Like Mohter, Like Mother - Susan Rieger

 This was the best read so far this year.  My sister recommended it based on the story that is about a family whose mother was put in an asylum...or was she?  The story follows her daughter, Lila, who bore the brunt of her abusive father's treatment but didn't learn to parent herself and leaves her daughter to be raised by her husband.  Her daughter, Grace, resents her absent mother and goes on a quest to find out what happened to her grandmother.

The book is mostly dialogue, rapid moving, sharp witted and insightful as it explores the relationships between mothers and daughters.  It even uses DNA to explore the mystery of the grandmother's disappearance.  Recommended.

Quote:

[Grace reflecting on her self] "I don't so much lose my temper as I give in to it."

Published: 2024  Read: August 2026  Genre: Fiction

Purge - Sofi Oksanen

 This was a dark story.  It covers the experience of the women in one family in Estonia (a county I had to look up to find out where it was) throughout its troubled history of war and occupation, from about 1920's to the present.  Some chose to stay during the period; others were forced to live elsewhere and others were born during it.  Their experience and intertwined relationships are revealed as the story unfolds.  I liked how the author slowly revealed their ties.  Their stories were painful and horrific with the choices they made to survive.

Published: 2008  Read: June 2022  Genre: Fiction, Historical