Reviews with content warning for Infertility - Die Mütter

What I enjoy the most about Bennett's novels is the writing style. The perspective of this book starts from that of a group of older women who attend church and are always keeping tabs on what's happening in their community. A bit of gossip yes, but also that introspective moment when they start to remember what it was like to be a young woman falling in love, making mistakes, and always reacting to what the church would think of those actions.

At its core, this book is about motherhood, all viewed from the perspective of two young women, Nadia and Audrey, who don't have their mothers in their lives anymore. There are also other mother figures, such as Audrey's sister and her partner, the women at the church who try to give guidance in their own way, and even people at clinics who hold hands and give advice when needed.

Nadia, Audrey, and Luke are three young people whose lives are intertwined throughout the book, they will fall in love, be protective of each other, hold resentments, and even hurt each other as they try to find ways to live their own lives. The influence of their parents, the church, and society weighs heavy on them and they really are only trying to find some kind of happiness in the best way they can.

If you like contemporary stories that take a hard look at the influence of a community on young people, this is a great book to read. It's a heavy book with a lot of sadness and loneliness throughout so do read carefully.

Content Warnings

sarahholliday's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Bennett is able to tell stories in a way that feels so effortless—you could easily read The Mothers in a single sitting because it feels like an extended conversation, or a story being told to you by a friend over coffee.

Like in any story, things happen and events transpire, but emotions are the main star of this story—the healthy and unhealthy ways we deal with them, how complicated and layered they are, how they evolve over time as we grow.

I wouldn't have minded a little more meat to the final chapters of the book.

To see how Luke and Aubrey put their life back together, what Nadia goes on to do with her law degree.

I would've also liked to have seen some more intentional grappling with religion and its impact on the characters' lives, but I think that may be a desire informed by my own (white) evangelical upbringing. That kind of deconstructing may not be an accurate reflection of the black religious experience, given the ways the church is tied up in community and political activism.

All of those very small issues aside, The Mothers has proven my theory that Brit Bennett is an automatic-read author for me.

Content Warnings

lindseyas's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really love Brit Bennett, but it's particularly her characterization methods that get me going. She has the power to create such incredibly diverse, flawed and deep characters that are perfect for one another and the plot. Each of the people in this novel, whether they play big or small parts, has their own personal history that contributes significant amounts of knowledge to the nature of the book. They each embody the stresses of motherhood or friendship or femininity or life itself — there is no perfect way to be a mother, no perfect way to be a friend, no perfect way to live or love or be yourself. The different ways in which motherhood is described in the novel is paramount to audience understanding — there are bad mothers, there are good mothers, there are absent mothers and there are mothers who just aren't up to the job just yet. It just depends on who you are. Also, Go Blue, baby.

Content Warnings

bandsophiesmom's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

arminam's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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