The Lauras
Fiction
Hogarth
August 1, 2017
Hardcover and e-book
304
Own copy, and publisher via Penguin First to Read
From critically acclaimed and Baileys Prize-nominated author Sara Taylor comes a dazzling new novel about youth, identity, and family secrets I didn t realize my mother was a person until I was thirteen years old and she pulled me out of bed, put me in the back of her car, and we left home and my dad with no explanations. I thought that Ma was all that she was and all she had ever wanted to be. I was wrong. As we made our way from Virginia to California, returning to the places where she d lived as a kid in foster care and as a teenager on the run, repaying debts and keeping promises, I learned who she was in her life-before-me and the secrets she had kept even from herself. But when life on the road began to feel normal I couldn t forget the home we d left behind, couldn t deny that, just like my mother, I too had unfinished business. Sara Taylor brings the American landscape to vivid life in an unforgettable road novel that strikes at the heart of a mother-child bond."
My review:
This was an engrossing story of a mother/daughter road trip with some very interesting characters. Not just any short term road trip, but one that lasts for years. The mother decides to leave her husband, and take her thirteen year old daughter on a tour of some of the places in her past. During this time we learn about the mother's former life, and meet many of the significant people (including quite a few Lauras) from that past. As she attempts to reconnect with lost friends, right a few wrongs, and help a few people out, her daughter discovers a whole new side of the person she has always known as just Mom. Other than a side plot toward the end regarding sexuality, which I thought was not really necessary and seemed like it was thrown in to create edginess, I enjoyed this road trip a great deal. I liked seeing inside the mind of Alex's mom, and what she was going to come up with next. She really did have a good heart, and never discounted her role as a mother to accomplish what she set out to do. As a side note, while I read this as Alex being a daughter, the author does a clever job of never really revealing the sex of the child. What conclusion did you make?
A mother/daughter road trip with lots of edgy characters and a mother on a mission. This one will keep you reading to find out where they will go, and what will happen next.
I read and reviewed this book for the Penguin First to Read program. Click this link to find out more about them. As always, my opinions are my own.
