Books and moms

Every year, between March and June - depending on your locale - one day is dedicated to THE mother. This tradition spread in most countries. As per usual my gift will consist in a book and another token of my appreciation. Some friends asked me for advice about book gifting so as per usual I will blabber for one or two paragraphs and then only share my recommendation.

My blabber of the day is inspired by my thoughts about the mother figure in literature. The mother's love and bound to her child (deep or inexistent) is quite a frequent topic in novels and memoirs. Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Cohen, Isabel Allende, Hervé Bazin - to quote only a few authors - dedicated a part of their work to the question. Some wrote about their mutual and ineffable love or lack of it - picturing fictional characters or themselves. Some depicted the difficulty and pain to have to say goodbye whether the relationship was nurturing (or not) and shared their realisation that once your parents are dead you really are a full-time adult. To me the best examples remain The Book of my Mother by Albert Cohen and A very easy death by Simone de Beauvoir. Classics. The first being an ode to his mother, the second deals with grief. Little FYI: The guilt score resulting from reading these books is around 12 out of 10.

Dry your tears, blow your nose and be attentive: here come the recommendations !

Basically your mother is well aware of what she did for you (sleepless nights, driving you to your activities, making sure you are healthy... the list goes on and on if you are lucky). Therefore she doesn't really need to read yet again about it. Unless you are sick of hearing her fighting like a teenager with your grandmother and want to pass a subtle message... (smooth, right ?)

1 - If your mother smothers you to the point that you still live in your childhood bedroom while employed and successful, I suggest the DVD of Black Swan and a copy of The general introduction of psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud but not without your comments in the margin and the best passages about the Oedipus complex highlighted. Just don't forget to follow up with a specialist.

2- If you simply want to give her a nice book with the word mom in the title I then recommend "Avec Maman" by Alban Orsini (translated in Spanish and German, I am not quite sure the English version exists yet). This book gathers whatsapp conversations the author actually had with his mother #fun.

Why will your mom like it ? Because if she downloaded whatsapp on her phone or has a touch screen, she will laugh at the memories of her struggles with technology and quite a few situations will look familiar. Why will you like it ? If she lends it to you, you will smile at the memories of the cute yet annoying and funny messages you received from mummy #they-say-it-will-rain-today-dont-forget-your-umbrella.

3- If you want to tell your mom you love her in a literary way but don't have the talent or the time to write a book about your relationship, one of the options is The letters to his mother written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry or of course and again the Book of my Mother by Albert Cohen.

4- Your mom loves literature and beautiful books ? Other option: treasures of literature adapted in a graphic version. Proust's In search of lost time, Mademoiselle Else by Arthur Schnitzler and some of Albert Camus' works are now available in the graphic version.

5 - Don't forget your mom was also a little girl and/or idealizes the time you were a kid: Find a copy of the book she liked the most as a little girl or the one she liked reading you the most. In the latter case, you can write your comments and memories on post-its and stick them to the pages (yes you should always go for the extra mile!).

Finally don't forget that it's her day ! So if your mother likes "airport literature" (the equivalent of elevator music for books), oblige and smile. Just browse for booksellers. And remember there are no bad books, only terrible writers.