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| Plot Summary of MotherKind |
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"Kate is having a baby, and her mother is dying. These two powerful currents come to define the life of this New England poet. Unable to live alone any longer in the late stages of her cancer, the elder Katherine comes to live with Kate, her boyfriend Matthew whose divorce is not yet final, and the baby Alexander, or Tate as his mother calls him. The intergenerational relations form the framework for the story.
As the story progresses, Kate struggles to form lasting relationships with Matthew's two children from his prior relationship, bonds with her nineteen year old nanny, Amy, who herself becomes pregnant and leaves the job, and faces a cancer scare of her own. Through interwoven flashbacks, the author shows the development of Kate's relationship to her mother: her rebellion and her return are neatly encapsulated, and there are echoes and suggestions of a shameful past.
This novel is primarily a character study of a new mother trying to come to terms with her dual roles of caretaker for her new child and for her new mother, roles which largely consume her."
Melissa Rachiele, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of MotherKind |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Mother (or standin)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- teacher
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- physically sick
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Unusual Style:
- a lot of play on words
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Jayne Anne Phillips Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Melissa Rachiele
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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