Still more on author Dani Shapiro

I have taken a deep, deep dive into the work of Dani Shapiro, within a short period of time. Often when I like a book, I very soon read others by the same author. With Dani Shapiro’s work, I have done so more systematically than usual. I have now read all of her novels and all of her memoirs. (Earlier posts here about her work include those of 8/14/11, 9/7/17, 2/2/23, and 2/16/23.) All of her work is compelling, even gripping. Of particular interest are the ways in which she has taken the events and feelings of her own life and used them not only in the memoirs, but also in the novels. I don’t mean they are exactly the same, but similar themes come up over and over again. The biggest theme is that of difficult families and childhoods, and in particular, extremely difficult mothers, and the lifelong consequences of these for daughters. The plots of the novels are different, but there is an immediately recognizable world found in both the memoirs and the novels, especially since I (for the most part) read the memoirs first and the novels second, although they actually appeared mostly in the opposite order. There is certainly a sense that Shapiro is working out her feelings and issues over and over again in various guises. This might sound off-putting, but it is actually intriguing, and despite their common themes, the books do not feel repetitive.