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A review by novelvisits
Mother Daughter Widow Wife by Robin Wasserman
2.0
Note: I received a copy of this book from Scribner (in print and via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest thoughts.
I loved Robin Wasserman’s adult debut, Girls on Fire (my review), so was incredibly excited to read
Mother Daughter Widow Wife. This is the story of a woman who many years ago vanished and in a psychiatric hospital with no memories of who she was. While there, the head doctor and his protege took a keen interest in her case. Almost 20 years later, the same woman vanishes from her life again and her daughter sets out, determined to uncover what happened. For me, Mother Daughter Widow Wife had a great/interesting premise and well-developed characters, but was missing the edge I expected. At times the story got mired down in too much science and clever parallels between fugue states and musical fugues. I’d have liked to have had more emphasis on the daughter and the missing woman, instead of the protege, Elizabeth, who I found to be surprisingly pathetic. I know Wasserman can write vivid strong characters, but for me they just didn’t shine here.
I loved Robin Wasserman’s adult debut, Girls on Fire (my review), so was incredibly excited to read
Mother Daughter Widow Wife. This is the story of a woman who many years ago vanished and in a psychiatric hospital with no memories of who she was. While there, the head doctor and his protege took a keen interest in her case. Almost 20 years later, the same woman vanishes from her life again and her daughter sets out, determined to uncover what happened. For me, Mother Daughter Widow Wife had a great/interesting premise and well-developed characters, but was missing the edge I expected. At times the story got mired down in too much science and clever parallels between fugue states and musical fugues. I’d have liked to have had more emphasis on the daughter and the missing woman, instead of the protege, Elizabeth, who I found to be surprisingly pathetic. I know Wasserman can write vivid strong characters, but for me they just didn’t shine here.