I am ashamed to say it has taken me until the ripe old age of 22 to read a book by Maya Angelou. I'm not entirely sure why I've been waiting, if indeed I have even been doing so consciously. I could have told you quotes by the great lady all without having ever picked up one of her pieces of works, which is demonstrative of just how large an impact she had on our world. But I decided it was time to rectify the fact I could quote her without having read her, and I am extremely glad I did.

Mom & Me & Mom was chosen for no other reason that it was the first book penned by Angelou that I saw in my local library. It was gripping and informative, especially as someone who was relatively unaware of Angelou's early life. I read reviews which claimed that at times, Mom & Me & Mom contradicted earlier stories told in the incredibly acclaimed I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings but to me that is neither here nor there.

 

I love relationships between mothers and daughters, my bias being that I am a daughter to the most amazing mother. Parent-child relationships intrigue me anyway, as a writer especially, but since I cannot comment on mother-son relationships given my gender, I think my bias should be okay. For the first third of the memoir at the very least, Vivian Baxter felt alien to me. Angelou writes well and paints a clear enough picture of her mother, but she remained aloof in my imagination. I simply could not peg her down, perhaps because she differs on such a large scale to any type of mothering I have known. By the end of the memoir, I believed in her entirely.

 

What I found most interesting during this read, was Maya's ability to carry on moving forward. We all have set backs and difficult times in life, though I am thankful mine pale in comparison to what lies between the front and back cover of this book. It had me questioning what I would do in this situation or that situation, and though I know I would not have made some of the same decisions as Angelou, I can understand the motives behind them. It also got me thinking: how would I have coped having Vivian Baxter as my mother? I came to the conclusion that I probably wouldn't be the same person I am today, which is neither a positive or a negative thing. In no way is this a reflection on Baxter or Angelou, but there is nothing in this world that would make me swap my mother (or my father or brother) for anything.

 

Mom & Me & Mom is certainly a book worth reading. As is customary with Angelou, much of it is quotable and much of it is worth retaining to memory. It is an educational read and Chapter 22 will hold great significance for me from now on. It involves an important life lesson that I hope to teach to my own daughter, should I be bestowed with one in the future. Maya turns to a male friend in her time of need, who calmly tells her to write down her blessings. It becomes, for me anyway, a slightly religious activity but I think it would work just as well for anyone. He tells her to write down all the things for which we should be grateful; being able to hear, to see, to write. These are the things we lose sight of when we doubt our own abilities and what we must hang onto when the world tries to wreak havoc in our lives. 

 

Since the entire chapter was too large to be quoted, I have instead selected a small phrase that I just really liked the sound of .

 

 

I thought it was beautifully and shows how the relationship between mother and daughter is simultaneously extremely organic but requires immense give and take. I have relied on both my parents for gigantic sources of strength over recent years and though I have no idea where they found it, I'm determined to keep it.

I first came across Kate Atkinson way back when I was in Year 13 and studying my English Lit A-Level. One of the texts we were assigned was Behind the Scenes at the Museum which I liked but never raved about. In comparison to The Color Purple it was an easy read, put it that way. Then I left for uni and never really thought much more about Atkinson until I stumbled across her book Started Early, Took my Dog which, I'll be honest, mostly appealed to me because I was writing my dissertation at the time and needed dog-related fiction.

So when I picked up Case Studies and found out it contained the same central character - Jackson Brodie - as Started Early, I knew two things. One, I'd probably enjoy it and two, I had most definitely read these books in the wrong order. Not that it mattered, really, and when have I ever been one to conform?

Atkinson is a stealthy writer, she drops plot bombs that knock you side wards but leaves just enough clues in her wake. Not that I usually pick up on them until my second reading of any of her books, but I like that. Nothing is worth doing if it comes so terribly easy. Or at least nothing worth talking about it. Case Studies, like much of Atkinson's work, has a historical feel to it. History and literature are two of my favourite things so I am never surprised when people suggest her work to me. There are so many characters I'd probably struggle to list them all but they all contribute with equal quality, if not quantity, and are so tangible in the surrealist sense.

I like Jackson Brodie and that always helps. Sometimes I love reading a character I dislike because it means the writing is good and having the desired effect. Brodie is, for the most part, a decent man and when the world can sometimes seem bereft of these, it's enjoyable to read one written so well. Brodie is, in a sense, the stone at the centre of the ripple. It is his services that are required by most and he some how knots everyone else together, in the most bizarre way. Case Studies is worth reading just to see how this impossible jigsaw even fits together.

I have started selecting and collecting my favourite lines or passages from everything I read. It was hard to pick just one from Atkinson's rich word count but I settled for a sentence packed of vividly visible description right near the start of the novel.

It is a sentence that could be so easily overlooked but one which evoked great sentiment in me. I have spent many a summer day sprawled out on the grass, a book in one hand and a dog asking for its ears to be tickled occupying the other. I sometimes wonder if I've ever been happier.

Jade x