This one was a page turner. The story of all of us in suburbia who hide behind our well kept little houses, afraid to show our real, broken selves to others. The Richardson family looks successful, but each member has hidden parts of themselves from the rest of the family, probably to maintain the equilibrium that has been established. Each of the four teenagers finds an openness in Mia, the wandering artist, that draws them in. They feel loved and accepted for who they are, as opposed to the somewhat conditional love that their mother gives. Elena Richardson has lost her way since her college days, and has settled...forgetting her dreams. She too along with her kids, recognizes that Mia marches to a different drumbeat. Mia does not feel pressured to live like the others in Shaker Heights. She repurposes, lives simply, and seems to take a day at a time; not anxious for the future. It makes Elena suspicious...and perhaps on a deeper level, jealous.
The theme of motherhood runs throughout the story: Mia's deep love for her daughter, Pearl; the tight bond between birth mother Bebe and her child Mirabelle that causes her to kidnap the child from the foster family & steal her away to China; and Elena's deep anguish at her daughter, Izzy's departure --thus vowing to go to any lengths to find her. These are the things that mothers can identify with as this story unfolds. Perhaps this is what finally brings Mia full circle...her secret past that is finally shared with Pearl: that she, Mia, was a runaway pregnant daughter whose mother deeply disapproved. Maybe, just maybe, Mia can finally forgive and empathize with the sorrow of her mother, who had "lost" both of her kids. I am hopeful that Mia found her way home.
No comments:
Post a Comment