Book Review :: Like Mother, Like Mother

In Susan Rieger’s recent novel, Like Mother, Like Mother, three generations of women grapple with what it means to be a woman: wife, mother, and professional. Driven by aspirations beyond the home yet burdened by the poor role models they believe shaped their understanding of motherhood, they must decide whether to draw inspiration from the past or chart a new path forward.

Lila, the youngest of three siblings in a single-parent household, endures her abusive father’s wrath as his primary target. She grows up hearing a repeated story: her mother, Zelda, was institutionalized when Lila was very young and died while in the asylum. Now married, Lila reluctantly agrees to have children, but only on the condition that her husband, Joe, shoulders the bulk of the parenting responsibilities.

Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter, battles her own demons of abandonment. She wrestles with whether Lila’s brand of maternal love provided her with the tools to balance a fulfilling career and a meaningful home life.

Grace is further haunted by Zelda’s story, recognizing how Lila’s sense of abandonment by her mother might explain her approach to parenting. When Grace publishes a semi-autobiographical novel, “The Lost Daughter“, she inadvertently opens a Pandora’s box, inviting speculation into her family’s most protected secret.

Lila and Grace are richly developed, complex characters. The novel delves into a variety of familial relationships while examining the impact of education, wealth, religion, and even regional differences across the U.S. And many of the secondary characters – Joe’s mother Frances, Aunt Hilda, Lila’s brother Polo, and Ruth’s mother and grandmother to name a few – warrant their own analysis.

This novel combines the hallmarks of a multi-generational saga without feeling overly heavy. And whether read in solitude or discussed with others, Like Mother, Like Mother is thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining.

Book Club Discussion Questions

If you’re reading this as part of a book club, here are some questions to aid in your discussion. However, some of the questions include spoilers, so tread carefully if you haven’t read the book.

• Is Lila’s approach to motherhood justified, or does it come across as a copout?
• What are your thoughts on Grace’s book, The Lost Daughter? Do you think it’s a fair portrayal of her family? Toward the end, Grace expresses regret for writing it—do you believe her?
• Is there such a thing as a “good” mother in this novel? If so, who comes closest to embodying that role?
• Polo seems deeply affected by the home he was raised in. How did his upbringing shape him differently compared to Clara and Lila?
• What do you think of Zelda’s decision to leave? Was it fair to her children? What about to Dennis?
• Discuss Ruth as a foil to Grace. How do their differences illuminate key themes in the novel?
• Discuss the roles of siblings: Polo, Clara, Lila; Stella, Ava, Grace; Dennis, Heidi.

I was provided an Advance Reader Copy of Like Mother, Like Mother by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Like Mother, Like Mother became available on Oct. 28, 2024.