Three Mothers

Lambert's debut is an elegant three-generation weeper about mothers and daughters and the links that bind and repel them. The narrative unfolds as diarylike entries from each generation: in 1945, new mom Helene leaves her baby daughter in England to be with her husband stationed in India, and falls in love with another man; rebellious Vera, Helene's youngest daughter, embraces the revolutionary zeal of the '60s; and modern Londoner Susie, Vera's oldest daughter, nurses her dying mom and acts as the narrative lynchpin. Each story has its own particular passion and power: Helene's illicit love of a rakish RAF flyer and his betrayal and tragic end and Vera's agonizing pregnancy and her estrangement from her philandering hubby. But it's a grownup Susie taking care of her dying mother that provides the book's most potent wallop. In the end, these separate stories are far greater than their sum: a predictable and throwaway reunion of the generations is both sullen and vacant. Better to savor the individual stories of love, life and choices of three very different women who share a surprisingly similar soul. (Jan.)