Hila Blum's English-language debut, How to Love Your Daughter, translated from the original Hebrew by Daniella Zamir, opens with the protagonist explaining, "The first time I saw my granddaughters, I was standing across the street, didn't dare go any closer." As Yoella looks through the window, watching her daughter Leah's family without their knowledge, readers begin to understand that something has gone terribly wrong. The rest of the novel is Yoella's dissection of their relationship, an attempt to identify the first fissures that led to the seemingly unbridgeable gap between mother and daughter.
Blum's deft hand guides this riveting novel, crafting a narrative voice that is simultaneously heedless and measured, an almost breathless tumble of memories portioned out sparingly. Yoella's frank evaluation of her strengths and shortcomings makes her a trustworthy source, even as she deals in shadows and uncertainties. Making frequent references to books she has read, Yoella sees herself in characters like a woman with two daughters: "she loved them and, at the same time, didn't know how to love them. And there's the rub, the problem with love. She tried." Thus, Yoella's narrative turns the title on its head; it is no how-to book, no confident list of things to do or not do. Instead, How to Love Your Daughter is a muddied reflection of the complexities of motherhood--the worry, the effort, the failings, and the love. Hand this one to fans of Jenny Offill or those interested in the ambiguities and incongruities of love. --Sara Beth West, freelance reviewer and librarian