Mother Knows: 24 Tales of Motherhood [Paperback]

Susan Burmeister-Brown (Editor), Linda B. Swanson-Davies (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2004

Ann Beattie, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Bausch, and twenty-one other celebrated American writers contribute to this moving anthology of fiction, compiled by the editors of the Glimmer Train literary quarterly.

In the ten-plus years since Susan Burmeister-Brown and Linda B. Swanson-Davies founded Glimmer Train, they have introduced an astonishing array of talented and innovative authors to a growing readership hungry for inspiring fiction. The stunning stories in this anthology -- many of which have never appeared anywhere except in Glimmer Train Stories -- explore one of the most complex emotional and psychological ties of all: motherhood, and its many facets.

The writers in Mother Knows include established authors as well as up-and-coming talents like Junot DÍaz and award-winning writers like Robin Bradford, Nancy Reisman, Lee Martin, and Doug Crandell. Their stories demonstrate that motherhood is more than toilet training and tantrum control, as they portray the full, fierce, joyous, and frightening range of experience that marks this state of being.

Mother Knows is a thoughtful and powerful exploration of the most mysterious bond in life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Linda B. Swanson-Davies Mothers. We have them, we lose them, we shun them, we need them, we become them or we don't. There is always love and loss. And there are stories.

About the Author

Susan Burmeister-Brown and her sister, Linda B. Swanson-Davies, have been editing the national literary quarterly Glimmer Train for more than a decade. They live in Portland, Oregon. Their previous anthology, Mother Knows: 24 Tales of Motherhood, is available from Washington Square Press.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press; Original edition (April 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743488784
• ISBN-13: 978-0743488785
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,426,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying read!, May 3, 2004

By 

Adrienne Keller (Puget Sound) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother Knows: 24 Tales of Motherhood (Paperback)

Mother Knows presents a rich collection of emotionally meaningful short stories-some by writers I hadn't heard of before, but will be looking for now-about motherhood from all directions.

The opening piece, "What's Left Behind," is a deeply moving (but not sappy) story of a pregnant woman who loses her husband and children in a flash flood. Here are the first two lines: "He sweeps by me. My husband, Dizzy, rushes past me with his arms outstretched like a preacher at altar call."

There's the woman who's trying to take care of her small "determined" son and her equally stubborn father who, after a stroke, can only speak gibberish. The realism of this story is striking: the intertwining of love and dedication with exhaustion and a powerful, though passing, desire to flee from the obligations of family.

A remarkable range of authors and perspectives are included. There are at least five immigrants in this collection-wonderful writers with backgrounds and challenges very different from my own or my children's. (One author was born in China, another in Turkey, one in Puerto Rico, and one in Zimbabwe. I mean, wow.)

For me, the best fiction gives me a larger view of the world and yet reminds me that I am a part of it. And, although it sounds sentimental, these stories reminded me that it is the urge to love and be loved that keeps us moving through this world. This powerful collection of 24 (!) stories-by big names and soon-to-be-big names-has earned a permanent spot in my library.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving stories about real life., February 9, 2006

By 

Cynthia Warren (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother Knows: 24 Tales of Motherhood (Paperback)

All of our lives are inextricably bound with our mothers' lives. What I especially appreciated about these stories was that they told the truth--from all directions--about the complicated, but love-infused bond between mothers and their children. It's a meaningful, affecting, and hopeful collection. (And I've got some great new authors to follow now, too.)

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching and Heartwarming book!, April 26, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mother Knows: 24 Tales of Motherhood (Paperback)

I loved reading this anthology of stories about Motherhood! Very touching. A fascinating and heartwarming read, for sure.