Mother Talkers

Mama lit

by pat of butter in a sea of grits

Tue May 08, 2007 at 12:10:16 PM PDT

I read Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Berkeley author Ayelet Waldman recently after running across it on the library shelf.  Ayelet Waldman is married to the author Michael Chabon and is somewhat famous (infamous?) for a Sunday NY Times "Modern Love" piece in which she discussed loving her husband more than her kids.

Anyway, once I read the first book, I got started on her "Mommy Track Mysteries" series, which are set in L.A. and feature a mother of young children as the crime-solver.  They're entertaining if you like a) mysteries and b) reading about the trials and tribulations of being a new parent.  

I've also read I Don't Know How She Does It, which while being a bestseller was not really my favorite of the mama-lit genre.  In the essay department, I've enjoyed Breeder as well as a number of other books by Ariel Gore, and Mothers Who Think (from Salon essays).

What books featuring mothers have you enjoyed?

Tags: books, literature (all tags)

Permalink | 19 comments

  • currently reading "Little Earthquakes" (0 / 0)

    The story begins with 3 women who connect in a pre-natal yoga class and support each other through birth and infancy (so far).  It gets a lot of things right, IMO -- the frantic-ness of beginning to breastfeed without help, the fatigue, body stuff, marital stuff.

    I am really enjoying the fact that these 3 characters have each other, and am wistful about the fact that I didn't have that kind of support.

    by mamacita on Tue May 08, 2007 at 12:30:32 PM PDT

  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (0 / 0)

    It is one of my very favorites, even though the main character is never a mother in the book.  It shows her many-faceted relationship with her own mother and highlights her journey into womanhood.  I could read it over and over.

    by idealistlefty on Tue May 08, 2007 at 01:09:15 PM PDT

  • Some parts are rather painful reading (0 / 0)

    but I have always loved Marilyn French's "Her Mother's Daughter".  Rather older school feminism and not kind to men, but a very interesting story.

    by tjb22 on Tue May 08, 2007 at 01:51:31 PM PDT

  • Toddler (0 / 0)

    This series of essays about parenting toddlers (called, aptly, Toddler)
    is fabulous. Almost any mama book I've read, the author is featured in here.

    if you wobba cypress trees then I will wobba you

    by thais on Tue May 08, 2007 at 05:14:25 PM PDT

  • i've been reading alot of (0 / 0)

    collections of personal essays mostly about Mothers and Daughters -- I read "Ophelia's Mom" which was a response to "Ophelia Speaks" which was a response to "Raising Ophelia"! (phew!)  I read 'Beacuase I said so" and i also read a book of essasys about the two sides of the Work/stay home battle (it may have actually been called the mommy wars I forget).  

    all excellent reads!

    by MKatherine1966 on Wed May 09, 2007 at 05:56:04 AM PDT

    • I read "Ophelia Speaks" (0 / 0)

      I liked some of the essays, but didn't care for the editor at all.  I got tired of hearing her own personal experiences on every subject, when she generally had so little life experience compared to many of the contributers.  Also, I swear I combed the book 50 times and found that she did not credit Mary Pipher at all!  What did you think?

      by Erin on Sun May 13, 2007 at 06:00:08 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Another "Little Earthquakes" fan (0 / 0)

    I really need a new set of decent reading, so I hope people will suggest some more titles.

    I just read "Kitchen Witch" which was single-father romance oriented, with young son... but I thought it was kind of flat and unrealistic and the final straw, full of missing quote marks that forced me to reread passages to figure them out. Beach reading should not include decoding work.

    There is a set of mysteries by Laurien Berenson, about a single mother and her interactions with her son, the dog show world (standard Poodles), and mysteries. They're not bad, not brilliant to me the non-mystery fan... but I appreciated at least that to go do some unadvised idiot sleuthing that she had to figure out child care first.

    by shenanigans on Wed May 09, 2007 at 03:01:04 PM PDT

  • Little Children (0 / 0)

    I should have mentioned that one as well.  I haven't seen the movie, but did read the book.

    It's a little overdone IMO, at least the somewhat-of-a-stretch part about the sex offender in the neighborhood, but it's not bad and definitely qualifies as part of the parenting lit genre.

    Katherine

    by pat of butter in a sea of grits on Wed May 09, 2007 at 04:29:23 PM PDT

  • Huge fan (0 / 0)

    I am a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner. I own and have read them all. And I loved Ayelet Waldman's book, Love and other Impossible Pursuits. I just read "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" that was a great read. Two very interesting mother characters in that story.

    Since the house is on fire - let us warm ourselves.

    by michgs on Thu May 10, 2007 at 04:51:05 AM PDT

  • Ayun Halliday (0 / 0)

    writes a column for BUST and put out a book called The Bug Rumpus, which is hysterical! In the first chapter she compares her small children to ants crwaling all over her, ants who do not like to listen to NPR.

    if you wobba cypress trees then I will wobba you

    by thais on Thu May 10, 2007 at 07:09:46 AM PDT

  • The Red Tent (0 / 0)

    Very powerful women/mothers/daughters reading. Historical, Old Testament biblical, and fascinating.Not to be read while pregnant or fragile.

    by aussieyank on Sun May 13, 2007 at 04:29:55 AM PDT

Permalink | 19 comments