Fiction | Book Chatter

The School for Good Mothers
By Jessamine Chan
Simon & Schuster, 9781982156121, January 4, 2022, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Loved this weird, quirky story about motherhood.

The Rest of It:

Frida leaves her toddler alone for a few hours and is reported to the authorities. Already struggling with her husband Gust leaving her for a younger woman, not able to find a career worthy or important enough to impress her parents, losing her child is the perfect ending to a very bad day.

But all is not lost because she has been sentenced to The School for Good Mothers. This school focuses on the basics of childcare, but gently builds to more complicated matters such as discipline, intent, empathy and the all important eye-contact and inflection and tone. And how is this accomplished? By assigning a life-like robot, or “doll” to each mother. One that requires the constant monitoring of the blue viscous goo that keeps them running. Failing to notice a rise in temperature, failure to change the doll’s fluid regularly, results in the loss of privileges such as phone calls home to her actual daughter, Harriet.

Frida, like most of the mothers in this school struggle with the idea of taking on a doll as their child. Let me tell you, these things are life-like and feel things. They express frustration and pain and it’s all recorded by the teachers and observers assigned to each mother. Data collection rarely points to the positives, but instead focuses on the one time Frida pinches her doll, leaving a permanent mark upon her form. The pressure to do well is palpable. Frida’s only goal is to get through it so she can get Harriet back but as she continues to lose her privileges, Harriet becomes more of a stranger as contact diminishes.

This was a surprise read for me. I am not sure what I expected but robotic dolls wasn’t it and yet I ate it up. Every word. It’s a strange story and very futuristic but if you compare it to today’s world, mothers are often given the short end of the stick when it comes to childcare. I really enjoyed Chan’s skill in regards to taking a reader through this experience without casting judgment on the parenting choices made.

Highly recommend but it isn’t a story to leave you all warm and fuzzy. It’s a little cold and sterile but I tend to like these kinds of reads.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
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Migrations
By Charlotte McConaghy
Flatiron Books, 9781250204035, July 2021, 288pp.

The Short of It:

A thoughtful look at the impact of climate change.

The Rest of It:

This is my first review of the year, but it’s not the first book I picked up. This review just seemed easier to write at the moment so here goes.

This was an interesting story and a good one for my book club to discuss. Franny Stone is convinced that the Arctic terns will be migrating one last time. That the birds will be extinct as their food source has been somewhat depleted by fishing and global warming. The interesting thing about Franny is that she is not a scientist. She is married to a professor who studies such things and has become consumed with their survival.

Franny is a broken woman and through the back and forth timeline, it’s clear that Franny is running from something just as much as she is running towards something. There’s a little bit of a dark past trying to catch up to her, and yet she is quite likable and perhaps, the demons she faces is what makes her relatable. Franny finds herself a place on a fishing excursion, convincing the crew and captain that she can help them find the fish based on where the terns have headed.

This crew, although doubtful that Franny can lead them to the fish, gives her a chance to prove herself. Perhaps sensing the desperation in her plea. While traveling, Franny’s husband is back home. Not an unusual occurrence because although Franny has no problem loving or caring for people, she does have a problem with staying where she is.

This was a good story. A little sad when everything is revealed but also quite beautifully told. Powerful. It’s about love and loss and trying to find the people you are meant to have. And it did make me think a lot about how climate change impacts how we eat, live and make our decisions.

Have you read it? I recommend it.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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