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lwl000's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As a big fan of The Vanishing Half, I expected great things from this one too. I love Bennett’s writing and the beautiful, poetic statements she sprinkles through this novel. Unfortunately, for me, the storyline and the characters just fell flat. I found the characters stale and without much depth; most of all (and this is odd since I usually love some moody/sad characters) they were just all so dang wan and depressing. I didn’t see any character development or growth here, and I felt we ended up right where we started: with judgement from others and guilt/regret around certain life decisions.
I found the treatment of the themes of abortion and sex/infidelity, through the lens of righteousness/piety of a church community, to also be tiresome and unoriginal.
I found the treatment of the themes of abortion and sex/infidelity, through the lens of righteousness/piety of a church community, to also be tiresome and unoriginal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, Grief, Infertility, Suicide, Child abuse, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol
marjoriehuang's review against another edition
3.5
This book is about a girl named nadia who loses her mother to suicide and begins to contemplate her own role as a mother when her boyfriend luke gets her pregnant and she gets an abortion.
there's also her pious best friend aubrey who she has a complex relationship with because she hides the abortion and also the boyfriend from her, but then the best friend and her childhood boyfriend get married. and then there is the whole her ex boyfriend cheating on aubrey with her thing.
throughout the book there are sections where these old church ladies will speak as a collective "we" about the events of the book. they are the eponymous mothers. I didn't really like the inclusion of their narrative voice, to be honest. I feel like it laid the themes on a bit too thick, and they were also really really annoying. these women are basically those people who act they have your best interests at heart but really will just gossip about you. they're super sexist, of course
I feel like this book had a lot of potential to become a really rich story about religious trauma (explored through aubrey) and guilt + grief (nadia) but instead it lost a lot of its initial shimmer to me after the first 100 pages. I really don't tend to like it when authors switch perspectives around a lot of make a bunch of years pass in a story without good reason: those narrative techniques to me usually indicate that the author is digging for things to write about because they don't have enough material to flesh out their novel with one time period/perspective alone. I also found luke's perspective distracting and not particularly compelling. he was also insanely annoying and I feel like Brit Bennett's message got muddled by her trying to be compassionate to him?? but she also made him so horrible.
This book is only getting 3.5 stars because it contains bennett's signature writing style which I love. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) her second book greatly outshines this one.
there's also her pious best friend aubrey who she has a complex relationship with because she hides the abortion and also the boyfriend from her, but then the best friend and her childhood boyfriend get married. and then there is the whole her ex boyfriend cheating on aubrey with her thing.
throughout the book there are sections where these old church ladies will speak as a collective "we" about the events of the book. they are the eponymous mothers. I didn't really like the inclusion of their narrative voice, to be honest. I feel like it laid the themes on a bit too thick, and they were also really really annoying. these women are basically those people who act they have your best interests at heart but really will just gossip about you. they're super sexist, of course
I feel like this book had a lot of potential to become a really rich story about religious trauma (explored through aubrey) and guilt + grief (nadia) but instead it lost a lot of its initial shimmer to me after the first 100 pages. I really don't tend to like it when authors switch perspectives around a lot of make a bunch of years pass in a story without good reason: those narrative techniques to me usually indicate that the author is digging for things to write about because they don't have enough material to flesh out their novel with one time period/perspective alone. I also found luke's perspective distracting and not particularly compelling. he was also insanely annoying and I feel like Brit Bennett's message got muddled by her trying to be compassionate to him?? but she also made him so horrible.
This book is only getting 3.5 stars because it contains bennett's signature writing style which I love. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) her second book greatly outshines this one.
kiersif's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
atgerstner's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
j_k_w's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
healnotslay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Brit Bennett the writer you are...
jenhurst's review against another edition
4.0
4.5.
Brit Bennett’s writing and narrative voice is beautiful. It draws me in and keeps me engaged the entire time. I loved this story about being black in contemporary America. It doesn’t feel like a debut and after reading 2 books by Brit Bennett I know I will be reading all of her books that she puts out going forward. The story is just so beautiful and I felt so attached to all the characters.
Brit Bennett’s writing and narrative voice is beautiful. It draws me in and keeps me engaged the entire time. I loved this story about being black in contemporary America. It doesn’t feel like a debut and after reading 2 books by Brit Bennett I know I will be reading all of her books that she puts out going forward. The story is just so beautiful and I felt so attached to all the characters.
odditymx's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-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
4.0
sunshineariel's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Infertility, Death of parent, and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Sexual assault