Mothers and Daughters

by Evan Hunter

Starting in the 1940s, this novel spans twenty years in the lives of Julia, Gillian, Amanda and Kate. One of Evan Hunter's best novels, it first appeared in 1961.

Genres: Fiction

542 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Better known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.

Born Salvatore Albert Lombino, he legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952. While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evan Hunter was a professional writer, and I say that with the utmost respect. He wrote for a living. For money. Using several pseudonyms he wrote over a hundred novels from mainstream pop to police procedural to porn. His prose is truly the work of a pro: easily readable, no showing off. I love this guy.

Mothers and Daughters is a mainstream pop novel about four women. I’m the wrong gender to judge if he got the emotional issues right, but I detected no false notes. And the great thing about Evan Hunter is that you detect nothing about the writing, it’s invisible. The story flows like a river.

One example. Here’s a scene we’ve all encountered in some story or another. This is Evan Hunter’s rendition:

The street lamps were on, the department-store windows were lighted, they beckoned like potbellied stoves. The taxicabs rushed along the street. Amanda and Morton stood on the street corner with the wind lashing at them. They seemed like lovers. To the passer-by, to the casual passer-by intent on the cracks in the pavement, they looked like secret lovers, and perhaps they were.

“Do you think we can have lunch sometime?” Morton asked hesitantly.

She searched his face, open and sweet, he has such a sweet face, she thought. She reached up and touched his mouth with one ungloved hand.

“I don’t think so, Morton,” she said.

He smiled. He nodded. He seemed pleased somehow.

”Goodbye, Amanda,” he said. He took her hand. He would have been content with a handshake. She leaned close to him suddenly and kissed him on the cheek, and then awkwardly said, “I’ve got lipstick on you,” and rubbed at the stain with her gloved hand, and then squeezed his hand and said, “Goodbye, Morton,” and turned away from him quickly and walked across the avenue against a light, and knew that he watched her until she was out of sight, and told herself the tears in her eyes were caused by the wind.

Like when great actors perform a familiar love scene, this one’s a cliché and yet with Hunter’s prose the scene is fresh and bright and clear. Critics and academics don’t appreciate how much skill is required, how great the artistic instinct, to render something so simple, to give it resonance, to make you feel you were right there on the street corner watching. “Potbellied stoves” for beckoning warmth. Taxicabs rushing, wind lashing for the sensual intensity of the moment. “To the passer-by, to the casual passer-by intent on the cracks in the pavement,” great repetition, the rhythm and the subtlety of the moment to an indifferent city. Touching his face with one ungloved hand, the intimacy. Rubbing the lipstick stain with her gloved hand, the distance, and also the willingness to sacrifice the clean glove to fix his appearance. The lipstick itself, unintended consequence of her feelings. Every detail perfectly chosen. Like a great drummer working behind a band from the back of the stage laying a beat so flawless you aren't even aware. It seems so simple. It isn’t.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third Evan Hunter in as many weeks (Buddwing, Strangers When We Meet) and by far the best. Even though I enjoyed the others this one engaged me much more and I found it compulsively readable. It’s not exactly great literature but it’s an absorbing saga of a group of people whose lives interweave in various ways from the 1940s to the 1960s. The title is misleading as it’s no more about mothers and daughters than it is about fathers and daughters, or husbands and wives, or friends and lovers, but it does focus on two women in particular – Amanda, the daughter of a small town minister who hopes for a career in music, and the wilder Gillian, whom she meets at college and who want to be an actress. The novel gives a wide-ranging and panoramic portrait of mid-century America, tracking the societal changes, the changing mores and attitudes, the changing aspirations of both women and men, and if a stranger came to town and wanted to know what life was like in this period, this book would supply all the necessary information. There’s a particularly moving episode relating to Amanda’s sister, who has a breakdown and through her we track psychiatric treatment and all the new drugs coming into use. Through Gillian’s experiences we learn about the day-to-day drudgery of trying to make it as an actress. And so on. All of life is here and it makes for a fascinating read – even if there’s a bit of melodrama and soap opera thrown into the mix at times. A really enjoyable novel, well-written and well-paced, and even if definitely of its time, still applicable to our contemporary world, such are its many eternal themes.

[Carol Jaeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

There was something about this book that I just loved. Aside from the fact that it is beautifully written. I feel in love and befriended its characters. It made me think about my own life and decisions or lack of decision. I strongly recommend it.

[Adoração dos Livros · Rating 3 out of 5]

São 3 estrelas e meia. Não consigo dar 4 porque não gostei tanto assim mas 3 estrelas também é pouco, porque a mensagem subliminar do livro foi passada, embora ao fim de 600 e tal páginas.

[Susan Liston · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I actually love this sort of old fashioned novel, straight prose with punctuation marks and no dual timelines or multiple POVS or any other gimmicks, just basic story-telling. This book was sort of all over the place, though, it follows a lot of characters over a long period of time through a lot of totally unrelated situations. Sometimes a character would have disappeared for so long I had sort of forgotten about them. When all was said and done, I don't know that any of it was terribly memorable, but it was never dull and I did enjoy reading it.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly deep, and poignant! I thought this book was going to be a light-hearted, easy read for summer days. But it developed slowly into a very rich and deep observation on love, our relationships, the inner workings of our minds and how we deal with the lives we are given. I liked it very much. It rates a 4.5 star rating for me, maybe even 4.75. It follows the lives of a few college girls who follow their dreams, or marry, or lay their dreams aside...their loves, their families, their children. Very good!

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I should apologize for just giving this book 3 stars when I see the average is 5. But I just didn't get it. I thought it could have ended about a hundred pages before it did. I enjoyed reading about Amanda, Gillian, Julia and even young Kate but I didn't become immersed in their stories or lives. They weren't memorable enough to me. I'm sure others will rate it five stars and be able to write raving reviews. I'm glad I read it but am equally glad I can now move on to the next book and the next adventure. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

[Maria Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gostei do livro, mas…
Perdi-me inúmeras vezes nas descrições exaustivas, nas personagens de época cujo carácter e atitudes se desirmanam dos nossos dias … embora fã de livros históricos senti que a escrita e a sua forma, suplantaram muitas vezes a história. A dando momento quis parar farta que estava de tanta palavra … 600 e tal páginas depois fico feliz por não ter parado e consegui encontrar um fio de rumo . Não fossem tantas páginas difíceis gostaria de voltar a ler numa tentativa de encontrar, descobrir e conhecer melhor os personagens !

[PJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm - did this hold my attention because I was captive to it on a long flight, and then didn't want to put it down unfinished? Probably, although it did hold my attention. Not one to write home about.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book written by a very talented writer. In many many places it rambled on and certainly could have been much shorter. The book did not really end it just kind of faded away. I would like to read another book by the author.

[Christine Mathieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evan Hunter's master piece.
I've read this book in my twenties, then again some 25 or 30 years ago and now one last time.

There is a similar novel about the topic by Rona Jaffe (Class Reunion) and this Hunter novel reminded me a bit of "Class Reunion".

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I read by Evan Hunter, I found the story was interesting but the story could have been cut in half.

[Joan]

One of my favorites! Resonating characters and great story.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with Janet.... I just didn’t get it?

[Anne Pipkin]

Didn’t read

[Paulette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Different style

There is both had kept my interest until the end. Slow development of characters. Frequent flipping back and forth between them as well. A lot of conversation, which I found hard to follow or develop depth from.

[Rpicado · Rating 3 out of 5]

A minha ofereceu-me este livro ( que era dela ) onde escreveu uma dedicatória especial no dia em que saí de casa para ir viver sozinha e começar a minha independência.... nunca esqueci nem esse momento nem este livro.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first adult novels my mother recommended when I was young and I remember being very affected by it. It began my love affair with novels by Evan Hunter, but always remained my favorite.

[Riya · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's a casual novel, i like the way the author described the characters in this book, i like the friendship...
and the relationship of the mothers and daughters..

[Bonnye Reed]

Netgalley
originally published 1961
pub date June 6, 2017
Open Road Integrated Media