Customer Reviews (1)

Lovely story, excellent writing
I loved this book. It is the story of a woman who moves to the Gulf Islands (off the coast of British Columbia) with her two little girls. She is a writer, a mother, a woman separated from her husband and dealing with jealousies, past memories, and all the emotional baggage of a marriage that has gone sour. Audrey Thomas writes beautifully of the surroundings, the quiet pleasures of island life, as well as therelationships with a few of her women friends who prove to be less than trustworthy. Thomas does an excellent job conveying the pretentiousness
and hypocrissy of so-called artists and intellectuals. Her main character was a woman I genuinely liked.
Audrey Thomas is, in my opinion, a highly underrated Canadian author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Songs My Mother Taught Me
I first read this memorable book when I was in high school.Twenty years later I found myself recommending it to my daughters.Songs My Mother Taught Me is a coming of age story about the manner in which a young woman comes to terms with herself and her relationships with her remarkably disfunctional (fearful and angry) parents.In doing so she draws strength, maturity, and perspective from both expected and unexpected sources: a caring, albeit excentric grandfather, a summer love, and the staff and inmates of an institution for the insane.

The passionate emotions of this story are Thomas's trademark
Songs My Mother Taught Me is a heart-warming account of a young girl's relationship with a mother she never really knew nor took the time to care about. The author recounts the story as a fond recollection of her youth and the interactions and friction amongst the members of her family. She is especially concise and sometimes even bitter towards the sister character in the book. Yet these real-life human qualites which Thomas gives to her characters are what keep her readers interested and dedicated to following her work. A true delight ... Read more

Product Description
This collection contains 13 short stories. The title story deals with a woman in a hotel bar contemplating leaving her husband because of his treatment of their shy, somewhat clumsy daughter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Incredibly real stories reverberating with Canadian context
When I read this book I was astounded!It was the first time I read about women in Canada that had a realistic feel without any stereotypical canadiana themes.The various short stories portray people with whom the reader can identify because they are presented as women dealing with many of the problems our society presents today, like divorce and its ramifications.The heroines are usual everyday people dealing with family, children and emotions in a courageous manner without becoming melodramatic caricatures.This was the first book I read where I identified with the female characters!! I highly reccomend this and all books by Audrey Thomas. ... Read more