The Mistress's Daughter

A Memoir

By: A.M. Homes

Narrated by: Jane Adams

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The "fierce and eloquent" (New York Times) memoir from A.M Homes, award-winning author of May We Be Forgiven and the forthcoming novel The Unfolding

The acclaimed writer A. M. Homes was given up for adoption before she was born. Her biological mother was a twenty-two-year-old single woman who was having an affair with a much older married man with a family of his own. The Mistress's Daughter is the ruthlessly honest account of what happened when, thirty years later, her birth parents came looking for her. Homes relates how they initially made contact and what happened afterwards, and digs through the family history of both sets of her parents in a twenty-first-century electronic search for self. Daring, heartbreaking, and startlingly funny, Homes's memoir is a brave and profoundly moving consideration of identity and family.

"A compelling, devastating, and furiously good book written with an honesty few of us would risk."—Zadie Smith

"I fell in love with it from the first page and read compulsively to the end."—Amy Tan

©2007 A.M. Homes (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and Books on Tape. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"A compelling, devastating, and furiously good book written with an honesty few of us would risk." (Zadie Smith)

"Fierce and eloquent." (The New York Times Book Review)

"As startling and riveting as her fiction...a lacerating memoir in which the formerly powerless child triumphs with the help of a mighty pen." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Ancestry buffs and adoptees will like it, but...

Great story...right up until the author started detailing, in excruciatingly minute details, her family ancestor quest. Yawn. Perhaps this is very interesting to people who are ancestry buffs, but I found my mind wandering to what I have next up on my "Wish List". Too bad, really, because otherwise the story was riveting right up to that point in the book. I was also put off a bit by the lackluster narration at the beginning.

I enjoyed this book

Where does The Mistress's Daughter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I was looking for a memoir like this, an author who's able to explore questions about one's history that aren't really answerable, in order to talk about the pain of being rejected by a parent. This narrator was easier to listen to than the last two audiobooks I've listened to, I appreciated the fact that she sounds conversational rather than crisp and robotic like some. There was one place where she mentioned two relatives going to concentration camps in an almost upbeat way, though-- now that was weird!

What did you like best about this story?

This story was very honest, though this is a person who uses her intellect to distance herself from her raw feelings at times. The writing is skillful, at times repetitive, frustrating to be left with the author's unanswered questions. But she throws a lifeline to anyone who was adopted or who was rejected by a parent, creating an experience of understanding and empathy for the subject of her novel (her discovery of her birth parents), her honesty about the pain of this experience is expressed with subtlety and finesse.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Poor casting for a great story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have chosen another narrator. I've liked Jane Adams's performances in films, but she can't read aloud to save herself. Often I had the feeling that she was seeing the text for the first time, and she didn't always seem to know where to put emphasis. It was like those excruciating moments in grade school when the weakest student was asked to read aloud from the text book. Adams's poor reading was often so distracting that I had trouble following the story. I'm really surprised the author okay'd this choice of narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is superb. It's just too bad it was not read by a better narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

Recasting narrator.

Vocal fry!

The story was very interesting but the vocal fry of the narrator was so aggravating to listen to. It’s bad enough to have to hear from so many adolescent girls these days, I can’t believe I paid money to listen to it! It was like fingernails on a chalkboard!

Craziness (more or less) under control

A. M. Homes is clearly a mess, as she is glad to show us over and over again. In that way she is normal. But she is also a master story teller with a fine story—about herself. But she does not have have the sense to stop writing when the story ends. I enjoyed the first half of the book, but didn't bother with the second half.

Fair

Best when she is wry instead of bitter, though she is sour as often as she is thoughtful. A bit one-sided.

Great....but

The first 3 chapters were great. Chapters 4 and 5 were hard to get through......between so much geneology I was bored and endless questions from a deposition, I had to fast-forward.

Overall, though, it was worth listening to and kept me wondering what was next. A great story for adoptees or families who have adopted.

Zero emotion in this book....which is very strange

What disappointed you about The Mistress's Daughter?

There really was no story to tell. Like the author wrote a book for the sake of writing a book. No caring or feeling in this one.

Has The Mistress's Daughter turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, not at all.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Very monotone and cold

A journey worth taking!

I found this story compelling and worth the journey. Those who stated that they did not listen to the second half missed out! I will admit that I found myself "zoning out" in a few places and being reminded of the book of Numbers a couple of times. However, I believe this was an important aspect of Ms. Homes' journey and helped her immensely to heal. I love that she comes full circle in the end. I was so worried about her throughout! I am happy that she has realized what really matters! I did not find the narrator annoying or monotone. I actually enjoyed listening to Jane Adams. I thought she was very appropriate for this type of reading.

adoptee journey

AM homes captures the roller coaster that is adoptee reunion; the good, the bad, and the ugly. if you listen closely, you can watch her feelnigs towards her birth mother transform. it lagged a big at the end, when she discusses her adoptive parents geneology. but she wraps it up nicely