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Book Reviews of The Good Mother

The Good Mother
The Good Mother
Author: Sue Miller
ISBN-13: 9780385312431
ISBN-10: 0385312431
Publication Date: 3/1/1994
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 81

3.5 stars, based on 81 ratings
Publisher: Delta
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

27 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Good Mother on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
It took me a while to get into this book, and it was a slow read throughout.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent book. I would recommend it to anyone!
reviewed The Good Mother on + 30 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
One of my favorite books of all time, this made me a lifelong fan of Sue Miller's writing. The story itself is haunting and beautiful, but underneath that, Miller is exploring the expectations of women in our culture: are the roles of devoted mother and sexual persona mutually exclusive?
reviewed The Good Mother on + 404 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
"The Good Mother is the story of a good mother who made some poor choices.
Anna Dunlap is a recently divorced woman with a young daughter, Molly. They live together in a small apartment in Cambridge, and they are reasonably happy together, and then Anna meets Leo. Leo is an artist, a free spirit, and Anna begins to lose herself in her relationship with Leo, losing herself so much that she often "forgets" Molly. This absentmindedness of Anna's costs her more than she could ever imagine, when her ex-husband, Brian, takes her to court for full custody of Molly.
The Good Mother is an excellent story and a must read for any mother, especially those who are separated or divorced.
... some of the sex was a bit graphic for me
... found The Good Mother very difficult to put down, and a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of Anna Dunlap." amazon review
reviewed The Good Mother on + 47 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This amazing book made me cry and to know a certain empathy as a mother
reviewed The Good Mother on + 66 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
One of those rare novels you live rather then just read.
lovescoffee avatar reviewed The Good Mother on + 50 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is only the second undamaged book I've ever thrown away. It was that bad.
reviewed The Good Mother on
Helpful Score: 1
Hhmmm. There is so no real believable motivation in this character. Why does she get a divorce? Why does she fall in love with the artist guy? It's just okay.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 50 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
a strong, touching, deeply believable exploration of a woman's emotional life''
JTG avatar reviewed The Good Mother on + 280 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
One of my favorite books!
reviewed The Good Mother on + 20 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent novel, kind of sad. Very well written.
holtzy avatar reviewed The Good Mother on + 48 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Deep, deep book, nothing is held back as far as details. Explicit book which delves into marriage, divorce, children of divorce and the issues one can encounter when dating after marriage. Children are very astute and should not be taken for granted or under estimated in their interpretation of situations in the family. This book was very well written and I'm glad I read it. Highly recommended.
reviewed The Good Mother on
This book was slow and really a disappointment. I kept reading it because it had parts that were promising, but it never delivered. I would not suggest it.
emeraldfire avatar reviewed The Good Mother on
Recently divorced, Anna Dunlop has two passionate attachments: Molly, her four-year-old daughter, and her lover, Leo, the man who has made her feel beautiful - and sexual - for the first time in a long, long time. Swept away by happiness and passion, Anna feels that she has everything she needs in her life. Almost blind to certain changes around her, Anna will soon find that these shocking changes will threaten her new love, her new "family" and will eventually force her to prove she is a good mother.

I am not entirely sure, but I think that I may have read this book many, many years ago. Some of the scenes in it seemed slightly familiar to me, but I don't think that my having read it before affected my rereading of the book too much - I still couldn't remember the ending of the story! :) I loved this book and give it top marks, even though I found the sex scenes in the book almost too graphic for me.

I understand that the book needed to be graphic to make the plot work, however I guess I was just not that used to having such scenes be so descriptive. I found this book to be well written and very engrossing though, and would certainly recommend this book to other readers. I give this book an A+! and look forward to reading more books by Sue Miller in the future.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 5 more book reviews
Book contained too many sexual innuendos - not what I expected. Didn't care for the ending - it left me feeling apathy for the mother.
reviewed The Good Mother on
Sue Miller is one of my favorite authors but this book is pretty dark.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 2 more book reviews
Sue Miller is an excellent writer. Her character studies are very precise.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 17 more book reviews
A wonderfully written book, that really keeps you thinking about what you would do in her situation.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 636 more book reviews
I didn't particularly like this one. I read it because it was mentioned on the cover of _Harvesting the Heart_, though I have two other books by this author that made no impression on me (to be honest, I think it was by mistake that I even had more than other one). On the surface, I can see why this can be seen as similar to Jodi Picoult's work - the family drama, the court case... but the characters (other than the little girl), were not very real or endearing. And while the ending was in depth - it still wasn't satisfying. Mostly, it felt like a book carrying a heavy-handed feminist slant that was barely masked in the plot. I wouldn't recommend this.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 68 more book reviews
What a page-turner!Anna Dunlap is newly divorced with a 4-year old daughter, Molly. The story examines her new life with Molly on her own. But when she meets Leo, she finds a love she's never known. He awakens her sensual self and they live an ideal loving life until her ex files charges for custody. The custody trial is tense and emotional. Will she have to give up her lover in order to keep her child? How far would you go to keep your child?
reviewed The Good Mother on + 41 more book reviews
This is a book I nevered finished in college. I could never get quite into it. I wonder if I could now that I'm a mother.
MKSbooklady avatar reviewed The Good Mother on + 933 more book reviews
Makes you wonder... interesting single parents,especially mothers should find this one interesting.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 187 more book reviews
Recently divorced Anna Sunlap has two passionate attrachments to her daughter four year old molly to her lover Leo the man who made her feel beautiful and sexual for the first time. They were a magical threesome a little drunk on happiness and passion Anna never expected the shocking chages that would threaten her new love her new family that would force her to prove she was a good mother
reviewed The Good Mother on + 8 more book reviews
To whom is a woman more deeply bound--the man she loves, or her own child? Made into a movie starring Diane Keaton and Liam Neeson.
reviewed The Good Mother on + 23 more book reviews
Recently devorced, Anna Dunlap had two passionate attachments; To her daughter and to her lover. She never expected the shocking changes that will threaten her love, her family, and force her to prove she was a good mother
TakingTime avatar reviewed The Good Mother on + 1072 more book reviews
to whom is a woman more deeply bound...the man she loves..or her won child...
reviewed The Good Mother on + 25 more book reviews
Recently divorced, Anna Dunlap had two passionate attachments: to her daughter, four-year-old Molly; to her lover, Leo, the man her made her feel beautiful - and sexual - for the first time. They were a magical threesome - a little drunk on happiness and passion. Anna never expected the shocking changes that would threaten her new love, her new "family" .... that would force her to prove that she was a "good mother".

(this was made into a movie with Liam Neeson)