Velvet Spring

We rated this book:

$9.95


Velvet Spring by Dede Reed describes the touching, enduring link between mothers and daughters over the span of decades, across countries. Reed’s portrayal encapsulates the monumental, lasting imprint mothers and daughters leave on each other’s souls despite distance, time, and direct bloodline. Velvet Spring captures the inadvertent way some women become mothers as well as how some daughters find themselves seeking their mothers. Some mothers develop like Uršula, who adopted her daughter, and disclose, “At your first cry, I did not want you…After I softened. I would care for you. For a day, a week, forever.” Whereas other mothers, such as Maria, fall in love at first sight, expressing, “You’d gaze up at me, and I of course could not stop looking at you. Those first few days, the following weeks, the next months are memories I’ve sealed up perfectly like a winter scene in a globe that I need only rotate in my hand and feelings like snow.” Reed’s description thoughtfully demonstrates how mothers evolve in their own way in spite of intention and expectations. Not all women deliberately elect for or willingly relinquish the role of motherhood, as demonstrated in Reed’s work. Life’s unexpected twists and turns complicate and pleasantly surprise these relationships. These unpredictable circumstances leave a lasting imprint on daughters that they carry throughout life. Moreover, Velvet Spring considers how daughters long for and mimic their mothers. This simulation surfaces in the daughters’ care of their homes as well as their expressive artistry. Readers will lovingly appreciate the longing some daughters feel for their mothers. To fondly lament, “I can’t explain that I am looking for you in those paintings, and sometimes even begin to imagine you coming out of the woods, or walking through fields or sitting by the river.” Reed’s poetic language exceptionally captures the tenderness of mother-daughter relationships. To round out the work, Reed aptly merges attention-grabbing historical, geographic, and artistic elements that will intrigue and enchant readers. Incorporating the cityscapes and landscapes of several countries, Reed paints an elegant picture as the backdrop of this novel. Perfect for those young and old, Velvet Spring encapsulates a beautiful work that readers will return to again and again over the years, each time gaining new insight into maternal and familial relationships.


Reviewed By:

Author Dede Reed
Star Count /5
Format Trade
Page Count 226 pages
Publisher CreateSpace
Publish Date 2017-Oct-30
ISBN 9781977763402
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue February 2018
Category Modern Literature
Share

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Velvet Spring”