Another Mother: A Novel [Hardcover]

Ruthann Robson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Her legal defense of a lesbian accused of killing her own child and her involvement in a case of sexual harassment bring to a boil the inner conflicts of a lesbian attorney--especially her feelings about her own mother.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Robson (Circle) has crafted a delicately nuanced novel about one woman's attempts to make sense of the labels that define her life. Angie Evans, a product of hardscrabble coal country and a depressive, clinging and abusive mother for whom she herself must now assume responsibility, is a high-powered New York lawyer specializing in defending the rights of lesbian mothers to retain custody of their children. Angie is a mother herself, to the adopted Skye, whose parenting she shares with Rachel, also a lawyer and her life partner of many years. She's also a reluctant philanderer, trapped in an unsatisfying affair with Kim, a manipulative legal intern. Angie is a workaholic and certainly obsessive, her life governed by the entries in the massive organizer book she carries everywhere; her dreams are confined to the pages of catalogues displaying luxury items. In episodic chapters stretching over a year, Angie's past and present merge, vignettes from her childhood and youth mixing with scenes from her current life. When the supports and boundaries of her existence begin to crumble (a client commits suicide, Rachel discovers her affair, etc.), Angie crashes as well, both figuratively and literally. And yet there is hope that somehow Angie will emerge complete, stronger for her travails and centered at last.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Robson (law, CUNY), author of the non-fiction work Lesbian (Out) Law (LJ 6/1/92), has also written two short story collections (e.g., Cecile, LJ 11/15/91). The heroine of her first novel is a radical feminist and lesbian lawyer who specializes in defending mothers who have killed their children. Angie Evans is caught on a tightrope of conflicting tensions. She loves her partner, Rachel, and their adopted child but drifts into a love affair. She cares passionately about her clients but feels trapped by her successful reputation. And, most importantly, she both loves and fears her mother. Unable to penetrate or dispel the cloud of depression surrounding her mother, Angie wants desperately to be different from her. Exhausted by the constant effort to stay in control, Angie seeks a balance between her professional and personal lives. While the ending is a little melodramatic, the novel's deft characterizations are solid. Recommended for most fiction collections.
Jan Blodgett, Coll., Davidson, N.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312134312
• ISBN-13: 978-0312134310
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,873,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, inciteful glimpse into a search for self., April 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Another Mother: A Novel (Paperback)

This is one of those rare books that gets better with every turned page. It is a well written prose; intelligent and emotional, so keenly mirroring life as a professional lesbian mother. I cannot wait for another book from Ruthann Robson. If you like good writing, this is great reading.