Scan barcode
A review by rachelisathomas22
Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Thank you to NetGalley and DialPress for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
At it’s core, Like Mother Like Mother is a story about generational trauma. The story told mostly by Lila, Grace, and Zelda, a matriarchal line of about three generations, and many secondary familial additions. Author Susan Riegar takes readers through their experiences in life and love, and explain how similar they are to one another despite how much they all may not want to admit. Grace does a majority of the unraveling of their family’s influences and history to come to terms with her relationship with her mother. It’s through Grace that readers get a complete picture of the overarching narrative and a lot of the themes Riegar hopes to get across.
Overall, I rated this book a 2.75/5 stars. The general theme and part 3 of the book were the highpoints of the novel for me. I thought that the story was nuanced and layered to help readers see the impacts of generational trauma. The twist that comes in part 3 was interesting and helped wrap up the story. I wanted to finish the story and see what happens, and that always means this story will get at least two stars from me.
The difficulty I had with this story was mostly the writing style. The narrative was very stream of consciousness and felt sudden and circular. One minute we’s be talking about one moment and the next paragraph we could be from a completely different perspective or time period. It was often hard to read. The general construction of the story was a lot of retelling moments from the main narrator’s past, so it felt like it took a while to get to the topics of the biggest interest. I often got bored when reading certain sections because I didn’t feel like the story was moving anywhere.
All-in-all, this story has great elements and ideas but, for me, missed the landing.
At it’s core, Like Mother Like Mother is a story about generational trauma. The story told mostly by Lila, Grace, and Zelda, a matriarchal line of about three generations, and many secondary familial additions. Author Susan Riegar takes readers through their experiences in life and love, and explain how similar they are to one another despite how much they all may not want to admit. Grace does a majority of the unraveling of their family’s influences and history to come to terms with her relationship with her mother. It’s through Grace that readers get a complete picture of the overarching narrative and a lot of the themes Riegar hopes to get across.
Overall, I rated this book a 2.75/5 stars. The general theme and part 3 of the book were the highpoints of the novel for me. I thought that the story was nuanced and layered to help readers see the impacts of generational trauma. The twist that comes in part 3 was interesting and helped wrap up the story. I wanted to finish the story and see what happens, and that always means this story will get at least two stars from me.
The difficulty I had with this story was mostly the writing style. The narrative was very stream of consciousness and felt sudden and circular. One minute we’s be talking about one moment and the next paragraph we could be from a completely different perspective or time period. It was often hard to read. The general construction of the story was a lot of retelling moments from the main narrator’s past, so it felt like it took a while to get to the topics of the biggest interest. I often got bored when reading certain sections because I didn’t feel like the story was moving anywhere.
All-in-all, this story has great elements and ideas but, for me, missed the landing.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse