Reviews

Burst by Mary Otis

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Reading about complicated mother / daughter relationships is my MO, so I was really interested in reading this one. The writing was amazing, so I’m looking forward to exploring more of Mary Otis’ work.

This book definitely made me think more about generational trauma and how our desire to have a “normal” and loving relationship with our mothers often times conflicts with our deeper need of escaping a disappointing reality. I know I’ll be thinking about this story for a long time to come.

My only qualm is that it felt a bit slow in some parts which kept me a little disinterested, but overall I am so glad that I read this and am ready to read more from this author!

shonami's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Loved the portrayal of complicated mother daughter relationship
As told through the 60s, 70,s 80’s and 90’s.

kirby_reads's review against another edition

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5.0

Mother-daughter relationships, am I right?

Burst by Mary Otis is a beautifully written testament to the complex relationships between mothers and daughters with all of the messiness, nuance, and love that can only be captured by an exceptionally talented author.

I’ve wanted to read this book since I heard about it on @momsdonthavetimetoreadbooks podcast. I’m so glad I finally had the chance.

I felt connected with Charlotte and Viva as I read. Charlotte, the mom, loves her daughter, but she’s human, and she struggles. Viva is the child who more often than not, has to be the adult. Like many children who grew up around addiction, she copes by establishing a rigid sense of order in her life, throwing herself into dance and fighting not to fall into the same cycle as her mother.

As we all know, life is hard. It’s not always so easy. Despite it all, you can feel the love and devotion between Charlotte and Viva.

As a side note, I’ve really appreciated books lately that show all of the complexities of parents, especially mothers. Often, it feels like society wants to reduce mothers down to what they expect a mom to be. Pure, wholesome, self-sacrifing, with no glimmers of who she was before she was a mom. Mothers are people. Pasts, insecurities, flaws, passions, hobbies, addictions, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Just like any other person, they can’t be reduced down to one title. I think Mary Otis does a wonderful job of capturing that in this novel.

I’m a fan and looking forward to reading more work from @maryotiswriter 🤍

janet's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

okiecozyreader's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Last year I really loved when Mary Otis led our book discussion and I have been excited to read her new book. She has written other short stories and felt this one could be developed into a novel. It’s still a relatively quick listen 4-5 hours (depending on speed).

Burst is a mother - daughter story dealing with addiction, Musical Ear Syndrome and how different things affect generations (of women). Throughout her life, it has just been her (Viva) and her artistic mother Charlotte, as they move to town to town and live with different people. Her mother, an alcoholic, loves her fiercely and tries to keep her in dance and her life more stable. As the book goes on, I felt like we heard from the mother’s POV more (but I can’t remember for sure).

This is my favorite Zibby Books release so far.

“…secret brilliant artists walk among us daily.” Author’s note

Sequence is about …”bursting free.” Ch 30

I enjoyed the audiobook from Libro.fm. Thank you for providing copies to librarians.

“She thought that being a neighbor meant seeing people regularly, but not as they are really are… to know a neighbor meant to view only a little piece of someone’s life, usually the same piece over and over.” Ch 22

“… she would replay what she thought she saw earlier that morning, reframing it in different ways. That was the problem with memory, the process of focusing on one thing necessarily replaced the exclusion of something else. Sometimes the something else was the most important part.” Chapter 14

“What kind of mother envied her own daughter’s joy?” Ch 4

Content Warnings