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A review by jcstokes95
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The toughest thing about this book is trying to figure out why it isn't an absolute knockout for me. I'm sure some people think good books are like an alchemy of all the right parts. But this has all the components that should make it five stars. But it lacks the little bit of magic to seal the deal. For example, Brit Bennet's writing, line by line, is astonishingly good. I mean, she has a real gift, everything sounds realistic but like poetry. This is most on display during Greek chorus of The Mothers from Upper Room, who provide a real sense of time and place. They are both loving and spiteful; they give the reader a really profound sense of the silent pressure mounting on Nadia.
Nadia, our main character, finds herself pregnant, threatening her plans to get out of a town that only reminds her of the suicide of her mother. She makes the choice to end the pregnancy, seeking money from the pastor's son who put her in the family way. Her choice has far-reaching consequences (mainly because Luke, the pastor's son, is a big fucking loser. More on that later).
Obviously, the plot here is full of dramatic turns; Bennet has material that she can pull a lot of nuance out of. And she mostly does. Luke struggles with the fact that he would have liked to keep the child. Nadia struggles with consideration of a life she decided not to pursue while knowing she made the right choice for her future. The mother figures all loom large and we think a lot about all the kinds of mothers that exist in the world. The characters are complex and deeply human.
However, by the end of all this thinking and pontificating, I am not really sure what we are supposed to think. The fact that so many seem to think to think the novel is sending a pro-life message but also the author seems to want us to view Nadia as chasing a dream/escape that could only happen because of it; it just feels, without a clear message. Not even a clear message about what we are supposed to feel ambiguity about.
While on the whole, I found Bennet excellent at writing characters who make insane but very realistic choices, I've got one other gripe. I cannot fathom why Luke seems to unravel both the women at the center of this story. We are supposed to believe a girl with unearthly beauty and a law degrees continues to ruin her life over a washed up former athlete who has no emotional intelligence, all because she fucked him for two months when she was 17? Luke is so uniformly horrible, I can't buy that Nadia and a second woman would give a shit about him. Sorry. Can't do it.
Maybe I could have gotten behind this if at any point Nadia or Audrey showed some semblance of agency. But it felt like they were getting swept along in some bullshit current and I could not figure out why. I couldn't attach myself to characters who seemed so fully fleshed out, but then just stood there? All in all, I would read from this Bennet again, but am not sure I can quite stand still with her characters this long.
Nadia, our main character, finds herself pregnant, threatening her plans to get out of a town that only reminds her of the suicide of her mother. She makes the choice to end the pregnancy, seeking money from the pastor's son who put her in the family way. Her choice has far-reaching consequences (mainly because Luke, the pastor's son, is a big fucking loser. More on that later).
Obviously, the plot here is full of dramatic turns; Bennet has material that she can pull a lot of nuance out of. And she mostly does. Luke struggles with the fact that he would have liked to keep the child. Nadia struggles with consideration of a life she decided not to pursue while knowing she made the right choice for her future. The mother figures all loom large and we think a lot about all the kinds of mothers that exist in the world. The characters are complex and deeply human.
However, by the end of all this thinking and pontificating, I am not really sure what we are supposed to think. The fact that so many seem to think to think the novel is sending a pro-life message but also the author seems to want us to view Nadia as chasing a dream/escape that could only happen because of it; it just feels, without a clear message. Not even a clear message about what we are supposed to feel ambiguity about.
While on the whole, I found Bennet excellent at writing characters who make insane but very realistic choices, I've got one other gripe. I cannot fathom why Luke seems to unravel both the women at the center of this story. We are supposed to believe a girl with unearthly beauty and a law degrees continues to ruin her life over a washed up former athlete who has no emotional intelligence, all because she fucked him for two months when she was 17? Luke is so uniformly horrible, I can't buy that Nadia and a second woman would give a shit about him. Sorry. Can't do it.
Maybe I could have gotten behind this if at any point Nadia or Audrey showed some semblance of agency. But it felt like they were getting swept along in some bullshit current and I could not figure out why. I couldn't attach myself to characters who seemed so fully fleshed out, but then just stood there? All in all, I would read from this Bennet again, but am not sure I can quite stand still with her characters this long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault