Motherhood | Book Chatter

The Perfect Mother
By Aimee Molloy
Harper, 9780062696793, May 1, 2018, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Another page-turner that keeps you guessing.

The Rest of It:

Motherhood is a hot topic this summer. I wonder why. Maybe because so many of us are overwhelmed, super busy, and give everything we have to our kids? Whatever the reason, I have at least three books in my stack dealing with motherhood in some way and The Perfect Mother was one of them.

May Mothers is a group made-up of women who had their babies in the month of May. They meet at the park for their regular meetings but now that their infants are a couple of months old, they decide it’s time for a girls night out and head to a local bar for some drinks. Excited to be taking a night off from baby duty, they get a little careless and drink a little too much so when one of the moms suddenly vanishes from the bar, only for them to find out later that she is home, with the police, trying to figure out who took her son from his crib, things begin to escalate as the moms try to make sense of what’s happened.

Mommy groups can be very supportive but also very dramatic. That is the case here. These women take it upon themselves to find the missing baby. They inject themselves into the investigation, steal evidence, put themselves in very dangerous situations, usually with their own infant strapped to their chests. It’s crazy what they do!

Although the missing baby is the focus of the story, Molloy also touches on the loss of identity that can come with having a baby and how difficult it is to figure out those first few months as a mother. This, I could relate to well.

The Perfect Mother is not a perfect book. It’s a little predictable and you might tire of all the “mommyness” contained within its pages but it was a quick, entertaining read and a good distraction from the headlines that continue to find me even though I have made a real effort to avoid them.

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

Little Fires Everywhere
By Celeste Ng
Penguin Press, Hardcover, 9780735224292, September 12, 2017, 352pp.

The Short of It:

The essence of motherhood can be shown in so many ways, a photograph of a mother holding a child, a mother gazing through a window at a child who is no longer hers, a mother’s contempt for her own daughter. All these things come together in this beautifully told story.

The Rest of It:

The story opens with Izzy burning down her house. From the moment of conception, Mrs. Richardson knew that this child would be different from her other children and as Izzy grows into a young woman, Mrs. Richardson wonders if she will ever have a relationship with her that isn’t wrought with frustration and worry.

Izzy doesn’t get along with anyone in her family but does get along with Mia and her daughter, Pearl. Mia and Pearl are renters of a little apartment owned by Izzy’s family. Although they are renters, Pearl is more a part of the family than Izzy is, always hanging out at the main house with the other kids. Mia, a photographer by trade, makes ends meet by taking odd jobs and eating leftover takeout but she has a way with Izzy and even Izzy is surprised by this.

There are many stories within this novel as each character finds his or her way but ultimately, it’s a story about motherhood and what it means to be a family. As these characters interact with each other and their story lines begin to cross, secrets are revealed and they are forced to look closely at themselves in the mirror. We find out why Izzy burns the house down and somehow we can relate.

I really loved this beautifully written novel and it will most definitely be on my list of faves at the end of the year. Everything came together so beautifully. Not perfectly tied-up with a bow but realistically and with hope. I plowed through those final pages and then read the last page over and over again.

Have you read it? If not, I highly recommend it.

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

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