Hello everyone! Anyone have suggestions for books that explore a tense mother daughter relationship? I’m looking for fiction.
If we can get even more specific, I’d like to read books (or even if there’s just a good scene in a book) that encapsulates the fear daughters might have toward their mothers. And honestly scenes written from the mother’s perspective, if they exist.
Narcissistic mothers
Angry mothers
Constantly disappointed mothers
Scared to be in the line of fire daughters
From either perspective works. I really just want to explore how that dynamic is written about in fiction.
by IHaveASnakeTattoo
5 Comments
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn might be what you’re looking for. Fair warning it’s not a happy story, and big trigger warning for self-harm. I really enjoyed it though and it’s very focused on the daughter (main character) and how she relates to her mother.
Crying in H-Mart
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
The School for Good Mothers is more of a commentary on motherhood as a whole, but it definitely captures the tension of being a mother.
Coraline is also a good one. The daughter/parent relationship in that one is so weird, especially for a children’s book.
My Name is Lucy Barton also hits all the things you’re looking for. Such a beautiful book about a woman who is stuck because nobody tells her that they love her, even her mother who is at her literal side throughout the whole book.
I had a perfect book in mind until I found out it doesn’t have an English translation…
But there’s another one that came to my mind, it’s called Concerning my daughter by Kim Hye-Jin and it’s told from a perspective of a disappointed mother.