Reviews

Every Day Is Mother's Day by Hilary Mantel

foggy_rosamund's review against another edition

2.0

Definitely the worst Mantel I've read so far! Interestingly, this reads a bit like an early draft of Beyond Black: similar themes of afterlife, haunting, and the horrors that exist just below the surface of the normal world. It's also about the preoccupations of the middle classes, and their focus on appearances rather than reality. But Beyond Black succeeds as a study of character, of the horrors of the real world, and is a carefully judged novel. This, on the other hand, is uneven almost everywhere. Mantel's dialogue and prose are good, and the novel remains readable because of them, but the story can't decide whether it's satire or deadly serious, whether we feel for the characters or despise them. It's ill-judged and unbalanced, and the elements of horror reach such maudlin heights it's hard not to laugh at them. But it's Mantel's first novel, and it's interesting to see how much better her writing becomes.

heathssm's review

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

quills_and_typewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

ericabo_louise's review against another edition

3.0

This is definitely an /interesting/ read, and Mantel’s writing is one of those things I wanted to get to know, but I couldn’t get my hands around what this book was really about. Interior vs exterior, appearance versus truth, rot and decay hiding... rot and decay? I’m usually pretty good at parsing meaning but this one was a little opaque to me, but I’m okay with that. I think that might have been part of the deal.

mazza57's review against another edition

3.0

So this is the first Hilary Mantel book i have read. Not a difficult read but not exactly a riveting tale. In the book Evelyn's speech is described as "a noise, like the clatter if dustbin lids or the crack of bone" to be fair the plot is a little like that . There is lots of content without it really going anywhere. its a little morose and dark

hazesne's review against another edition

dark funny 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

3.5

bookpossum's review against another edition

4.0

Wow! Mantel's first published novel takes the reader to a very dark place indeed. I didn't really want to be there, but I couldn't look away, because it was and is all so possible. Despite the grim central story and the depressingly miserable secondary characters, there are some funny moments, not least a dinner party attended by Colin, one of the supporting cast, and his wife. A gathering of more poisonous and pretentious people would be hard to imagine.

Brilliant stuff, but anyone reading it needs to be in a cheerful frame of mind!

hattiereadssomanybooks_x's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

kniphofia7's review against another edition

4.0

Superbly, blackly macabre.

thrifty_librarian's review against another edition

4.0

I tried to read [b:Wolf Hall|6101138|Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)|Hilary Mantel|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1336576165s/6101138.jpg|6278354] but couldn't get through it. Wolf Hall is quite opaque and arduous to read without the reader's knowledge of the time period and characters. This is totally different, almost a psychological thriller.

This creepy novel was a treat to read. It centers around a mother and daughter. The mother believes there are spirits living in the house and is in other ways imbalanced. The daughter is a little slow but has become completely dysfunctional because of her mother. A social worker, her (married) boyfriend, his sister and his wife are also important to the novel. Their relationships are twisted masterfully and are beautifully shown.

I'll be reading the sequel.