generation to generation, from China to America, from tradition to revolution. Martha, whom we meet first is the elder of two siblings and is desperately trying for a baby with her husband Tom.The most memorable aspects of this novel are the nuanced explorations of the way familial roles in the last days of a parent’s life are defined by familial roles of the past.

By contrast for the first time Willow has a boyfriend in Rick, who her family approve of as charming, steady and dependable. Jacobs here offers a brilliant reinterpretation of the Oresteia myth, and in doing so shows us how we can change our thinking. The nights I blew up in the living room, not at her but at the world, a night she claims not to remember, though there were other times I yelled that she does.Covering love, loss, jealousy and all the emotions in between, these are our top picks for mother-daughter relationship books. Clara del Valle Trueba, a woman with a connection to spirits, is married to the bold Esteban, who has political ambitions in their country of Chile. As daughters become teens, they begin to transition in their relationship to their mothers--from child to close friend.

Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, know how to play the game and pull strings in Old Testament times. I really liked Naomi’s character and how she is enjoying life, despite being widowed for several years.

Although the story does not fully take place by the coast, scenes at Naomi’s house always felt shrouded in a calmness that I could never feel with Willow and Martha’ story. Ellis’s relationship with his mother gives the reader insight into his character, as does Rick’s recollection of his own unhappy childhood with his parents.

Having decided the time is right for a baby, Martha is dismayed that after ten months of trying she still hasn’t conceived and it’s starting to feel like failure to a woman driven by perfectionism. The opening chapter of Sarah Perry’s After the Eclipse: A Memoir begins, “I want to tell you about my mother. Few relationships are more complicated than the relationship between mother and daughter; often the strongest bonds are forged with years of cumbersome baggage.The memoir alternates between chapters labeled “before” and “after,” a reference to the night Perry’s mother was murdered in their home as young Sarah, only twelve, hid in her bedroom. Over the years and the births of their daughters, they become united in their shared experiences of loss and hope, choosing to gather and raise their spirits rather than sink into tragedy. The truth of the marriage and the real man behind Colin’s bonhomie is something that Naomi has kept from both her daughters, but as Martha and Naomi each meet Ellis, they are harbouring concerns of their own. I wasn’t too fussed on Martha to start with, but she grew on me – Willow was a delight, although she let herself be walked over.