Things My Mother Never Told Me

The impact of Blake Morrison's memoir And When Did You Last See Your Father was considerable: in prose that combined lucidity and beauty with uncompromising honesty, Morrison granted the reader an insight into a family drama quite unlike anything we had encountered before--a virtual classic of literature about the family. In that book, Morrison's mother was presented as a shadowy, usually silent figure; in Things My Mother Never Told Me, we are given her story, and it's every bit as fascinating as anything in the earlier book. As before, the central themes of the new book concern secrets, and the slow unfolding of an (often painful) truth. Morrison's mother kept many things from him--not least the fact that she never told him that before becoming Kim Morrison, she had previously been Agnes O'Shea, daughter of sizeable Irish family. Morrison tells us he was only vaguely aware of his Irish relations--but that was only one of the many revelations awaiting him.

As he set out to find the facts behind this deceptively quiet Kerry girl who had worked as a doctor in Forties Dublin (and subsequently in British hospitals during the war), he discovered that she had totally reinvented her personality. But the seemingly conventional housewife and mother she had elected to become was only part of the story. We are told of an all-consuming love affair during the war; we are given a strong and vivid portrait of everyday life in the hospitals and RAF training camps of the period (where Morrison's father told the pilots of the dangers of venereal disease); and (most of all) we are taken into the world of a remarkable woman; Kim Morrison is an unsung heroine of a time increasingly distant from our own world.

Whatever our own relationships with our parents, it's impossible to avoid identifying with Morrison's candid and carefully structured memoir; the graceful prose involves us ever more in a narrative that has all the grip of a superior piece of fiction.--Barry Forshaw

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Good enough for me to want to read about his father - Rated
My wife bought me this book on the basis that Tony Parsons is quoted on the front cover "The must read book of the year" I have always enjoyed Tony Parsons books so it was a logical purchase.

I have to say I really struggled with the first 100 pages and it took two or three attempts to get into the book - separated by months.

I did eventually get into the book and whilst I didn't find it a great read - I am interested enough to buy the book about his father if that is recommendation enough.

It is worth the effort to get into it.

Excellence in a couple of hundred pages - Rated
The scene opens up in the chaos of World War II, Blake Morrison didnt know that his mother was keeping secrets from him...When she died, he discovered numerous letters written between his mother and father. Frankly, they were not at all what he had expected! Blake discovers that his parents relationship was difficult and that his mother changed a lot during that time. His mother changed her name firstly and then her religion! The whole story revolves around Blake and how he went onto discover the truth about his mother and father...and some other characters...It is a page turner, the reader wants to read on and on, never stopping, it is a classic book, but sometimes gets boring. Overall, it deserves a round of applause!

Superb - Rated
I was absorbed by this book. It is a love story on two levels; the first being the tale of the author's parents, and the second (and most touching) being the love between a mother and son. Mr Morrison is very honest in this book, it must have been painful for him to write and I found it a poignant read. I have ordered his book "And when did you last see your father" and am looking forward to reading it soon.