Missing Mom

I was emotionally invested in this reading (and listening experience), caught up in the upheaval of loss and recovery, as bewildered as the characters by the effects of grief, only to have all of that apparently minimized by a gift-wrapped, no-loose-ends conclusion.

In this reading, I saw myself with many of the same undesirable and lamentable characteristics of the created characters. It will be the rare reader that does not see bits of herself in these pages.

It is a worthy read, even without satisfaction in the end.

Audio book reading was fantastic and contributed mightily to my enjoyment.

I love Joyce Carol Oates, but this is not one of my favorites. Her work is usually full of conflicting and surprising details with creative twists and turns that effectively play off one another. This one just sort of plodded along without her usual depth or intensity. I have to wonder if she wrote this after her mother died and if this was her way of expressing her feelings - a cathartic venture? If so, I hope it served its purpose, to this extent.

How do we honor our parents memory? Keep part of them alive? Embody their characteristics so we can move forward in our life after their death? This is fiction, of course, so no real answers here. Having lost both of my parents at a young age, I am also fascinated by how other women cope without their mothers. This is a sweet read, not but because it is easy or without pain, but because Nickie so clearly cherished and honored her mother's memory. Its a good start to encourage me to remember my own mother.

As her other books do, Missing Mom, pulls the reader right in. Just as Gwen would make you feel part of her family. Gwen invited over neighbors and strangers which made her 2 daughters jealous. Clare, like their intolerant father, outraged by Gwen's invited over. Nikki wasn't angry at her mom; she simply moved to another town making a life for herself with scarce visits home.

After their father's death Nikki begins to grasp a bit more of Gwen's need to reach out to other people. But when tragedy strikes, Clare, Nikki, their extended family and the town are shocked and devastated.

Oates describes in detail how Clare and Nikki grieve for a woman they often ridiculed for her sweetness, heartfelt desire to help, and generosity of spirit to show more so many. It takes months and months for Nikki to open her heart and understand what extended family, friends and neighbors have been telling her: how much Gwen meant to them.

Beautiful story. show less

As with all of JCO's novels, there is much more to this book than I originally assumed after reading the first few chapters. The dual identities of the characters crept up on me and I looked back on my initial premises with surprise as I continued to read. She draws her readers into character and plot complexities with such mastery. This book is harrowing, heart-rending and, above all, absorbing. `

This is the first of Joyce Carol Oates books I have actually wanted to read all the way through - I have had to force my way through some of the others and even given up on one or two. Usually her style irritates me for some reason but I found this intriguing for the emotion and as a subject very rarely explored. Deeply flawed, yet realisticly so, the characters and relationships have an honesty that is appealing and irritating at the same time. I'd recommend you at least try it.

Everything is normal for Nicole, until it isn't anymore. One day she's laughing at her mother's quirks, shaking her head at her predictable frustrations, and grudgingly accepting her scolding. And the next day, it's all over. When Nikki finds her mother's body, brutally stabbed to death by a stranger in a random act of violence, she goes into shock. It takes days for her to understand what has happened, but it will take much longer to realize the profound repercussions in her life.

After awhile, she moves into her mother's house so she can slowly clean it out. But soon she is living her mother's life, visiting her mother's friends, baking her mother's recipes in an attempt to understand the woman better. To her shock, Nikki realizes that show more this woman she lived with for so long has kept many secrets.

A moving and emotional novel about loss, grief, and the things one takes to the grave. show less