Mothers and Daughters diana gabaldon

by Jill Norman (Editor), Diana Gabaldon, Faye Kellerman

From the pens of five New York Times bestselling authors and seven nationally recognized authors of women's fiction comes this remarkable collection of twelve original short stories which rejoice in the love shared between mothers and daughters. Each author has collaborated with her own daughter on their story, inspired by real-life experiences. These tales reveal the dynamics of family, the bonds of love and the woman-to-woman heritage passed down from one generation to the next. "Mothers And Daughters" is a book to be cherished by mothers and daughters alike for years to come.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Parenting, Historical Fiction, Anthologies

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Jill created the Penguin Cookery Library in the 1960s and 1970s, bringing many first-class authors to the list. She has since become a Glenfiddich trophy winner in her own right, and is a leading authority on the use of herbs and spices. She is the literary trustee of the Elizabeth David estate, and worked with Mrs David for many years.

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really one for short story compilations, but I enjoyed this one. I got this book to read Diana Gabaldon's story. I love EVERYTHING she has written. I enjoyed her story very much. I enjoyed the others as well. There was a good mixture of writing in this book to hold everyone's attention.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book to read Gabaldon's short story and my rating is only based on her passage. The story "Dream A Little Dream For Me" is only 17 pages, incredibly short for Gabaldon, LOL. It's a cute story with a slight mystical/fantastical air about it and while I wasn't blown away by it, I did enjoy it and I'm glad I read it. (Note: The story isn't so much about a mother/daughter relationship)

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided to read this because of stories by Diana Gabaldon and Faye Kellerman. Turned out to be a nice anthology,

Loved Gabaldon's fantasy story. She never fails to write a good story. Faye Kellerman's entry was interesting with the method she used to include her young daughters in the writing process. She certainly gave us the teenage POS. Delightful. JA Jance's submission was more emotional, stiking real cords with divorced mothers. Well done.

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this warm, loving tribute to the unique love between mothers and their daughters, twelve pairs of writers collaborate to create stories that will remind the distaff family members of the difficulties and (hopefully) rewards of staying close to Mom. Contributors include Diana Gabaldon, Faye Kellerman, Anne McCaffrey, Kristin Hannah and several others.

As is true with most short story collection, some are better than others. There is one with a denouement that frankly irritated me because of the sacrifice being happily made, and there is another entry that I thought was rather weak just because it came from a man's point of view of his wife and mother-in-law, and it was an observation of that bond from a remove, which felt a bit too distant, especially compared to some of the other stories.

Ironically, the strongest story in the collection, in my view, was the one contributed by Kristin Hannah, who wrote her entry on her own, where the others confabbed with kin. It's a beautiful contemplation of life after losing one's mom, and raising your own little ones without the guidance of that maternal voice. It's a story full of poignant moments and beautiful writing - so much so that I had to use a second page of my book journal to write down the most memorable bits.

Mothers and daughters as adversaries, mothers and daughters as soulmates, mothers and daughters as strangers - they're all represented here. On the whole, it's a glorious distillation of that integral (some might say inescapable) relationship.

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because Gabaldon is one of my favorite authors, tho I didn't know what I was getting.

It turns out that several of my favorite authors appear, having co-written stories with their daughters. Several are very good (my favorite was The Glass Case by Kristen Hannah) and others so-so. But find it at your used bookstore and you'll have a good read.

[Angie Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter gave this book to me for Christmas. I am not as much a short story person as she is but it captivated my interest. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish this book but stopped after the first short story. I was hoping for grit but only found syrup.

[Barbara Gard · Rating 3 out of 5]

mostly great

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just couldn't put it down. I bought it for Kristin Hannah's contribution, but I loved it because of the diversity of all of the stories. Almost all gems, only two that I thought were just ok.

This book is a hidden treasure.

And it seemed perfect to me that it ended with Hannah's short story - beautiful.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice compilation of stories about the mother / daughter relationship. Multiple authors, writing styles, and approaches to the topic made this a unique and interesting book. Being a daughter, a mother of daughters, and a grandmother of grand daughters, I could relate to each of these stories in one way or another.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories were page-turning fabulous, some of them were, well, not as much. But of course, my favorite by far was Kristin Hannah's. Not that I expected any different!

[Aretha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Kristin Hannah's story, but all of them were really good. My mother passed the book to me and I can't wait to share it with my daughter.

[Lana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this collection was so-so. There were a couple of nice stories about the relationship between mother and daughter, but overall I wasn't fascinated.

[Shirley Barnes Sandridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't bother.

[Yehudit Epstein]

Uplifting, gripping, varied.