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Suzanne Blume has known success and disappointment in equal measure. A respected lawyer who survived two marriages and put two children through college, she now faces the disquieting prospect of her wayward older daughter moving back home. But more troubling still is the news that her mother, a woman of legendary independence who has never truly accepted her daughter nor approved of her choices, has been felled by age and illness. And, for the first time in her life, she needs Suzanne's help.Intertwining the lives of three generations of contemporary women, master storyteller Marge Piercy plunges into the deepest, most elemental basics of life -- love, aging, illness, and death -- and emerges with a brave, compassionate exploration of the volatile ground between mothers and daughters.… (more)
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Through exploring these women's lives and their often fraught relationships, Piercy explores a number of issues including caring for the elderly and the American healthcare system. I think the main point though is her focus on gender relationships; through these three women, plus Rachel and Suzanne's friend Marta, Piercy is asking a series of questions. To what extent a woman should compromise her needs for a man? Do we use relationships to disguise what is wrong in our lives? And at the end of the day, do sexual relationships mean anything? Beverly has great sex over the years but it is still the women in her life, her family, who care for her right to the end.
I find Piercy's work a bit hit and miss and Three Women isn't my all-time favourite by her but it was a book that gave me pause for thought.
Each chapter is told from a different/alternating woman's point of view, with the character identified in a subheading under the chapter number. I am neutral about the effectiveness of this style.
I haven't decided if I'll keep the book: Piercy became my favorite author when I read Woman on the Edge of Time when it first came out, but this novel isn't as imaginative or perception-stretching.