THE BOOK FAIR

Review:

The story of a young woman’s struggle to contend with her unhappy mother who habitual dominates her and interferes in her life.

In the early morning hours of her wedding day, Silvie wallows in the throes of anxiety, confronted by memories of her mother.  Mimi’s overwhelming shadow cast its reign over her apartment.  Mimi, who once had a date with Elvis, based that single event as the distinction of importance in her life, and subsequently, the unimportance of everyone else’s life.  Silvie painfully recalls the unhappy, anxiety-filled years of her childhood, her mother’s need to outperform her, the constant reminders that she was named for Elvis, a man who her mother made clear, her father could never live up to.  As Silvie readies for her wedding, she notes that her mother chose everything in her apartment, down to her clothes and make-up.

After her mother confesses an illness, Silvie must make a choice of whether or not to reconcile with her mother.

 

Easy to read, well defined personalities, sensitive expressions of a child, and an intense portrayal of an emotional relationship between mother and daughter.