The Mother: A Novel

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Consumed by grief and rage, she must bridle her dark feelings and endure something no mother should ever have to experience: How could her son be dead? She also discovers troubling truths about her own. One person seems to hold the answers—and the hope—Marcia needs: Tyson's scared young girlfriend, Sweetie.

But as this anguished mother has learned, nothing in life is certain. A beautiful, engrossing novel that illuminates some of the most important and troubling issues of our time, The Mother is a moving portrait of love, tragedy, and survival—and the aftershocks from a momentary act of cruel violence that transforms the lives of everyone it touches.

Hardcover , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Mother , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Mar 15, Ezinwanyi rated it really liked it Shelves: This book was very interesting. It followed Marcia Williams who is about to attend the trial of the 17 yr old boy who murdered her son Ryan. Marcia came to court with an image in her head of everyone involved and she found herself constantly having to reevaluate those assumptions. From her husband Lloydie to Sweetie the young girl Ryan had been seeing, people weren't acting like she expected or even wanted them to.

As a mother, I couldn't imagine the pain and anguish Marcia and Llyodie were going This book was very interesting. As a mother, I couldn't imagine the pain and anguish Marcia and Llyodie were going through. There are so many aspects of a trial that I never considered for the eyes of the families both the victims and the accused. I must admit it was uncomfortable at times. This woman's suffering was palpable. Definitely a thought provoking read. A powerful commentary on trying to make sense of a senseless tragedy and the effect on all those affected by the crime.

Oct 23, Read In Colour rated it really liked it. Gah, so many emotions! I was a nervous wreck reading this, but I couldn't put it down. Can't wait to discuss it with others after they've had a chance to read it. Feb 27, Nia Forrester rated it it was amazing Shelves: I loved this book. Quiet, beautiful prose about an incredibly difficult subject. I started it last year, and let's just say, it was a particularly bad time to be reading about dead, Black boys, so I set it aside.

Had I not done so, I believe I would have been better off, but I could not have known that. The mood in the beginning, and for the first third of the book is one of melancholy. It is hard not to feel what Marcia, the main character feels -- the hopelessness, the helplessness, the pain. T I loved this book. The entire book takes place over the course of about a week, as she attends the trial of a sixteen-year-old young man, accused of killing her fifteen-year-old son. She attends without her husband Lloyd, who is locked in his own crippling, unspoken grief.

Marcia and Lloyd are emotionally estranged because of the different ways they choose to deal with their pain and though she has support from elsewhere, she cannot understand why her husband has so completely disconnected himself not only from their shared tragedy, but from her. As Marcia struggles to find meaning in her son Ryan's death, she instead finds compassion for the young man who took Ryan's life, and for the young woman who may have precipitated the murder.

Over the course of the trial, she begins to see how, when one takes the life of another, two lives are lost. The evolution of Marcia's perspective about this, the worst thing that could ever happen to a parent, was so beautifully rendered that I had to stop several times just to underline passages, and re-read them for the sheer pleasure of it. As in her previous work, 'A Cupboard Full of Coats' , Yvvette Edwards portrayed the most difficult of emotions, and a family facing the most heartbreaking of circumstances without once slipping into the mawkishly sentimental.

There was also a fair bit of socio-political commentary, in the voices of the characters, and though the novel is set in England, it was depressingly similar well, identical really to what one might say about young Black men caught up in the juvenile and criminal justice system in the United States. But even this, was not overwrought or heavy-handed, but just enough to make the point that needed to be made. I'm not sure many authors could show that kind of restraint for a subject that inspires such passion. And I hope to God, the author is working on something new right now.

This novel kicks off with an incredibly powerful first chapter that pulled me in immediately, even though it was obvious this would be an emotionally difficult read. I really loved that quieter book and a part of me wishes the ending had maintained the same emotions-focused feel. Despite my lack of love for some aspects of the ending, The Mother is a powerful book in a compact package and is going on my Great Books Under Pages and Book Club Recommendations lists. Visit my blog, www. May 18, Karen rated it really liked it. The Mother by Yvvette Edwards What is every parents worse nightmare?

The death of a child. This fact is revealed on the blurb on the inside cover of the dust jacket. Marcia the mother of Ryan who is killed in a senseless crime, aren't they all?

Her husband Lloydie has kind of checked out of life. Lloydie can see no benefit in going to court. He refuses to go to support Marcia, in spite of her really wanting him to go with her. The reason Marcia is putting herself through the painful motions of going to court each day is that she longs to understand the reason her sixteen year old son was murdered. Marcia transforms throughout the story from a very prejudiced person, to a mother who sees her son's killer as just another neglected, fatherless almost victim of his own life circumstances. There is much more to this story that ultimately brings some comfort and redemption to Marcia and Lloydies life, but I will leave that to the reader to discover.

View all 3 comments. Aug 06, Maya B rated it it was amazing Shelves: This story is about a couple whose son is murdered. The author did an excellent job taking the reader through the grieving process of this couple. Edwards gave me a clear view of the victim and the accuser. This is a story of pain and forgiveness. I love how the author takes the reader through the trial of their son, Ryan. The trial was very clear and detailed. I felt like I was n the courtroom sitting next to his mother, Marcia. My only dislike was I wish the tri 4.

My only dislike was I wish the trial ended differently. I felt like I needed a page more to close it out. I also was left wanting to know who is the father of Sweetie's baby. Overall this was a great read that I would recommend to others. I look forward to reading more by this author.

The Mother: A Novel

Her son, Ryan, was murdered senselessly by Tyson Manley what an appropriate name! As she goes through each day of the trial, with grief counselling and with the help of some amazing people around her, the one person she needs to connect with the most, her husband, is pulling away. The story from beginning to end is hard to put down.

Marcia as a character is very recognisable to all of us. To think that there is this woman we recognise, we are familiar with, whose son died just because someone decided to put a knife in him. The author does a brilliant job of driving this point across, that it was absolutely unnecessary but it happens. And this racism, that she spots so easily, is also there in the courthouse. The jurors have coloured people in the minority and this leaves them at a loss.

While this racism and prejudice that is shown towards coloured people makes you grind your teeth the prejudice that Marcia shows towards the people connecting Ryan to his killer also frustrates you. The one thing I had a problem with was the ending. I was expecting it, hoping for it, and it happened. But the actual ending left me feeling lost, without closure.

But I still recommend it to everyone, especially for fans of Jodi Picoult. Jan 09, Jessica Woodbury rated it liked it Shelves: Marcia's son Ryan is dead and the boy charged with killing him is on trial. A newspaper story reporting on the crime shows the pictures of Ryan and his killer without saying which is which, something that bothers Marcia deeply. Both boys are black teenagers, but her son has been well brought up, with good parents who work hard. The other boy, Tyson, comes from a life of crime and poverty that makes his criminality seem inevitable.

I am in a reading slump where I hate almost everything. And yet I Marcia's son Ryan is dead and the boy charged with killing him is on trial. I tend to avoid sad novels about sad parents of murdered children dealing with the aftermath. And I tend to avoid books with lots of courtroom scenes, since they usually get them so wrong and my experience as a lawyer makes me pretty impatient. And yet, I read it and enjoyed it. There is something in Edwards' voice that I can't explain, something in how she wrote Marcia that connected with me immediately.

In many ways this is a crime novel and a social novel. It's not really a whodunnit, though there are definitely reveals and revelations as witnesses testify.

The book's strengths lie in the very thing that bothered me the most: Marcia is a prejudiced person. Marcia cannot stop looking at Tyson's mother in the courtroom. She cannot stop thinking about what a terrible person she is. She cannot think about the girl her son was dating, an unacceptable choice in her opinion, without seeing her as someone less. Following Marcia as she digs in her heels and then has to reevaluate her opinions is not an easy journey and she is not the most likeable person, but she feels very, very real.

I honestly wanted more of that. More of Marcia and her attitudes on class and race. I wanted less of Marcia's nearly-dead and melancholy-ridden marriage and more of the dynamic elements, but it's worthy of a read and certainly relevant in these times. Oh wow, this was a stunningly written book, and what an emotional read. It was sad, and the emotions of the parents were so real and so raw. This is not a novel full of twists and turns, it's a character and plot driven story. It tells the story of a married couple who are dealing with a terrible loss, being the loss of their teenage son.

Both parents are dealing with the loss differently. The story is very fast moving and I loved the scenes from the trial, they had me hooked. At the end of the Oh wow, this was a stunningly written book, and what an emotional read. At the end of the day, this is not a depressing story, but more uplifting towards the end. However, she wants to help him. Pavel is shown as the main revolutionary character.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett review – an impressive coming-of-age debut

Nevertheless Nilovna, moved by her maternal feelings and, though uneducated, overcoming her political ignorance to become involved in revolution, is considered the true protagonist of the novel. Being considered one of the most influential novel of the century worldwide, [5] Mother was made in into a silent film under Vsevolod Pudovkin 's direction with the same name.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 1, Encyclopedia of the World Novel Companion to literature. Representation and the Twentieth-century Novel: Studies in Gorky, Joyce and Pynchon. Russian and Soviet Film Adaptations of Literature, — The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects. Martinilla91 It was first published in There's a small biography in one of Buck's novels I've got.

See all 3 questions about The Mother…. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. The Mother, Pearl S. Buck The Mother is a novel by Pearl S. Buck published in I really did enjoy this one. I thought that Buck had a good handle on the characters. The main reason why I didn't give this five stars though is that I was confused about the timeline and location of this book. I know that it takes place in China. But the way things are written I would have guessed earlier than what the book shows. The book ends with talk of communism and people being executed for it.

So I was wondering what time period this takes place in when I got to the end. I also wish tha I really did enjoy this one. I also wish that Buck had tied up the loose end of the husband a bit better. She scrambles and does what is necessary in order to survive in her village without allowing anyone to guess that she has been left due to the stigma that would cause. I thought that the mother was not a hard character to get to know. She does what she can to keep her family whole and you feel sorry for her at times when she realizes how foolish she has been when she starts to obsess about another man.

I like that Buck doesn't show any judgement once again about what choices this character makes. The story is told in a linear fashion. We start with the Mother giving birth to one male son and then her subsequent pregnancies. The story follows her from her marriage to her oldest son making her a grandmother. I think that it shows a nice cycle of what women are to expect in there later years in this community once they grow old and their children start a life of their own.

I liked the writing and thought the flow was consistent throughout. I do wish that I had better sense of the location and time period. The story ends with the Mother being given some hope. Though I wonder if her life ends up the same way as her mother in law's did. The Mother never named is a strong and capable woman. She works in the fields to provide for her family, while taking care of home, children and mother-in-law alone.

She saves face in the village after a devastating event, she carries on. Throughout she enjoys her children as they grow. Behind the story of a peasant woman in the country, is the changing China. The Mother moves from young generation to the elder generation. Bas The Mother never named is a strong and capable woman. Basically, this is a story of a life.

A good life, a hard life. Pearl Buck has a simple way of telling a story that lets depth seep through the simplicity of her words. Compared to some of my favorites - The Good Earth, The Living Reed, Pavilion of Women - this one is less focused and less cohesive, and I would not advise someone new to this author to start here. The overall story is very simple. Her children grow up and she becomes the older generation.

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Another cycle begins with the arrival of her first grandchild and "the Mother" is displaced in the family even as her mother-in-law was before her. This novel concerns a peasant woman, a mother of three, whose husband is a gambler and libertine. One day, after a quarrel, he leaves her. To avoid shame, she pretends he is at work in a city, and as the years go by, pretends he is dead.

It's a depressing tale in many ways, because the woman's brief affair brings her, in her mind and in reality, much trouble. However, it ends on a note of hope, as the family cycle is continued and the Chinese peasant's conception of fulfillment is granted. Buck w This novel concerns a peasant woman, a mother of three, whose husband is a gambler and libertine. Buck writes this novel in a lilting, poetic yet simple language, straight from the mind of the peasant, so that no idea of the characters is analyzed from a Western or modernized perspective.

The subtle way in which Buck depicts the natural process of time — the attitude of the heroine as a young mother, then as a mother-in-law, and then as an old, bitter woman — is masterful.

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It is a real and yet idealistic picture of the Chinese peasant family, very well crafted and resonant, written without judgment of traditions. La prossima volta vi mando mia mamma Troppi libri in casa mia. Non ci sono state repliche al mio commentino sarcastico. Una madre povera, non troppo, ma neanche poco.

Conduce una vita dura, come chiunque debba sottostare al ciclo della natura e della terra, un susseguirsi di fatiche quotidiane e di pasti frugali ma sereni. Ma ecco che il tempo cambia. Poi perde la suocera, e si trova orfana senza esserlo veramente. Quella donna che porta nel corpo solo il segno di uno stillicidio di pene consecutive e costanti, ancora non aveva finito di sorprendermi. Il suo essere madre. Il biblico e inesauribile istinto materno che la fa risorgere dalle sue stesse ceneri.

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