'There was one place in the world that stood solid and did not melt into unreality: the place where his mother was. Everybody else could grow shadowy almost non-existent to him but she could not.'

In his quest to find his emotional and independent self Paul Morel is torn between the strong Oedipal bond he has with his mother and the relationships he forges as a young adult with chaste Miriam and the provocative Clara. As Paul matures and struggles with his own and his mother's feelings towards the other women in his life Lawrence expertly crafts a timeless and universal story of family love and the relationships that define us.