Book Chatter

The Need
By Helen Phillips
Simon & Schuster, 9781982113162, July 2019, 272pp.

The Short of It:

I’d be lying if I said I fully understood everything that went on in this novel.

The Rest of It:

Molly is a scientist. I believe a paleobotonist if I’m remembering correctly. She spends her day analyzing fossils and giving tours to people curious about her team’s findings. Of late, some strange things have shown up in the pit, including an alternative Bible where God is a “she”, a shiny penny, and some pottery pieces. These items are odd enough to draw an interesting crowd. Religious fanatics begin to show up along with dozens of pieces of hate mail.

When not at work, Molly is completely overwhelmed by motherhood. One morning, while her husband is away on business, she finds herself scrambling for safety within her own home when an intruder shows up and threatens the well-being of herself and her two young children. An intruder, wearing a deer’s head mask.

This is a bizarre read. It’s labeled as speculative fiction and I would agree with that. I honestly did not know what the heck was going on. Is Molly out of her mind? Is she dead? Dreaming? On drugs? What? In a short amount of time, the identity of the intruder is revealed and then it gets REALLY weird.

Without giving anything away, I will say that if the point of the novel is to emphasize how motherhood can completely overtake you and change you both physically and mentally, then Helen Phillips accomplished that. Molly’s adventures in motherhood completely drain her. She is literally sucked dry by her breastfeeding son, and her daughter’s astute observations of what is going on serve to remind Molly just how much her brain has turned to mush since becoming a mother. This part, is very accurate.

But the rest of the story is very Twilight Zone-ish and odd. Some of it was disturbing to read only because it made me uncomfortable. Much of it is raw and blunt. The scientific element was interesting but not fully explored. I hesitate to say that this would be a good book for a club to discuss because I can see many hating it. Especially those who have never been a mom. But, it’s odd enough and pieced together in such a way that it warrants a discussion. In that sense, it would be great book to discuss.

Have any of you read it? From the cover, I thought the story would be about alien plants. Seriously.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Turn of the Key
By Ruth Ware
Gallery/Scout Press, 9781501188770, August 2019, 352pp.

The Short of It:

I needed a book that I could not put down and this was it.

The Rest of It:

Nanny stories are quite popular. Add a supernatural element, difficult kids, weird parents and a big, spooky house and you have a winner. Now add technology. I mean, cameras, apps, smart refrigerators and TVs and you up the creep factor by 100%.

Rowan finds the nanny position of a lifetime. A high-paying, live-in gig that will take her to the beautiful Scottish moors. The house is unique. An old Victorian in the front, but the back half of the house is all gleaming and new, outfitted with the latest technology. At first, Rowan is impressed by this. Sandra and Bill, architects by trade, restored what they could but re-imagined the rest but all of its gadgetry proves to be a bit much for Rowan when she is immediately tasked with watching the children for ten days while the parents are at a business conference.

Did I mention that the last four nannies all left within a two-year period? Or that the house has a history of death and violence? Or that some in the town believe it to be haunted?

This was such a fun book to read. I was completely immersed and could not turn those pages fast enough. It’s sufficiently creepy and keeps you guessing with all its plot twists. The ending felt a tad rushed but overall, I really enjoyed this one and found it to be really entertaining and fun. I read it in one day. A work day, which should tell you something.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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