East Indian American women - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Divorced mothers - Fiction; Dreams - Fiction; California - Fiction; India - Fiction
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni discusses her novel, “Queen of Dreams.” She begins by explaining that the book is about a woman who finds out that her dead mother was a dream interpreter. She discusses the girl's close relationship with her...
Families - Fiction;
Mothers and daughters - Fiction;
Parent and adult child - Fiction
Rhea Kohan discusses her book, “Hand-Me-Downs.” She begins by explaining that her book is about four generations of women who bond through parenting and family instincts. She talks about her relationship with her own family and her mother’s...
Nina Vida discusses her novel, “Scam.” She begins by explaining that her book is about people who are involved in an equity funding scam. She talks the importance of mother-daughter relationships to her novel. She describes rare book thieves...
African American families - Fiction;
African American women - Fiction;
Mothers and daughters - Fiction;
Cane River Region (La.) - Fiction;
Louisiana - Fiction
Lalita Tademy discusses her novel, “Cane River.” She begins by explaining that her book is based on the story of her ancestors who were enslaved in Louisiana. She talks about the different generations of women who were all raised in the same...
Families - Fiction; Mothers - Death - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction
Eliza Minot discusses her book, “The Tiny One.” She explains that the novel follows the story of eight-year-old Via Mahoney Revere. When Via’s mother dies unexpectedly in a violent car crash, Via struggles with her grief. She is confused by...
Women murderers - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Foster children - Fiction; Young women - Fiction
Janet Fitch discusses her book, “White Oleander.” She explains that the book follows the protagonist, Astrid, who is the only child of a single mother. Ingrid, Astrid’s mother is an eccentric poet who murders a man for rejecting her. The...
Florida - Fiction; Saudi Arabians - United States - Fiction; Sex-oriented businesses - Fiction; Life change events - Fiction; Older women - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Stripteasers - Fiction
Andre Dubus discusses his book, “The Garden of Last Days.” He begins by discussing the central character of the book, April. April is a single mother who works in a strip club to support her and her daughter. The plot thickens when April...
Chinese American families - Fiction; Chinese Americans - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; California - Fiction; China - Fiction
Amy Tan discusses her book, “The Kitchen God’s Wife.” Tan talks about the mother, daughter, and aunt characters in the book. She goes on to describe the mother’s abusive husband and the hardships women face when trying to leave abusive...
World War, 1914-1918 - Turkey - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Plantation life - Fiction; Women - Turkey - Fiction; Silk industry - Fiction; Dwellings - Fiction; Turkey - Fiction
Alev Lytle Croutier discusses her book, “Seven Houses.” She begins by discussing the plot of the novel, which is set against the backdrop of twentieth century Turkey. The book tells the story of the Ipekci silk-making family that begins during...
Short stories; Children - Fiction; Mother and child - Fiction; Mothers - Death - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction
Julie Orringer discusses her book, “How to Breathe Underwater.” She begins by explaining how she gradually wrote this collection of short stories over the span of several years. She provides background information on her Jewish upbringing and...
Guevara, Ernesto, 1928-1967 - Fiction; Cuban American women - Fiction; Illegitimate children - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Americans - Cuba - Fiction; Revolutionaries - Fiction; Women - Cuba - Fiction; Birthmothers - Fiction; Miami...
Ana Menéndez discusses her novel, “Loving Che.” She begins by describing the use of photography in her book to give the story a non-fiction quality. She explains that “Loving Che” is about a young girl in Miami who wants to get to know...
Korean American families - Fiction; Korean American women - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Single women - Fiction; Young women - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Caroline Hwang discusses her novel, “Love in Bloom.” She begins by introducing her character: a Korean American fashion intern whose over-bearing mother decides to move in until she can find a husband. Hwang talks about writing for the...
Women in the advertising industry - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Mentally ill women - Fiction; Missing persons - Fiction; Chagrin Falls (Ohio) - Fiction; South Africa - Fiction
Lynette Brasfield discusses her book, “Nature Lessons.” She begins by talking about how her novel is a mix between a mystery and a memoir. She describes what it was like growing up in South Africa and how her mother was constantly paranoid...
Students, Foreign - Northern Ireland - Fiction; Upper West Side (New York, N.Y.) - Fiction; Americans - Northern Ireland - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Protest movements - Fiction; Northern Ireland - Fiction; Hunger strikes - Fiction
Mary Gordon discusses her book, “Pearl.” Martinson sets up the conversation by talking about a scene from the book in which a mother is notified that her daughter is on a hunger and water strike. Gordon then goes on to ask how does a mother...
African American women - Fiction; African American businesspeople - Fiction; African American business enterprises - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Cosmetics industry - Fiction; Betrayal - Fiction
Bebe Moore Campbell discusses her novel, “What You Owe Me.” She explains that her book begins in 1948 when an African American woman befriends a European Jew. The two women go into a cosmetic business together until one betrays the other. ...
Young women - Fiction; Victims of crimes - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Nurses - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction; Philippines - Fiction
Vendela Vida discusses her novel, “And Now You Can Go.” Martinson asks Vida to read a passage from the book about a man who holds a woman at gunpoint in a park. She discusses how she had initially written a much different book, but edited out...
Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Jewish women - Fiction
Erica Jong discusses her book, “Inventing Memory: A Novel of Mothers and Daughters.” Jong tells the stories of four generations of Jewish women in America. Sarah, the matriarch, is born in Russia and comes to the United States and works as a...
Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Women novelists - Fiction; Ireland - Fiction
Edna O’Brien discusses her book, “The Light of Evening.” She talks about Ireland’s fertility and her relationship with her mother and the influence of writing and literature in her life. O’Brien also discusses the impact of success on a...
