Rating: 
Summary: Tracy Petzke's Review
Review: I really did enjoy this book. I've read Sue Miller's family Pictures and also her short story collection, and this one is my favorite. I could really relate to the characters in the book and was convinced that despite what the courts told her, she was an excellent mother to her young daughter. I got a glimpse of just how difficult it would be to have a child and try to live a life on your own. I love how Sue Miller focuses on family life and struggles in all her books. They seem very down to earth and easy to relate to. Sue Miller really did pull me into this book from the very beginning.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Enough
Review: I really liked the subjects the book addressed, but Anna left me feeling so tired. She analyzes incessantly. I can read between the lines. I don't need the main character doing it for me.
I wish I could give it more than three stars because I really liked the book itself. I just wished I could've heard less of her thoughts.
My first Sue Miller book to read. I'll try her again, as I hope this isn't a pattern with her writing style, but just another "issue" that our Anna deals with.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: I've come to really enjoy Miller's novels, and she surely didn't disappoint here. Anna and her daughter Molly are together after Anna's divorce. Then Leo comes into the picture, and a whole new world is opened to Anna. So much so, that before she knows it, her daughter is taken from her and what she knew as happiness falls apart. Anna is very introspective, very aware of her own emotion as others decide if she will get Molly back. One thing that seemed out of place was Molly dialog because it was very intelligent and perhaps too self aware for a toddler. But perhaps Miller did this on purpose, and it just didn't sit with me. Regardless, this was an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: I've come to really enjoy Miller's novels, and she surely didn't disappoint here. Anna and her daughter Molly are together after Anna's divorce. Then Leo comes into the picture, and a whole new world is opened to Anna. So much so, that before she knows it, her daughter is taken from her and what she knew as happiness falls apart. Anna is very introspective, very aware of her own emotion as others decide if she will get Molly back. One thing that seemed out of place was Molly dialog because it was very intelligent and perhaps too self aware for a toddler. But perhaps Miller did this on purpose, and it just didn't sit with me. Regardless, this was an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: Judgement against a mother
Review: Interestingly, the Spanish title of this book is "Juicio Contra una Madre," or "Judgement Against a Mother" in English. This seems, to me, perhaps a better title than the English "The Good Mother." "The Good Mother" is perhaps misleading; it implies that the issue is settled, that Anna was in fact a "good" mother. I do happen to agree that Anna was a good mother (one needn't be a perfect mother to be considered a good one); however, I'm sure that many readers would disagree with me, and justifiably so. I prefer the Spanish title "Judgement Against a Mother" because it not only refers to this decision- this judgement- about Anna that each reader must make for him or herself, but also the judgement passed in the courtroom trial at the conclusion of the book, where Anna finds herself fighting for custody of her child, Molly. This book really does make you "judge" Anna. Was she a good mother? Read it and judge for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm....
Review: Okay this is a hard one for me. I feel for the protagonist here, Anna. Her own mother is cold, most of her family is the same, her ex-husband is just an extension of that, and so I understand how she went through this gigantic sexual awakening through Leo. HOWEVER, from the very first chapter, when Anna left Molly in the car while she went to have her divorce papers notarized...I questioned her judgement. Again I questioned her judgement of allowing Leo's actions while she was comforting Molly in bed. I'm sorry but "reason" is what separates us from the animals, and I think that was a STUPID thing for her to do. Leo's incident with Molly needs no discussion...it was a BAD call, and I know that that's not Anna's fault. So I wouldn't say at all that she's an incompetent Mom, and though I haven't finished the book yet, I do hope she gets her daughter back. But I also hope that she'll make wiser choices in the future. Maybe I'm just hypersensitive since I'm a new mom with a year-old myself, and I consider myself to be pretty open about things, but I NEVER would have left Molly alone in a car, etc. Also, I know this book was written in '86, so maybe things were different then, but still...I think there are some major flaws with Anna's character. I give it four stars though, because in spite of all this--I can't put the book down!
Rating:
Summary: "The Good Mother" could be better.
Review: Sue Miller is a very readable novelist who places her characters in recognizable contemporary settings. That said, this novel was a disappointment. Yes, it has its suspensful moments, but I thought the plot was fairly contrived. It deals with Anna, who having recently excaped from an uptight marriage, slips eagerly into a sexually charged marriage with Leo, a painter. Molly, the daughter from the previous marriage, lives with the lovers. And, as these things happen, their decorum around the daughter grows lax in the heat of their perpetual love making. This leads to an improbable incident involving Leo and Molly, which then casts doubt on Anna's fitness as a mother. Even if the reader is willing to accept all of this, the characters are difficult to warm up to. Leo, for all of his prowess in bed, is a bit of a dolt head whose cloying manner would send most women running to the nearest singles bar. Anna, the first person narrator, is too self-absorbed to notice any of this. There is nothing that happens, or has happened, to her that doesn't remind her of something else that happened to her, which, of course, she then proceeds to inform the reader about. No detail is too insignificant not to pass along, and lets not worry about stopping the story in its tracks. To be fair, this characteristic seems endemic in today's first person narration. As a result, it is hard not to feel that Molly would be better off living with her hard working, dull, but less verbose father. On the positive side, the novel has informative sections on the workings of day-care centers and the family court system. Still, I was expecting more.
Rating:
Summary: Was she really a good mother?
Review: Sue Miller's first work, The Good Mother, tells the sad tale of a mother who faces the possible loss of her toddler daughter, Molly, as a result of an inappropriate occasion between her boyfriend and daughter. Although it is nothing like While I Was Gone as far as a literary work goes, it was still captivating. I found myself sympathizing deeply with this mother, Anna, as she faces and overcomes the disappointments and heartbraches of a wrecked marriage, custody battles and personal struggles. There is no doubt that Miller has a gift for writing as well as a deep understanding of the state of human suffering.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful story of sex and morality
Review: Sue Miller's story of a recently divorced mother of a 3 year old child raises moral issues regarding society's expectations of a good mother. Anna blooms sexually with Leo, but in the process "forgets" her child. The open acceptance of sexual relations and acceptance of the body leads to a clash between Anna's views and the views of her ex-husband. The novel tells Anna's story, but deals with perceptions of morality that trap too many people (men and women) today. You might be surprised who in your life thinks Anna is a good mother and who does not (and don't expect clean breaks on gender lines). Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: What makes a mother a GOOD mother?
Review: THE GOOD MOTHER is not just the story of Anna Dunlap and the love she has for her child, but it's also the story of why Anna behaved the way she did and why she made the choices she did in her life.Anna is a divorced woman with a young daughter, Molly. She will do anything for her daughter. But throughout the book, Anna's focus is not always on Molly. She "forgets" Molly. It is while Anna is trying to deal with some important issues that she makes some very foolish mistakes, mistakes that could have been avoided if she had been paying more attention. These mistakes ultimately changes her relationship with her daughter,and her lover, Leo. The first part of this book goes into great detail the story of her childhood. Without this first part, the reader wont understand totally what makes Anna tick. Everything from her piano lessons, to her relationship with her mother and her mother's clan, help explain why she did the things she did as an adult. Her love of her aunt Babe was a big influence from her childhood. Babe was a very eccentric young woman, and represented to Anna unconventionality and in some ways Freedom. Anna herself seemed to want to be uninhibited, but could not totaly be that way without feeling the guilt that was handed down to her by her mother's family. The second part of the book dealt with the custody battle that Anna had to fight with her ex husband. The pace was fast in this 2nd part of the novel, and i found that I could not put the book down. I wanted to know what happened next. I enjoyed reading this book, but give it 4 stars because I felt it could have been written better. The book I think was a bit choppy, with the first part totally being devoted to her childhood. I think it would have read better if the book was written in flashbacks. I also had a hard time liking this character, Anna Dunlap. As with Sue Miller's WHEN I WAS GONE, i again felt that the main character was totally unlikeable and i didn't feel too much sympathy for her. But I think that is what kept me reading this book. I wanted to find out how Anna resolved her problems. Maybe creating an unlikeable character helped make this book a fast read for me.
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