Where to find my latest book reviews Just dropping in with a little reminder that I have moved all my writing, including book reviews, to my Substack, Bad Mothers. Recent book reviews there include: If you like these reviews, I hope you’ll subscribe! Book reviews are always free to read, while some of my otherContinue reading “New Book Reviews”
Tag Archives: book review
Mothercare
By Lynne TIllman, 2023 This autobiographical essay — at 150 pages — tells the story of Lynne’s experience caring her for ageing and ill mother for several years. The subhead, “On Ambivalence and Obligation” indicates that the essay will explore those feelings in relation to caring for her mother, but I didn’t find that toContinue reading “Mothercare”
Nightbitch
By Rachel Yoder, 2021 Nightbitch is a married woman and mother to a toddler. Her husband works out of town and is gone most of the week, and she gave up her work in the arts to be home with her son. The novel is told in the third person, almost like folklore: a motherContinue reading “Nightbitch”
These Precious Days
Ann Patchett, 2021 I’m a bit obsessed with Ann Patchett. I’ve read nearly all of her novels and her two essay collections, and studied The Patron Saint of Liars for my doctoral thesis. Patchett does not have any children and has not hidden the fact that she’s never wanted children, however I haven’t seen anyContinue reading “These Precious Days”
Let Me Tell You What I Mean
Joan Didion, 2021 (Foreword by Hilton Als) I didn’t know Joan Didion’s work until I got to college, which is probably quite late for a writer and student of literature. Didion is widely-praised for her reporting, essays and fiction. I was taught Slouching Towards Bethlehem, and went on to read most of her nonfiction andContinue reading “Let Me Tell You What I Mean”
The Whispers
Ashley Audrian, 2023 I am a big fan of Audrain’s first novel, The Push, so I was eager to read this one and pleased that it has what I now consider to be Audrain’s signature twist on writing motherhood: the flawed mother. In The Push, the narrator had trouble connecting with her first child, andContinue reading “The Whispers”
Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver, 2022 I’ve been telling everyone to read this book. It is easily in the top five books I’ve ever read, and that rating is based almost entirely on the remarkable voice. The narrator is Damon, aka Demon Copperhead, who lives in Lee County, southern Appalachia. He is poor and desperate a lot ofContinue reading “Demon Copperhead”
Busy Being Free
Emma Forrest, 2023 I’m on a bit of an Emma Forrest kick, having recently read her first memoir Your Voice In My Head. She has a very unique writing style, and each chapter of both memoirs reads a little like puzzle. She allows her reader to piece together how different experiences she shares informs herContinue reading “Busy Being Free”
Your Voice In My Head
Emma Forrest, 2011 I basically could not stop reading from the moment I opened this book. Four stars. Oh, you want to know more? I wasn’t familiar with Emma Forrest until my local bookshop advertised for a reading/talk she was giving for her new book, Busy Being Free (which I will be reading asap). ButContinue reading “Your Voice In My Head”
Women Without Kids
Ruby Warrington, 2023 I wish this book wasn’t about a “revolution,” but it is. Sixty years after The Feminine Mystique (as one example) revealed that — GASP — not every woman in the world wants to be a mother, we are still trying to believe it. There are headlines around the world about declining birthContinue reading “Women Without Kids”
Monica Cardenas 