Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas & Giveaway (US/Canada)

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Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas is an intriguing novel in that it combines a mystery along with its very powerful portrayal of an extremely dysfunctional family. This novel left an impact on me and it is one I won’t soon forget. I related to the story in ways I’m sure many will – that of a not so stable family environment. My story is no where near as horrific as the one experienced by this family but still it gave me a powerful connection to the book and some of its characters.

Josephine Hurst is all about perfection. To the outside world it is extremely important to her that her family looks like the perfect family in all ways and she will go to any extent to make sure it stays that way. Unfortunately for her family the person she projects at home is one that is belittling and cruel at the best of times. She uses this to keep everyone under her thumb. Needless to say when that begins to fall apart so does Josephine’s carefully constructed world.

As the story opens and we meet the Hurst children we learn that Rose has gone missing. She left home and disappeared; seemingly not wanting to be found. That left Violet at home to deal with her mother but once Violet starts rebelling Josephine turns things around enough that her daughter ends up in a mental hospital.

Last there is Will Hurst who is perhaps the most damaged of all. He is twelve and autistic (or is he?). Either way he makes for the perfect child for his mother to mold any old way she’d like to and she takes it to extremes. He wants so badly to please her that he’ll do anything she wants. For Josephine her children growing up terrifies her so needless to say she will keep Will tied to her apron strings as long as she can by any method she can.

Douglas Hurst, battling alcoholism, has not been a present father but then again Josephine never really allowed him to. Should he have had the balls to stand up for his family – certainly, but he didn’t and because of that his children suffered even more at the hands of his wife.

That is as far as I’ll go with the novel and the brief overview of the characters who are so much more complex as is their story. Suffice it to say that though that this novel could keep a bookclub talking for hours and yet some. While I was reading the book and even now I would love to have someone to talk to about it. Mother, Mother was a five star read for me because I found the building of the story, the portrayal of a woman, more specifically a mother, and the complexities of a sick and twisted mind and the effects it has on a family extremely well done!  I highly recommend this novel if you enjoy reading about dysfunctional people and families – it’ll be a favorite of mine this year.

I’m kicking off the TLC Book Tour of Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas so be sure to check out all the other tour stops and follow along to gain more insight into this novel.  You can purchase your own copy at Amazon or Amazon Canada.

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US/Canada)

I have one copy of Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas to share with my readers.  To enter…

  • Leave a comment for 1 entry to the giveaway.
  • Tweet, share on Facebook, or blog for 2 extra entries.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on September 30/13.  Good luck!

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Source:  Review copy provided by the publisher.  No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. OMG, this seems very dark! Even that cover is a little disturbing. There is nothing like a bad mother story to get me all agitated and upset…mothers can do so much damage to their kids.

  5. Although I can’t really relate to this, it sounds like a very intriguing book. Thanks so much for the giveaway.

  8. I love to read dysfunctional family stories. So glad that I didn’t have a perfectionistic mother or father. I would have been a big mess if I had.
    Very interested in reading this book. Thank you for the chance.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  9. Oh!!! This sounds like an interesting book to read. I would love our book club read this one.
    Thank you for the give away.

    I have tweeted this and liked to face book.

  18. I had a minor dysfuntional family, it will be great to read about someone that has a MAJOR! dysfuntional family. Although it will be hard to match the real one in the memoir Blackbird.

  27. Talk to me and Karielle from Books a la Mode (she reviewed it today!) I’ll send an email and cc her. I loved this twisted book!! Thanks so much for being on the tour!

  30. It sounds like a very interesting and sad book. But I am glad there is a mystery to it. This is a book I would enjoy reading. Thanks for having the giveaway.