The front of my cover reads "an uplifting family saga", but I found nothing uplifting about it. This was one of the most depressing and dull books I've read in a while. Perhaps it has some redeeming value as "literature", but an enjoyable read it is not. Hanna, Johanna, and Anna are mothers and daughters who are, simply put, always sad. The idea of happiness is occasionally contemplated, but then decidedly dismissed. I read to the end just to see if anything was ever going to happen. Finally something did. They died.

This book is a bit difficult at first to get into. The beginning is a bit jumpy and some of the characters share the same name making it at times confusing. With all that said, stick it out and you can't help but enjoy seeing the legacy a women can leave. Although it is rooted in Scandinavian history, its truths and experiences are transcendental. A thought provoking and enjoyable read for women.

Hanna's Daughters is a wonderful book to share with the women of your family. I loved the three perspectives of Hanna, Joanna and Anna. I love how it shows evolution of society and practically women's roles over the span of the last three generations; the industrial revolution, first and second world wars and sexual revolution. This book will help women understand their mothers and their grandmothers. I love this book and have read and reread read it on several occasions. The only issue I have with this novel is that the translation is at times poor and the syntax and sentence structure seems inverted.

Whether one is of Scandianvian ancestry or some other, the influences of mother, grandmother, aunts and fathers is always in the back of our unconscious thought. We not only gather our physical features from genes but our personalities reflect years of absorption of family values, mores, morals and customs. As some reviews stated "The style of writing is Scandinavian", but that too reflects the way Scandinavians act; reserved, not to stand out, not to act better than others. Marianne Fredrickssen helped me see not only the history of life in Sweden when my grandparents were young and before they emigrated to America, but also, upon reflection, some of the family habits and customs on my other French-Dutch side through my mother's family traits. This is a powerful story for readers of any nationality who can feel deeply the emotions, fears and hopes of the characters portrayed. Women in America, in the same time periods, were not any better off, working for small wages, doing all the housework and care of the children under difficult economic and social conditions, and having to hold family life together through the depression. And not to forget men in America were often prone to drinking at the tavern and beating up on wives and children to assuage their frustrations and angers. No wonder there are still so many disfunctional families! I loved the book and have chosen it for my Book Club in March.
Young women today do not realize that they too will be the caretakers of their mothers; in spite of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.. Sons may give financial aid but it is always the daughters who tend the aging mothers, and not guilt free or without angry moments of frustration. Just wait, you too will experience some of what Johanna and Anna experienced.

This book is a little difficult to get into at first, because of the change in narrators between chapters, and the similarity in the character's names. But once you get going, you can't put it down.

The book details the lives of three generations of women; a mother, daughter, and granddaughter. As a reader you will easily relate to one or all of these women, even though they lived different lives in a different time and in a different country. You will find parallels to your own life and your own relationships. The book is a journey into family and into that "a-ha!" moment when you discover that your mother is not just your mother, but she is a woman who has had similar experiences as you, and who also may have had some terrible experiences that have shaped who she is - and ultimately how you are.

Family history researchers will also appreciate the book and its journey through time, and the concept that only good memories are often remembered and shared; but it is the not-so-good memories that make our lives interesting and true.

A great book club selection that spawns wonderful conversation.