Reviews

Motherhood by Sheila Heti

shermreads's review against another edition

2.0

really really struggled through this book & the narrow perspective of the author. peak upper class white western feminism, which is not necessarily a perspective which needs more airtime. I’m also not interested hearing more about the struggles within such a narrow confine of kinship, without making an attempt or acknowledge of attempts to blow it up/reimagine entirely (see: the radical stuff being proposed with alloparenting, non cis-het family units, etc)

that being said, there were some truly beautiful passages & great questions asked! but I’m not sure I would recommend anyone wade through the rest of it to get to the pearls.

read_and_bleu's review against another edition

4.0

This book was insightful and I felt my own swaying questioning about parenthood eloquently explored. A slow burning tennis match, a ‘will she won’t she’ teased out over cycles, locations and moods.

katey_'s review against another edition

Got returned to library

laura_reads_'s review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

ellutag's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

kathryn_a_million's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

A well written but ultimately tormenting read. Maybe it caught me at a bad time but I felt a little depresso with all the indecisiveness and pessimism. I know she’s probably right about everything though. 

mckmillican's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this as a deep dive into the obsessions of someone else’s brain. I don’t feel any ambivalence about motherhood so I think there’s a level of connection with the topic of debate I missed out on, but I highlighted so much through the book and really enjoyed watching the cogs turn in Heti’s brain. Definitely not a speedy read - I chipped away at this slowly.

mabe_l's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Deportation

decoincidenza's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

bimmbles's review against another edition

3.0

Parts of this were absolutely beautiful, and parts of this I found really repetitive and reductive.