Mothers, Tell Your Daughters

I don't often read short story collections, but generally enjoy them when I do.  Bonnie Campbell's book, Mothers, Tell Your Daughters is my most recent experience with short stories, and just reinforces the fact that I should read them more often.

Campbell's stories center around women- women who often have been dealt a tough hand in life.  From drinking, abusive men, unwanted pregnancy, and struggling to get by, these women have all had their share of challenges. Campbell does a great job representing the lives of financially challenged women in rural America.

Because I'm not someone with a great deal of experience in short story reading, I'm never sure if a book like this is meant to be devoured in one sitting, or read and savored more slowly, one story at a time.

Typically I read books quickly, and this was no exception. The one problem in this case was that many of Campbell's stories were similar, and felt a little repetitive.  This didn't cause me lose interest and the stories continued to be enjoyable, but I am wondering if I would have liked them even more if I read one each night before bed instead of devouring the entire collection in one afternoon.

Mothers, Tell Your Daughters is a great story collection that won't disappoint readers and reaffirms my experience with this genre.