Between a Mother and her Child
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Product Description
Product Description
For Maggie and Bill it was love at first sight . . .
One impulsive wedding later and with the arrival of three perfect children, Jake, Aly and Stan, the Barrett family seem to have it all. Until the day their world stops turning.
When Jake dies suddenly, they're swept away on a tide of grief that fractures Maggie and Bill's marriage. She and the children are left clinging to the wreckage of their family. And they need help, because in her grief Maggie is in danger of losing Aly and Stan too.
Enter Kate, housekeeper, companion and shoulder to cry on. She's here to pick up the pieces and fix what isn't completely broken. But can Maggie trust Kate? And why is Kate so keen to help?
When Bill falls for another woman, Maggie realizes she will have to fight to put her family back together - but will they still want her?
About the Author
Elizabeth Noble lives in New York with her husband and two daughters. She has written six previous novels, The Reading Group, The Friendship Test, Alphabet Weekends, Things I Want My Daughters to Know,The Girl Next Door and The Way We Were, five of which were Sunday Times bestsellers, with The Reading Group reaching Number One.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I loved this book and I often find womens fiction to be dull, unrealistic or plain boring....so I don't often venture into it these days.
This book however was completely different, based on normal people, a normal family who have been struck by a real life tragedy. I loved the characters and could relate to them all, I felt like I knew Maggie! It is not an exciting story full of far fetched romance, scandal or intrigue, but it was REAL....a story that could have been almost autobiographical about someone. I was gripped and I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Maggie and Liv.....so much like my own with my sister.
This book is cleverly written with a gentle tear jerking storyline that I didn't want to end and was the best book I have read in the past year.
This book however was completely different, based on normal people, a normal family who have been struck by a real life tragedy. I loved the characters and could relate to them all, I felt like I knew Maggie! It is not an exciting story full of far fetched romance, scandal or intrigue, but it was REAL....a story that could have been almost autobiographical about someone. I was gripped and I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Maggie and Liv.....so much like my own with my sister.
This book is cleverly written with a gentle tear jerking storyline that I didn't want to end and was the best book I have read in the past year.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I know some folk found this book rather cold, but I have to say it engaged me practically from the start. I really appreciated getting to know each of the main characters as the book progressed. Sometimes, I felt puzzled by a character's action or reaction, but then that person would get a section to him/herself & all would be explained. I believe that the people in this book reacted in a normal & understandable way to the death of a son/brother/nephew: it rang true. I didn't feel it was forced or contrived. I thought it was very moving: I felt sad at the break-up of Maggie & Bill's marriage; wanted to hug Aly, their teenager daughter, although sometimes did also feel like shaking her & telling her to express all those bottled-up feelings; loved Stan's character, their young rather hyperactive son with some special needs; & was full of admiration for Maggie's sister, Liv, for all the unconditional love she showed toward her. The only turn of plot I found quite difficult to totally swallow was the sudden appearance & moving in & total acceptance by all the characters of Kate. Even so, though, I found her to be a sympathetic & very likeable person, needy I suppose, but in a selfless way. The only other negative I'll aim at this book is that it could probably have been trimmed to allow the action to flow better. It is a long book. But, apart from those couple of niggles, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, & will read more of Elizabeth Noble's work.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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Between a Mother and Her Child has proven popular among other reviewers, so it was with some surprise that I found myself disliking this novel. I think much of my disappointment was due to my expectations of what sort of story this would be. I was anticipating a subtle and tender exploration of a mother's journey through grief following the death of her son, but what I got is what I can only describe as a middle-class soap opera in a book.
The story follows single mother Maggie as she struggles to maintain a positive environment for her two children following the unexpected death of her eldest son, Jake. The writing lacks any beauty or musicality and is little more than a bloodless description of the day to day lives of a number of rather unsympathetic characters. I'm by no means somebody who requires constant action and intrigue to hold their attention, but there are certain books which bring out the meaningfulness in the mundane and Between a Mother and her Child is sadly not one of them. There are multiple descriptions of precisely how Maggie's ex-husband's greying hair falls across his still-attractive face, how sex is no longer a pleasure, and an entire chapter explicating Maggie's various emotions as she watches her surviving son deal with dyslexia.
Throughout the book, in fact, the emotions of the characters are dissected as much as possible. Their anger, their grief, their confusion, their guilt, every quickened pulse and nervous twitch is pounced upon and then presented in grisly detail to the reader. The problem is that I as the reader did not feel any of these emotions along with the characters. Of course Maggie will be overcome with grief, of course Jake's surviving siblings will feel confusion and anxiety, but when each and every instance of emotion is thrust immediately into your face with a paragraph and a half of self-indulgent text to go with it, the emotional impact is dulled. Rather than create believable and complex characters with whom the reader might sympathise, Elizabeth Noble has hung up a family of blank canvases and invented some emotions to go with them. For me, every character in this book had more or less the same personality (or lack thereof) and, for such a sensitive and emotional subject, I was left utterly cold. Elizabeth Noble told me what the characters were feeling and I just had to take her word for it.
I made it about halfway through this novel before tiring of the wooden prose, the unconvincing romantic liaisons and the pointless descriptions of Maggie's latest art project. Please don't buy this novel if you're looking for a story with any real substance. In my mind a book of this nature should be poignant and sensitively crafted, but Between a Mother and her Child seems to be more of an excuse to publish a rather tasteless summer read than a brave attempt to tackle a very difficult subject matter which many parents can relate to.
The story follows single mother Maggie as she struggles to maintain a positive environment for her two children following the unexpected death of her eldest son, Jake. The writing lacks any beauty or musicality and is little more than a bloodless description of the day to day lives of a number of rather unsympathetic characters. I'm by no means somebody who requires constant action and intrigue to hold their attention, but there are certain books which bring out the meaningfulness in the mundane and Between a Mother and her Child is sadly not one of them. There are multiple descriptions of precisely how Maggie's ex-husband's greying hair falls across his still-attractive face, how sex is no longer a pleasure, and an entire chapter explicating Maggie's various emotions as she watches her surviving son deal with dyslexia.
Throughout the book, in fact, the emotions of the characters are dissected as much as possible. Their anger, their grief, their confusion, their guilt, every quickened pulse and nervous twitch is pounced upon and then presented in grisly detail to the reader. The problem is that I as the reader did not feel any of these emotions along with the characters. Of course Maggie will be overcome with grief, of course Jake's surviving siblings will feel confusion and anxiety, but when each and every instance of emotion is thrust immediately into your face with a paragraph and a half of self-indulgent text to go with it, the emotional impact is dulled. Rather than create believable and complex characters with whom the reader might sympathise, Elizabeth Noble has hung up a family of blank canvases and invented some emotions to go with them. For me, every character in this book had more or less the same personality (or lack thereof) and, for such a sensitive and emotional subject, I was left utterly cold. Elizabeth Noble told me what the characters were feeling and I just had to take her word for it.
I made it about halfway through this novel before tiring of the wooden prose, the unconvincing romantic liaisons and the pointless descriptions of Maggie's latest art project. Please don't buy this novel if you're looking for a story with any real substance. In my mind a book of this nature should be poignant and sensitively crafted, but Between a Mother and her Child seems to be more of an excuse to publish a rather tasteless summer read than a brave attempt to tackle a very difficult subject matter which many parents can relate to.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Overwhelming ordinaryness
This is a novel so grossly padded out with uninteresting description , that I found it almost impossible to get to grips with it. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Prof TBun
Well told, tragic tale
A modern novel, following the ups and downs of the lives of Maggie and Bill.
Their son dies in a tragic accident, and the story then follows the downward spiral of all... Read more
Their son dies in a tragic accident, and the story then follows the downward spiral of all... Read more
Published 14 days ago by M. R. N. Shackelford
Another good read from Noble
While reading this book I could imagine it happening to other people too - a real believable story that will tug heartstrings everywhere! Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. A. Broadhurst
Her best yet!
Between a Mother and her Child is Elizabeth Noble's seventh book and I think it is her best so far. Maggie and Bill's world is torn apart when their teenage son Jake is killed in a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dot
A mother's struggle with grief and coping with family life
Although I'd read a couple of Elizabeth Noble's earlier novels, I have to confess that I haven't read her last 3 as for some reason they did not appeal to me. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Shaz's Book Blog
Brilliant!
Another brilliant read from Elizabeth Noble. She manages to get you to love the characters and feel passionately about what happens to them. I really didn't want to put it down. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sweetie Pie
A real tear jerker
Maggie is Australian and meets Bill when he is on his gap year. when she finds she is pregnant they marry although they are both too young. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. C. A. Troops
Ordinary lives
This is a modern slice-of-life novel centred on a family. Maggie is still mourning the death of her son and the consequent break-down of her marriage. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Roman Clodia
between a mother and her child by elizabeth noble
Between a Mother and her Child
I have just finished reading this book which I found compelling reading from the first page to the last. Read more
I have just finished reading this book which I found compelling reading from the first page to the last. Read more
Published 1 month ago by jofromoz
A poignant story
A well told poignant story. The characters all believable and likable but not perfect. Real people, in a real situation written thoughtfully.
Published 1 month ago by Herbie Green
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