Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth

5 reviews

siebensommer's review

felt extremely repetitive and i found myself not picking it up (even though the hardcover is so beautiful) 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent and Death

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Abortion, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

linguaphile412's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

lilyeligator's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Abandonment

jaimeeslitlife's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Is Mother Dead is a stark, visceral novel about obsession, perception vs. reality, and the toxic relationship between a mother and estranged daughter (Johanna).

Is Mother Dead reads as very stream-of-consciousness, like diary entries, full of run-on and nonlinear sentences. I don't know that I ever fully got into the rhythm of this read, but I think the writing style captured the sense of overthinking and constant questioning that stems from extreme anxiety and guilt.

I loved that Johanna was the ultimate unreliable narrator. From safely outside the pages, the reader looks at her actions and sees all the red flags, but Johanna's point of view shows that she truly thinks of herself as a victim who is trying her best to do what's right, despite everything and everyone trying to stop her. Johanna's initial escalations from obsessive thoughts to actions happened so seamlessly that I found myself rereading passages and having to pause to figure out whether the events I was reading about were happening in Johanna's imagination or in the real world. As Johanna's obsession grew, her actions continued to escalate without warning, keeping me on my toes.

Though on the shorter side, I found the book to be a bit repetitive - but I suppose obsessive thoughts are.

Hjorth definitely has a gift for character-based psychological drama and for baring the souls of her characters. If you enjoy complex reads that explore the twisted inner workings of emotion and that are more vibe than plot, consider checking this one out! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Death