“Not everyone wants to travel with their mother. But my mother and I have an agreement : I will take her on a wacky trip, she will complain the whole time, and together we’ll love every minute.”

My Mother And Other Wild Animals is an essay by award-winning, best-selling American author, Andrew Sean Greer. Back in 2016, in dire need of paid work, Greer takes a one-month teaching position in Wichita, Kansas, where he’ll be paid to “meet with creative writing students and give feedback on their short stories. No teaching, no class time, no committees or requirements outside of free advice”. His own car not up to the trip from San Francisco, he borrows his mother’s diesel VW Beetle. He takes the southern route: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

When he is about due to return, his mom suggests that she join him for the return road trip: she’s never seen the Grand Canyon. He resolves to provide that dash of colour, to baffle and amuse as best he can. He plans out a route via the Grand Canyon, and for every stop, “I choose the wackiest lodgings I can find. Sleeping in a giant chicken, an underground bunker, a hot-air balloon—not those things, but those kinds of things.”

Dr Sandra Greer is working on a textbook to be entitled Elements of Ethics for Physical Scientists, in which she hopes future scientists and engineers might consider not just the question of “can we?” but, more importantly, “should we?”

For the sake of storytelling and comedy, Greer has painted his mother as a patient but stern custodian of science and realism and himself as a wild and carefree exhibition of creativity and idealism. “The truth is, we are almost identical.”

But he notes “Leaving her husband must have felt like leaping off a cliff into the swift-flowing river of the unknown; leaving her laboratory in Maryland for a life near me and my brother in California, a move she made in her sixties, must have felt like losing all your luggage in a foreign country, a country whose border has closed.”

And the Grand Canyon? “Perhaps we were both unimpressed by the Grand Canyon because the awe of infinity so many people feel, the satisfying horror of the bottomless darkness of things that such a sight reveals, the tear in the universe that lets the hellhounds in, is something my mother and I know perfectly well. It is the first thing we see each morning. We step over it like a crack in the sidewalk and go on. How can the Grand Canyon compete?”

Greer concludes: “I have learned to flood my fears with optimism and not let mere terror make me miss the best of life. I believe I learned it from my mother.” His entertaining, funny, moving essay is enhanced with a few quirky photographs.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories

I flew through this delightful book in probably less than an hour, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the relationship between the author and his mother and the premise of their trip from Wichita to San Francisco. Greer's humor came through with his planning of the stops on their trip, and his mother was a good sport about most of it. I admire his attitude about not waiting to do bucket-list type of things, but to go while one is able. What a gift for both of them to share this unique experience! I highly recommend this book.

It had been years since Greer and his mother went on a holiday together—since Greer was a teenager, in fact—and so, when she proposed visiting him at his short-term writing appointment, he proposed a road trip. She leaned more staid, so he committed to making the trip as low-key zany as possible: odd roadside attractions, unique hotels, and egg costumes, anyone?

The resulting story makes for a short and feel-good essay about making memories while it's still possible, whether that means planning your own funeral while still in robust health or, you know, driving halfway across the country on a whim. Greer avoids putting too much emotion or depth into this, keeping it light and playful even when talking about more serious things, but it's a lovely tribute to his mother and sounds like an even better experience to share. (Also, the long-standing friendship his mother has with Judy sounds fantastic, and like the sort of friendship everyone should seek to cultivate with someone they love.)

This is probably best recommended for people with a Kindle Unlimited subscription (I believe most Amazon Original Stories are available there), and perhaps as fodder for planning your own relaxed mini-adventure.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Quite a short book, yet it manages to convey everything it promises. The author tells us the story of the journey he took with his mother while simultaneously introducing us to small flashbacks of past memories, which give us a better understanding of the relationship with his mother and their lives. Several themes are addressed perfectly, ranging from anxiety to topics such as coming out and dealing with imminent death.
In conclusion, the relationship between mother and son is loving, and the ending leaves almost tears in the eyes.

It feels a bit like I just read one long inside joke. It’s a really lovely story about the road trip with the author’s mother but it jumps around in the timeline and has a lot of puns and metaphors and was hard to follow in spots.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Amazon Original Stories for the ARC of Andrew Sean Greer's My Mother and Other Wild Animals.

I definitely felt the affects of COVID time-lapse when reading this and having Less be noted as the 2018 Pulitzer winner - I could have sworn it was both closer and further away - if you have not read it, definitely do it, it's such a fun book.

My Mother and Other Wild Animals is first) an amazing title and second) a heartfelt and humorous love letter to Greer's mother. Having also roadtripped to the Grand Canyon with my mother, I felt that same balance of "we are so different but also the same" that Greer so excellently navigates here. He flawlessly blends familial history with the present and the prospects for the future and he seamlessly leads readers across the United States and across their relationship. With this being an essay it is intentionally short and direct, but Greer's skill with words, transitions, and plot highlights make this an engaging short read. If it were longer, I would read that too. Greer is an exceptional voice of our time period, and I continue to look forward to all his upcoming works.

3.5 "sweet, lovely, a little bit funny" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Amazon Original Stories for an ecopy. This will be released April 2024. I am providing an honest review.

A few years back Mr. Greer and his mum did a road trip from Wichita Kansas to San Francisco. This is Mr. Greer's recollections and some photographs of that trip. What comes through is the author's love for his family, his immense respect for his mother, his struggles with severe anxiety and an appreciation of loving and living each day. Very enjoyable indeed but really only for fans of Mr. Greer.

Nothing earth shattering but worthwhile nonetheless ! (Get it NONE the LESS) Lol...Sorry Mr. Greer could not resist.