Stories of Motherhood

One of my favourite dates in the year is Mother’s Day! There’s something rather lovely about celebrating mum’s and I remember celebrating my first Mother’s Day just days after my son was born a couple of years ago. I really don’t expect a present from my two this year (a day off from nappies and bottles would be enough – I hope my husband is reading!).

Published in time for Mother’s Day on 18 March, Stories of Motherhood, the latest title in Everyman’s Library’s Pocket Classics series, celebrates all aspects of motherhood. This beautifully packaged anthology gathers together more than a century of short fiction, ranging from lyrical to satirical, realistic to fantastic, and hilarious to heartbreaking. The diverse array of authors write memorably about mothers – having, leaving, loving and losing them – with authors including Barbara Kingsolver, Alice Munro, Willa Cather and Colm Toibin.

Lydia Davis and Harold Brodkey explore dizzying encounters between young mothers and their newborn babies, while Colm Tóibín and Lorrie Moore portray adult children grieving for their lost mothers. Ron Carlson probes the forging of a bond with an adopted infant; Barbara Kingsolver gives us a sparring mother-and-daughter pair whose overlapping pregnancies lead them to common ground, and Aimee Bender offers a loopy fable of maternal connection in which a woman gives birth to her own mother.

This is a lovely gift to give to any mother, old or new. It is published on the 8th March 2012, priced £10.99.

 

Disclosure – we were sent a copy of the book to review.