sMothering

by Wendy French

A smart, fast, funny take on mother-daughter relationships, boyfriend-girlfriend disasters, and the career-girl blues.

Meet Claire McLeod, a twenty-something American girl living in Portland, Oregon. Claire's got big her mother's a tyrant, her sister's a lesbian, and her father's in Omaha.

Claire's peaceful, if dull, existence is shattered when her mother arrives in Portland for an unexpected--and unwelcome--visit. Armed with a sharp tongue, a critical eye, and enough Weekender Wear to make anyone nervous, Mom has mysteriously left Dad at home in the Midwest. It's not enough that Claire's job as a telephone survey-taker is excruciatingly irritating and her boyfriend has dumped her. No, now, embarrassed by her dead-end job and flatlining love life, she must also bear the weight of Mom's critical eagle eye while trying to close the rift between her mother and her sister, solve the riddle of her missing father, climb a shaky corporate ladder, stalk a cute coworker, reinvent herself, and maybe--just maybe--find a little happiness.

By turns tender and insightful--but always hilariously funny-- sMothering is a novel you can't put down.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Humor, Comedy, Contemporary

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Wendy French was raised in Vancouver, Canada, where she was certain her parents unwittingly cursed her writing career with a happy and stable childhood. In an effort to overcome her unfortunate beginnings, she sought artistic torment at the University of Victoria, but despair eluded her. Hoping for worse luck south of the border, she moved to Oregon with her husband, David, but happiness continued to stalk her, day and night. Finally, she conceded defeat, abandoned her quest for misery, and began writing humorous women's fiction.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty predictable but funny nonetheless. good airplane book when i went down home to visit. i've loved everything i've read of hers so far though and can't wait to get more!

pretty crazy about the whole affair thing between the parents. i can see myself being like that with my husband when we're older. not as bad as her, but i almost feel like i have a sense of relation there.

claire is realllly funny and i love her sarcasm and all the trouble she seems to get herself into without even actually getting into trouble. haha.

pretty good twists and turns but nothing jawdropping. definitely something i think alot of girls can relate to when it comes to the relationship, career and personal issues.

[Michelle (Bookaholic Banter) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros

I enjoyed the descriptive writing in this book. It had some laughs. It was a light and fluffy fun read. A bit of LGBTQ+ to this story as well. The characters were likeable.

Cons

For a book titled sMothering I expected a lot more smothering from her Mother. I felt like that was a backstory most of the time. The ending was very abrupt. It was almost as if the author got bored of writing it, or met the pages needed and just quickly threw an ending together. It went from the chapter ending where the main character was about to go do something important to a short three page Epilogue that just wrapped up things in the book very quickly and uncreatively. If it hadn't been for the abrupt ending, and if the author just gave me a little more story and ending to things going on in the book I would have probably given it 4 stars. I felt cheated out of en ending.

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, this was total fluff. But, I needed it. And this was perfect. The main character, Claire, has a dead end job, a mother who just showed up to spend a few days, a lesbian sister, an ex-boyfriend she can’t get over, and a boss who is messing with her life! This book could have been a movie. It was definitely a character driven plot. With a happy ending to boot!
I really liked it. I needed some fluff in my life! Glad I chose this one.

[Ginger Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoying protagonist

[Shanda Laney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sat on my shelf for quite a while after inheriting it from a friend. Honestly, it could have just kept sitting there.

For me, this one was vapid and empty. Good thing it was over quickly.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and completely laugh out loud funny story about an obsessive mother, a laid back father, two 20 something daughters, one (Claire) who lives in the shadow of her can do no wrong beautiful sister (Steph)UNTIL that beautiful sister 'turns' lesbian as the mother despairs. Claire McLeod struggles at her call center work, with her boyfriend-less life now that her hearthrob Paul left her for someone else, with herself basically. Then her mother (all the way from Omaha) lands on her doorstep sans dad. What's up? What ensues is never an un-comedic moment some of which are over the top but it doesn't matter because the characters ring true like sleazy Neal, sarcastic Jason, Claire's mother, and so many other secondary characters in wet, rainy Portland. Best episode in Napoli restaurant. Too, too funny.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had it on my list for a long time and finally got it at the library. I started it one night and realized that I had read over 100 pages. This is a miracle for me as I have a two year old. It was funny, quick and I liked everything about it. The mother was like my mother-in-law so I just shock my head sighing at the things I read. The main character was likable finally. My one complaint is I like a book to flow naturally to the end. This did a 2 page happily ever after ending that I wasn't crazy about. It felt rushed and out of place in this book. I have not read a Chick-Lit book this good in awhile which is why I have found myself choosing to not read any at all. Glad I finally gave this one a chance.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute book. a little bit of substance among the chicklits. I especially like the author's bio at the back of the book: "Wendy French was raised in Vancouver, where she was certain her parents unwittingly cursed her writing career with a happy and stable childhood. In an effort to overcome her unfortunate beginnings, she sought artistic torment at the University of Victoria, but despair eluded her. Although she earned a BA in Writing and English, she didn't suffer for a moment. Hoping for worse luck south of the border, she moved to Portland, Oregon but happiness continued to stalk her, day and night. Finally, she conceded defeat, abandoned her quest for misery, and began writing humorous women's fiction. Her novels are sMothering, Going Coastal, After the Rice and Full of It."

[Blue Hummingbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book on a whim at the library ad was quite fond of it from the start. Claire and her mother dont' seem to have a great relationship. Mrs. McLeod has that, "I'm in your business and I know best and your life just isn't good enough why arent you married yet," attitude but oh so funny. Between work issues, a boss worth beating and family issues galore, its no wonder Claires life is a mess. But a fun mess at that. I rooted for her the whole way through and was pleased overall. From start to finish, French had me laughing and relating to the characters. They were believable and each of them seemed like someone I know. I would recommend this to fans of chick-lit, fiction, family related stories and humor.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a nice little entertaining book. I like the comedic romance mysteries better. At least, there's a more involved plot with them.
The problem with all romances is they are always the same: always a very stupid misunderstanding. Then always a nice get together, and then always more stupid misunderstandings before the final happy ending.
This book was different in one way. It seems
Ms French's deadline to finish the book was up. Everything was still rather unfinished and bingo! … the epilogue appears. I actually did a double take. Nice epilogue but I would have preferred to see these things unfold rather than just be told a quick rundown. Kind of like watching a game, then you're whisked out of the stadium and only told the final score and that your team won.

[Carmen Díaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mi mamá me mata" tiene como protagonista a Claire, una chica de 23 años que vive sola en su pequeño estudio. Un día, a primera hora de la mañana, su madre se le presenta en casa, maletas en mano, con la intención de quedarse. Claire tiene que lidiar con la inoportuna presencia de su madre, con la mala relación de su madre y su hermana Stephanie, divorciada de su primer marido y reconvertida en lesbiana....
Se lee rápido porque la historia es muy sencilla.Es una historia ligera de principio a fin. Si bien no es adictiva, sí que entretiene y proporciona un buen rato.

[JG (Introverted Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, easy book that I read in about one night. It's the story of 23-year-old Claire and what happens when her over-bearing mother comes for an open-ended visit.

Really, this was just an amusing bit of fluff that was fairly predictable. If you're in the mood for that (and I was, after slogging through Look Homeward, Angel), you'll probably enjoy this one.

As an aside, I would like to thank my mom for being NOTHING like the mother in this book. What a nightmare!

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Woman's mother shows up and kick starts her life even though the woman feels like Mom's just interfering (sp?). Her apartment is clean, her job is up in the air after she didn't sleep with her boss, she gets back together with her ex once she realized that her own fears drove him away. Unsatisfying ending with a "happily ever after" account, rather than seeing it work out.

[Olie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the book is under 'chicklit category', and though I'm not a big fan of that category. I pretty much like this book. It tells about mother daughter relationship with all its ups and downs.

The book made me laugh, it made me frown, it even made me cry. One thing forsure, it made me thankful that I'm blessed with a mom like mine.

[Lauder · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel was incredibly boring, and Claire, the main character, complained throughout, acting selfish and spoiled. She complains about her mother, her job, her love life...nothing makes her happy.

But then, everything works out? Just like that? She sees her man again, and she gets a new job...I mean, sure, let's have a happy ending, but you don't need to shove the happiness down our throats.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was sort of boring. Her other novel I read, Full Of It was great and this one was ummm...not so much. I will try some of her other books in the future I suppose but this one was a thumbs down!

[Carmen B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cute, fun read. Took a few pages for me to get into, but once I did I enjoyed it.

I was a little dismayed at the books abrupt ending, i thought she could have done a little better job of wrapping it up

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poor young woman really needed some help!
And who would have thought it would come in the form of her own very picky, critical Mother!
Sometimes we don't recognize love when it's right there staring us in the face.

[Anne Mariane · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love your Mom, read this book!

[Melissa Smith]

A fun summer read. I related to this book a lot a few years ago. OK, maybe it was way more than a few years ago.

[Tray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny! Should be a required read for all mothers and daughters!

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely light story about a young woman in Portland, OR, whose mom comes to visit and her life unravels, only to be neatly sewn together at the end of the book.

[Gretchen]

Read

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny!

[Lorna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very realistic, but an easy read.

[Sarah Posey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! It's something quick and super enjoyable to read "in between". It should be required reading for every mother and daughter. If you love your mom-Read this book!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this author. She is writes in the northwest. This book is set in Portland. It is predictable fluff, but fun to read.

[Sherri Bryant]

I got through the first 4 chapters and couldn't connect with any of the characters.

[Evelyn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Read!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick - fun read.