Some writers produce historically important novels of our life and times. I’ve always preferred the “smaller,” timeless stories that dig deep into domestic lives and relationships. For me, the best adventures are always the psychological ones. The bond between mothers and daughters is a rich, if perhaps underexplored, source of literary tension. Often fraught and a battle between deep love and debilitating frustration, it’s the stuff of the highest drama. In The Youngster, the daughter and mother have landed in a place of mutual love, which is then tested by extraordinary – and shocking – circumstances.
This lesser-known psychological thriller by the celebrated crime writer takes us into the claustrophobic world of a dangerously dysfunctional mother and daughter relationship.
There’s nothing slight about this dark and twisty page-turner, which explores how parental obsession can be passed down so disastrously to the next generation.
A psychological thriller about an isolated young woman and her murderous mother from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Girl Next Door.
Far from London, the isolated estate called Shrove House looms over the English countryside. Inside, two women hide from the world. For sixteen years, Eve has protected her daughter, Liza, from the corrupting influence of modern life, never letting her outside, hiding her from those who visit, and killing to keep her safe. Raised in her mother’s shadow, Liza has never questioned that this is the way things must be—until the night the police come to call,…
Now considered one of the great depictions of a mother-daughter relationship, Sinclair’s 1919 autobiographical novel is about breaking free from gender constraints and expectations.
Although it’s told in such a “modern” voice, Sinclair’s important novel is set in a time when a daughter is considered lesser than her brothers and where a Victorian mother is not necessarily a girl’s greatest ally.
No novel of the war period made a more profound impression than did Miss Sinclair's "The Tree of Heaven." The announcement of a new book by this distinguished author is therefore most welcome.
A woman's life, her thoughts, sensations and emotions directly presented, without artificial narrative or analysis, without autobiography.
The main interest lies in Mary Olivier's search for Reality, her relations with her mother, father and three brothers, and her final passage from the bondage of infancy, the conflicts of childhood and adolescence, the disenchantments (and other drawbacks) of maturity, to the freedom, peace and happiness of middle-age.
Lerner's memoir of approaching adulthood in the mid-sixties is deliciously readable, but deceptively breezy. His family is affluent, his school engaging, his friends smart and fun. He has his first car, and drives with abandon. The American moment promises unlimited possibility. But political and cultural upheavals are emerging, and irresistible.…
This is a stimulating memoir about that peculiar love-hate battle between two strong-willed women who happen to be mother and daughter.
There were moments in this searingly honest biography where I felt complete fellow-feeling with the author, re-experiencing similar moments of drama in my own family.
The author recounts her childhood experiences living in a tenement, looks at her relationship with her mother, and describes the lives of women bound to husbands they didn't love
In this book, a widowed mother is shunted between three unwelcoming grown daughters in this touching and entertaining study of obsolescence.
If, like me, you lap up the ins and outs of family relationships and enjoy the flaws more than the perfections of human nature, then this is your next literary escape.
In this poignant novel, Monica Dickens explores the complexities of family relationships and the challenges of growing up. Set in England in the early 20th century, the story follows young Louise as she navigates the trials of adolescence and the demands of her unconventional family. With compassion and insight, the author captures the joys and sorrows of ordinary life, making this a timeless work of fiction.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This is the story of New York City, told through the prism of one block. It’s a story of forest and cement, bird cries and taxi horns, theaters and brothels, hotels and factories, gambling dens and gourmet foods.
It’s also the story of high life and low life, immigrants and…
This selection is a bit of a cheat, given that the novel is about a mother and son (as told by Jack, the 5-year-old boy), but it’s also a moving evocation of maternal resilience under the most appalling circumstances.
I include it because this exceptional story strips bare the fundamental ties between a helpless child and a fiercely resourceful parent. And it’s a great read.
A major film starring Brie Larson. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Shortlisted for the Orange Prize.
Picador Classics edition with an introduction by John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Today I'm five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra.
Jack lives with his Ma in Room. Room has a single locked door and a skylight, and it measures ten feet by ten feet. Jack loves watching TV but he knows that nothing he sees on the screen…
A tense and heart-wrenching domestic thriller from the Lucy Cavendish 2020 Fiction Prize shortlisted author of The Watch.
No one comes between this mother and daughter. Georgie and her mother, Cherry, have had their ups and downs. But now they're devoted to each other – and when Cherry learns that she’s in the early stages of dementia, Georgie is with her every step of the way…until she can't be. And that's when he steps into her mother's life. The one who's been waiting, watching, whispering. In turns deeply moving and deeply chilling, The Youngster is about one woman's spiralling descent when her mother is taken away from her by a damaged younger man.
What Happened to Frank? is the first book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series. Meg is an amateur sleuth who owns racehorses and lives on a horse farm. Her beloved border collie, Kelly, is usually at Meg's side as she investigates murders and solves other mysteries. The books are action-packed…
The Pianist's Only Daughter
by
Kathryn Betts Adams,
ThePianist's Only Daughter is a frank, humorous, and heartbreaking exploration of aging in an aging expert's own family.
Social worker and gerontologist Kathryn Betts Adams spent decades negotiating evolving family dynamics with her colorful and talented parents: her mother, an English scholar and poet, and her father, a pianist…
