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DOMESTIC AFFAIRS: Enduring the Pleasures of Motherhood and Family Life by Joyce Maynard

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS: Enduring the Pleasures of Motherhood and Family Life

By

Pub Date: June 24th, 1987
Publisher: Times Books

For her many fans, a gathering of Maynard's recent musings on home life. Maynard, known for her autobiography (published at age 18), and novel Baby Love, is now reaching a wider audience through a syndicated newspaper column, of which this is a compilation. Grouped loosely under such headings as ""Cut From the Same Cloth"" (on relatives and connections with the past), ""Cutting the Cord"" (children growing more independent), and ""Marriage--Mine and Others,"" Maynard's pieces address the day-today goings-on of her life in rural New Hampshire. With three children--two boys, one girl--and a painter husband, there's plenty in the daily routine to comment on. Some of the more remarkable moments: Organizing a school play, when, in spite of all the aggravation, in the plus column ""was a boy named Ben who's stayed back twice and still can't read much, who knew every one of his four lines perfectly. A boy named Jimmy who practically lives in the principal's office, who turned out to be one of the best actors in the school."" And Maynard's reflections on Christa McAuliffe, with whom she'd spent time for a column--she lived nearby, was of a similar age, also with children--are poignant and on the mark. Maynard can wear thin after a while for those not devoted to her; but her fans and those who like to muse on and celebrate the daily routine will welcome this collection.