All My Mothers is a powerful story of resilience and identity that highlights the strength of familial bonds. All My Mothers paints an intimate picture of the complexities of family relationships and cultural identity. One of those rarest of books: so beautiful I almost couldn't bear it, and so moving I was reading through tears' STACEY HALLS

All My Mothers by Joanna Glen - Fantastic Fiction

Eva’s story unfolds over the next thirty years in London and in Spain. Her parents separate and a tragedy in Bridget’s family sees Bridget and her family move to Israel. Eva feels this loss more keenly as, for a while, she lived with the Blume family and experienced their acceptance and love. Ah, isn’t it wonderful when a book crosses your path and it goes into your top reads – ever?! I can safely say this was a deliciously uplifting, perceptive and beguiling novel that kept me entertained throughout. It is sad, too, and there is a really heartfelt story of loss and a search for roots. The men in the tale were mostly unhelpful, with the exceptions of Nigel, whose character is endearing, and Eva’s eventual partner. No hay cosas que me guste más que adentrarme en una historia completamente a ciegas, sin tener referencias de nadie. Simplemente dejarte llevar por esa vocecita que te dice "este libro es para ti". Y lo mejor de todo es así es: este libro llegó para quedarse. Eighty-one-year-old Ruth Morris faces the dispiriting prospect of selling her house and moving into an aged care home, Banksia House, at the behest of a son unwilling to care for her. Always fiercely independent, Ruth has difficulty adjusting. And when she finds out that her best friend, Gladys, is dying in Brisbane, she joins forces with new friends she has made – the indomitable Beryl and the Houdini of Banksia House, Keith – to hatch an escape plan.Je suis quelqu’un qui aime les personnages. S’il y a pas une intrigue de ouf mais des bons personnages développés, I’m all in (ici il y a les deux). J’ai rarement lu des personnages si bien écrit. J’ai presque cru que c’était autobiographique tellement ils m’ont semblés *réels* I was drawn into Eva’s story, and desperately wanted her to find the answers she was searching for. This is a beautifully written novel: painful in some parts, joyful in others. It felt rushed, and it lost it's punch in the most critical moment. Again, using my spainard card here, the whole bought baby moment could have been So Much More Magnanimous. There was an epidemic of doctors and nurses (nuns) that flat out stole babies from their mothers (single mothers, republicans, poor women, romani women, you get the gist) and gave said babies to rich families under the fascist wing. So yeah, by romanticising nuns who literally took away a baby from a muslim woman (with the very same practice used by fascist, stealing nuns) it doesn't really leave a good taste in my mouth. Overall, it is a story about a girl whose “mother” felt like a phantom and an intruder. All her life, At it's heart, it is a coming of age story. But it's so much more than that. It's about the circular nature of life, it's about how disappointments come but also wonderful things, but mostly it's about girls and women and mothers, and the wonderful relationships between them all.

All My Mothers by Joanna Glen | Waterstones

From a young age, Eva Martinez-Green feels distanced from her mother, not helped by the fact when she is asked to bring in a baby photo to school, she is told by the woman she suspects is not actually her mother her baby photos were stolen. In fact, the earliest photos they have are when she was three and a half years old. Guided by a book they’re reading at school and her newfound friendship with Bridget Blume, Eva begins her quest to understand her beginnings and where she came from. Stone by stone, seed by seed, All My Wild Mothers is the story of how sometimes life grows, not in spite of what is broken, but because of it. This book, this book is immense. We are following the story of Eva, from her first memories as a four year starting school and making a best friend, all the way through to adulthood. We see her at her best and her worst, at her highs and lows. This book doesn't pull it's punches. I loved how the author weaved the story, you grow into it as Eva grows up. We sometimes see where the journey is going, and sometimes we don't, but Eva is a truthful narrator to both herself and her subjects. She is at times, not terribly likeable, but she is believable and three dimensional.

Oh my goodness. It's 3am, I have just finished this book and I simply had to review it immediately.

All My Mothers by Joanna Glen | Goodreads

The characters in All My Mothers are beautifully written, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves in the novel. At seven months pregnant, Victoria Bennett was looking forward to new motherhood after difficulties in previous pregnancies. Life felt hopeful at last. Then the telephone rang, and the news she received changed everything. Her eldest sister had died in a canoeing accident. Por no mencionar, que hay representación de todo tipo (LGBT+, de cuerpos no normativos, religiosa) y se tratan temas de índole femenina como el cáncer de mama o la endiometrosis. Pero, sobre todo me ha llamado la atención la representación religiosa (judía, musulmana y católica) y que se haga tanto hincapié en ella. La mitad del libro está ambientado en Córdoba (la primera mitad en Chealsy, Inglaterra). La representación de todas esas religiones hace referencia al trasfondo histórico de esa provincia andaluza y la diversidad de la que se ha nutrido su cultura.

I found it both a mesmerisingly beautiful portrait of a young woman discovering what home means to her, and a poignant depiction of how our actions can touch other people's lives in ways we could never have anticipated. Augusta and Parfait are wonderful characters; I was willing them on to find the happiness and peace they both deserved' Sarah Haywood, author of The Cactus Anyway, I could rant more: about Barney and the romanticism, about how that was dealt with, about Carrie being forgotten although she also is a mother, about many thinhgs. But let me stop here. I loved this book SO much. It's uniquely witty, beautifully observed, intricately woven - it made me laugh and weep and I truly never wanted it to end' MIRANDA HART

All My Mothers by Joanna Glen (9780008410629/Paperback All My Mothers by Joanna Glen (9780008410629/Paperback

Throughout her life Eva has felt that there is something missing in her life. She feels the outsider even when people go out of their way to show her love. Her mother is distant, undemonstrative and spends most of her time in bed. She is neither a loving mother, nor a supportive mother – she is an absence. An absence that is hard for a small girl to understand. Her father is everything and she adores him. When school requires her to bring a photo of herself as a baby she discovers there are no photographs. As she grows she learns that there is nothing of her before the age of three and a half – another unexplained emptiness. An absence that is compounded when her father leaves and her mother is moved to hospital. As Eva enters adulthood, her struggles with endometriosis and infertility whilst in an unfulfilling and controlling relationship were insightful and honest. I’ve yet to come across novels where these issues feature throughout the plot and they resonated with me personally. There are some books that you read, knowing that they will stay with you for a long time. Victoria Bennett’s memoir is one of those books ... All My Wild Mothers is one of the most achingly precious books that I have encountered in recent times’ On Magazine

LoveReading Says

What can I tell you about this novel, about the pain of searching for truth, about wondering who your parents really are and why you did not grow up with them? Or about growing up in a dysfunctional home, where truth is hidden (or ignored)? Eva’s journey is challenging and complicated. She observes (and experiences) different models of mothering during her quest. This is a novel about life, about belonging, and about mothering. Along the way, Eva meets several women who will have an important influence on her life. Not all are positive. The vivid imagery in All My Mothers adds another layer of depth to the storyline, making it a truly captivating read. Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: The Ultimate Guide to Celebrating Christmas with the Best Drinks Books On The Shelves