One of my favorite book of 2024! I love the multiple POVs and the modern day issues that the storyline addresses. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I really loved the discussion of how books handle the issues of motherhood--I used parts of this book to help teach my Women's History course. It was very helpful and insightful. As a mother and avid reader, this Venn Diagram was a complete circle.

This was an interesting read about mothers and how we view fictional mother characters. I enjoyed reading about the connections, and the author really went deep on some of them. I love reading about real books, and the background of when they were written/what was happening in the author's lives, and this fits the bill!

I love the premise of this book. Each chapter, the author looks at different literary mothers. From Pride and Prejudice, The Handmaid's Tail to Harry Potter.

This is the college thesis I always wanted to write. I've pretty much read all of the books discussed independently, and love the author's humor and anecdotes throughout. As a Millennial parenting blogger and book reviewer, I loved this perspective. How do we build our own concepts of what motherhood is and how do we see those different shades of motherhood in each of these amazing characters. I also think it reminds people that so much of our lives are not in our control, and that the parenting decisions we make are never easy, but so easily judged by others.

My review: https://childishadvice.com/2024/05/14/childish-reads-the-book-of-mothers/

This is a delightful and thought provoking group of essays centered around the views and perceptions of motherhood through time. The book is structured around 15 essays that center on a classic novel (some examples - Madame Bovary, Little Women, Beloved, Joy Luck Club) and intertwined with her own musings and experience as a mother. She also weaves in popular culture and other sources to expound on the concept of what is motherhood? As a mother and as an avid reader, I enjoyed this book tremendously. I read it cover-to-cover but I think it could be possible to read in any order. Well worth the read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

There are so many mother's in literature that are the backbone of the story. Mrs Bennet, Marmee, the list goes on and on. This book helps highlight them and does a deep dive into what they mean to us.

Perfect for literature lovers!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book analyzes expectations and realities of motherhood as they are presented in a variety of literary works. I appreciated the depth of the analyses in terms of historical context and modern application, and while I have not read all the books discussed, I followed the arguments easily. I enjoyed all the pop culture connections as well as reading about Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Bennett, and Marmee.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Part memoir, part literary-criticism, part pop culture, this genre-defying book is a fascinating look at how motherhood has been portrayed through literature, pop culture, and personal experience.

Carrie Mullins refused to take motherhood as the wallpaper, saccharine, traditional version of mother as savior, washer, problem solver, carrier of secrets, magician, all the things a person can load onto another and wrote THE BOOK OF MOTHERS, a review of the mother in fifteen classics of literature, canon in our culture. Her thoughtful and piercing exploration shines a light on the mushy sentiments ascribed to intelligent, courageous individuals doing their best with an impossible responsibility to raise a generation. I enjoyed taking a different view of some of my favorite books in this thoughtful examination and feel like a better mother for it. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

The views and expectations of women and motherhood have been shaped by many things, one of which is literature. Throughout literature women and mothers have been discussed; bad ones, good ones, mediocre ones. What to do, what not to do, what to look like, what not to look like, etc. I say "etc" because the list of ideas, demands, and expectations is endless. Our unique cultures inform motherhood but literature crosses oceans and highways and introduces ideas of one culture into another because literature is, as author Stephen King is charged with saying, "....a uniquely portable magic." Because of this magic, one cultural view on motherhood can infiltrate another, and suddenly a mish-mash of views, expectations, and opinions are present for women to sift through and decide how they will, if they will, subscribe.

Upon becoming a mother and entering the proverbial rat race of motherhood, Mullins became interested in how literature, specifically, has contributed to our ideas about mothering and how, perhaps, we can use those same books to reshape the current views on motherhood. She chose 15 books that she felt had opinions and views on mothering that she could explore and share widely. Some of the titles are well-known, others not so much (at least to this reader). It's almost the perfect list to form a book club around, one that once exhausting Mullins list could continue on with the countless other books from past into present that exist and serve up opinions on women and motherhood.

Mullins, in each chapter, focuses on a specific idea about motherhood and takes the opportunity to trace the history of that idea and how it appears in the present, giving some background on the author and what they were being influenced by at the time they authored the book, and discussing how it can look in today's world. She gives no solid answers, she presents the information as she sees it and leaves it up to the reader to consider for themselves. That's a piece of motherhood that has gotten lost - someone says, "This is THE way to do it, and any other way is wrong," and so those who cannot do it that way feel less than. The truth is there are many ways to accomplish something, as humans have varying needs and ways they take in information. Those who are trying to force everyone into a box have got it wrong, so why - WHY - have we given them so much real estate in our minds, in our lives? Why are we, for example, taking in anything a man has to say about being a woman and/or mother?

While this is a book about mothers and motherhood in literature, I felt there were many things to consider as a woman, regardless of whether she is a mother or not. Yes, mothering is a main focus, but before mothers were mothers, they were, and still are, women and some of these insights are universal to women. Perhaps all of them are universal as women are expected, whether they have children in their care or not, to be mothers. I really enjoyed this book; I feel there are a lot of good insights and things to consider. As a mom, who now has young adult children, I found myself wishing - while reading this - that I had understood some of the messages I was operating within when raising my littles so I could have done things differently. But you only know what you know, and when you know better, then you can do better. Are you a woman? A woman who is a mom? I highly recommend giving this book some space and the insights within it some consideration so that you know more and can do better.

THE BOOK OF MOTHERS by Carrie Mullins is subtitled "How Literature Can Help Us Reinvent Modern Motherhood." Somehow, I erroneously expected a warm and cozy reminiscence about favorite mothers, role models, and mother-like characters in literature. Instead, Mullins, a journalist and essayist takes an inventive, but critical look. She begins with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and scrutinizes Mrs. Bennet, hardly an ideal mother candidate. The text is dense and rather academic in tone so while Mullins' cleverness may have a specialized appeal, it is unlikely to engage the average, modern reader (her second selection is Flaubert's Madame Bovary published in 1857). Commentary on characters from the writings of Alcott, Fitzgerald, Woolf, and Nella Larson appear next. Eventually Mullins turns to the second half of the twentieth century, even adding J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter series at the end. A bibliography and notes comprise roughly twenty percent of the book.

If you are looking for a favorite, compassionate Mom – don’t forget The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.

I found this book to be a great exploration of mothers. The characters chosen to be examples of the types of moms were spot on!

I was SOOOO excited when I received this ARC from NetGalley.
And I did love the concept and books she chose to use.
But.... heavy on summary of the books and only shallow on the actual analysis.
It was a fair attempt, so I think I might give the author another chance.
Chapters on Ephron's "Heartburn" and Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" were best.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the premise of The Book of Mothers - bringing together lit crit of mothers we love and some we love to hate, along with research and history that speak to the experience of women and mothers in context. And I enjoyed the places where that worked well - I liked the deep dive on Heartburn and To the Lighthouse especially, but I felt like the book would have benefitting by cutting down the number of essays to give a little more depth and breathing room to the ones that wanted to shine. Also, I too am an adult who grew up reading Harry Potter and who appreciated Mrs. Weasley's mothering, but I think in 2024, we don't *have* to include discourse that almost entirely ignores the more problematic points of JK Rowling's behavior - Mullins does give a footnote about it, but honestly, the inclusion had me thinking back to the essays included and how narrow the definition of feminism and mothering were in the book; I don't think I would have dwelled there are much otherwise!

Mullins definitely went some places I wasn’t expecting. I found her comparing Mrs. Bennett to a Real Housewife very apt. Using Mrs. Weasley as an ode to harried moms was an excellent choice.

Mullins does a good job representing intersectional stories about motherhood and how it differs from our stories about white mothers. A couple of essays didn’t delve quite as deep but most were interesting and insightful. For all the history across these works, they all were tied in to struggles modern moms deal with.

It’s also very accessible. If you didn’t spend your undergrad dabbling in comparative literature, this will still make perfect sense to you. An excellent gift idea for bookish moms for Mother’s Day.

I loved reading this book. It's like sitting down with a very well-read friend with a shared passion for women's lives and hearing her dig in deep into a variety of books. The choices range from the very familiar ("Little Women") to a few I haven't yet read (but will be checking out). It's completely unpretentious and contains personal detail without ever once feeling like it's just about the author's singular experience. She consciously explores other forms of motherhood other than her own.

Note: when I finished the book, I wasn't wild about the subtitle, as I feel like it doesn't fairly represent the content of the book. This was less a book about how to reinvent motherhood than an exploration of how different stories about mothers can illuminate aspects of modern motherhood.

Summary

A culturally relevant dissection of motherhood that compares literary mother figures to their contemporary counterparts while highlighting issues that plauge parents today.

Reading Experience

I loved this book! It was everything a non-fiction book should be. It was well written in accessible language, fast-paced, had a clear structure, and research was well sighted. The list of sources provided has basically become my TBR list.

Reading it felt like sitting down with my best friend over a glass of wine and discussing our motherhood journeys. No book has ever described my early motherhood mental state better.

I loved the diversity of topics covered within the book. Everything from anxiety to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade was included. No faceted of motherhood was left uncovered.

This was an incredibly validating read.

Who This Book Is For

If you are someone who wants to understand the nuances of motherhood read this book. Fans of Emily Oster (Cribsheet), Pamela Druckerman (Bringing Up Bebe), and Linda Åkeson McGurk (There is No Such Thing as Bad Weather) should run and order a copy.

An interesting portrayal of motherhood.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A wonderful attempt at literary discussion of motherhood and the historical references provided in a favorite medium of books. The structure of the book was well thought out and geared more toward the reader may have less experience reading the classics and sought to offer a bit of an overview of each book while also providing a bit of analysis focusing on the topic of motherhood.
Unfortunately there tended to be a bit too much overview and not enough analysis for this book to be worth the read. The analysis was quite obvious and lacked the depth required to making this book more valuable not only to the reader interested in reading more classics as well as the experienced bibliophile. It was a good attempt but missed the mark. Great idea though.