The Mothers: A Novel

The mothers is an interesting view on womanhood, community and friendship. It explores the complex relationships within family and friends. I found this story compelling because the characters are flawed, yet relatable. I think what holds me back from fully enjoying the book are some of the unanswered questions, however, it almost feels like that is intentional. Through reading the book we become part of the community with missing information outside looking in.

The mothers was almost eerie in tone. I liked the mix of aloof observers (the mothers) and the story that unfolded. I was intrigued by the intense friendship that our characters had, and couldn't decide who I wanted to root for. It was a complex book that made me question what choices I would have made if put in the same situations. I hope that I never am. This got 4 stars because I felt a little meh about the ending, and I was not as impressed with this book as I was with Brit Bennett's latest novel - the vanishing half.

It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel. Bennett has woven a world of family and loss and love both given and withheld. There is a horrifying domino effect that springs from an unknown despair in a young mother. The ripple effects of this and a series of choices the characters make broke my heart. Nadia is our primary narrator, but other players are well characterized. I feel like i know Aubrey and Luke, have met Pastor and Mrs Shepard, Robert, and the Mothers who see all and pray. Well read by Adenrele Ojo.

Four stars for beautiful writing that I breezed through. However I have to say my enjoyment of this book and appreciation for the topics were more of a 3. It was a heavy-handed abortion novel and I have to wonder if the author had ever been pregnant at the time of the writing as she got an important detail wrong-- one that always horrified me in the pro-life regulation setting: an early sonogram (at say 8 weeks, at least as recently as 2014 when I had my second child) is not conducted via a machine on the belly. There is a sonogram wand that is inserted in pregnant woman as otherwise they cannot pick up an image that early. Imagine, for example, requiring a young rape victim to have this type of sonogram before having an abortion. Sends chills down my spine.

As an older mom, with friends who more readily talk about their miscarriages, I've had to listen to them describe the less than ideal medical treatment they've sometimes endured because of the politics of abortion. So while I appreciate that life is complicated, and people might suffer in the exact ways described in this novel, it's still disappointing to read something that feels not-fully-informed because literature has consequences in the real world.

After reading The Vanishing Half, I had very high expectations for this book. While the story line kept me anticipating, it fell short of completing all of the door openers. I felt nostalgia in reading as I grew up in church and I know about church drama and secrets, along with the hypocrisy that unravels in the personal dichotomy of spiritual beliefs & life's reality. I would have liked for some closure.