Martha's Daughter:

by David Haynes, Erica Vital-Lazare (editor)

Martha’s Daughter is the brilliant and influential author David Haynes’s first short story collection and the first time that Haynes’s stories have ever been assembled in one volume. Steeped in everyday gossip and lives, this collection ranges from the magically real life of a city’s crumbling superhero to a rundown motel whose long-term guests are lucky to call home. In the titular novella the first hours are chronicled after Cynthia finds out her mother has died. What we learn is that Cynthia is a woman who has been bullied by her mother’s overbearing opinions, her disdain for difference, her respectability politics, and her outdated beliefs about how men and women should relate to one another. Martha’s death is less a catalyst for Cynthia’s grief than an opportunity to free herself of a burden too long endured.

The sixth in McSweeney’s Of the Diaspora series, Martha’s Daughter is another record in David’s oeuvre, of the people and places he’s been recording since the beginning of his career, some thirty years ago. With its full-circle connection to Haynes’s previous novels, Martha’s Daughter is guaranteed to enthrall longtime fans and new readers alike.

100 pages, Hardcover

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

David Haynes has been recognized by Granta magazine as one of America's best young novelists. The author of six critically acclaimed novels and five children's books, he is director of creative writing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

The former sixth grade teacher's short stories have been heard on "Selected Shorts" on NPR, and his novels have been recognized by the American Library Association.

--from the author profile at SMU

See also other authors with similar names.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good characters. I often wished these were not short stories so I could spend more time with them. And funny

[Sarah Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of David Haynes’s rich, funny, character-driven fiction. He’s the kind of writer who can make the people in his books feel genuinely alive. They are impossible, lovable, unexpected, and human. The title novella here has Martha’s middle-aged daughter, Cynthia, driving to the mortuary with a co-worker. Until this moment Cynthia hasn’t much liked or respected her, and didn’t want her along, although their relationship changes over the course of the drive. Meanwhile Cynthia’s wrestling with the complicated grief of loving and resenting a disapproving but fascinating mother who wanted the best for her and tried to chivvy her into being that person. All the stories have a web of outrageous and delightful and relatable characters. The way they’re depicted is sometimes fierce, sometimes hilarious, often both. Kirkus called this collection “spirited, witty, and illuminating” and “a treasure trove of warmth, smarts, and wisdom.” That seems right to me. Sometimes a question raised in one story feels as if it’s answered by another. These stories made me think about who we despise and who we take as heroes, how that can change over time, the ways people grow (and shrink). Also about both birth and chosen families and how they operate. I love how the characters try to reach across the kinds of rifts that divide us. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they come to know themselves better, and sometimes they move towards doing better. Reading these stories, I feel hopeful about life and the possibilities of communities and connection.

[Joanne Sills · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voracious reader in me was well fed by MARTHA'S DAUGHTER, the writer in me admired the language and settings. Really vibed with the humor. I loved the many first-person POVs in the tales, but especially Cynthia’s. It was clear the pressures she was under resisting her mother’s toxic worldview while understanding how it shaped her. The day Janine inserts herself into Cynthia’s personal mission is just a reader’s delight. We witness transformation of both characters. Lovely character arching. Ghetto Man to old Sammy-cat, by turns I laughed, was aghast, empathetic and warmed by the stories.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart, funny and a little gritty

The title character will put you in your place - she has a lot of attitude! Her sharp witted observations are exquisitely snarky. As the story progresses, we see that prickly veneer guards some very complex feelings about family and social relationships.
The other stories present interesting characters coping with challenging situations. There aren't always clear resolutions, so they leave you filling in the blanks yourself.
If you like character driven stories, this book is well worth your time!

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impeccable characters with vibrant and illustrative story telling. I felt dropped into each scene like a fly on the wall, part of the drama. A terrific collection!

[Nancy]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...

[Maggie Rose]

I understand this lady's mom just died but she might be the most condescending, judgemental, unlikable narrator of all time. She reads like a female Patrick Bateman.