Monday, October 7, 2013

Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman

Ehh.  This was good.  But I would have liked more details about Freud and what he thought and where it came from.  This book went deep into the mistress's thoughts, etc. which are clearly conjecture and very little into historical events, facts, and reality. 
It is interesting that Freud had a relationship with his sister-in-law.  She lived in their house for 40 years and helped his wife raise her 6 children.  The authors even make the claim that she had an abortion at some point.  However, I kind of hate when books try to re-write or create history for us. 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Murderer's Daughter by Randy Susan Meyers

This is a beautifully written book, with great characters and it is so difficult to read.  This is the story of Lulu and Merry.  When the girls are small, their dad kills their mother, slices Merry open, and then fails to kill himself.  He is sentenced to life in prison and the girls are sent to live with their maternal grandmother.  Upon her death, they are abandoned to the foster care system.  This book follows them as they grow up and try to build lives of their own, never losing sight that they are all each other has.  They both struggle with guilt and their complicated feelings for their father.  It was really really haunting and good but not for the faint at heart.