This witty collection of stories details the relationship between a maniacally oddball mother, Jean, and her stoic daughter, Caroline. Caroline’s stories about her mother and how her actions affect who Caroline is begin when she is age eight and chronologically advance into her adulthood – and they do so with shock, humor, and wisdom.

From the beginning, the author sets an eye-opening stage for the story and does not let up for the remainder of the book. Jean explains, for example, that Caroline’s father wasn’t around because he had been declared “legally stupid” by New York State and also “had been ordered by the courts to work go-nowhere jobs, remain emotionally void, and contract sexually transmitted diseases until he was dead.”

M.L. Pressman writes fluidly and captivatingly. Some stories leave a reader’s jaw hanging open, such as Jean’s movie theater scavenge for free popcorn. Others will have readers laughing and cheering her on, such as when a teacher calls Caroline “garbage” in front of the class and the next day Jean dumps a large Hefty bag of rotting garbage on the teacher’s desk to demonstrate the difference between her daughter and actual garbage.

The author’s writing lends much to these outlandish but creditable stories, as she frequently interjects humor and wit akin to Tina Fey’s or Amy Poehler’s. (Jean calls her very unsafe car “Cujo the Corona,” for example.) But this is not just a hilarious story. It is the common — albeit outsized — story of the often-tough journey to acceptance and understanding between mothers and daughters. Along with sarcasm and wit, there is also introspection and emotion.

Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, these mini-stories of significant moments in Caroline’s life fit together to create a perfect picture of a far-from-perfect life. Shocking, touching, humorous, and occasionally down-to-earth, this quick read is a roller coaster ride that keeps readers wondering what life-altering, character-shaping shenanigans will happen next.

Caroline Kurchowski is eight years old when she realizes that her mother, as she puts it, is crazy. This is how the first line in the novel, "The Cost of Living", goes and so begins a mother-and-daughter relationship that is both heart warming and poignant. Her mother Jean Kurochowski was raised by disapproving parents, was married to a man who left her because she is fat, and raises her only daughter alone. She is an eccentric with a compulsive hoarding behavior. Embarrassed by her mother's eccentricity from an early age, Catherine manages to grow up. She forms a friendship with Beth and finds her first love in Greg. She lives in a house where the refrigerator is stacked with food almost as old as she is, the basement is full of give-away, and there is a high pile of wood chips in the driveway. During her college years, her mother is diagnosed with cancer and the story takes a poignant turn.  

There are only a few authors who manage to write so finely that their works can be considered as both funny and sad and M. L. Pressman is able to do that. "The Cost of Living" is a fantastic story that is so humorous and witty that the reader may not realize that it is also an attack on the nature of our society today. The author's style of writing is fluid, witty and wise. A mother-daughter relationship has been a recurring theme in many novels but only a few turn out excellently as this one. Easy to read and thought provoking, it is a great roller coaster ride following the lives of Caroline and Jean Kurchowski. The story is told in the first person perspective, with Caroline as the narrator, and I am amazed at her change of persona from an eight year old to a grown up woman. It makes me feel as if I am literally watching her as she grows up. It is certainly one of my favorite reads this year and I highly recommend this book to everyone.