emlbish's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
astronautin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Suicide, and Pedophilia
loalmdale's review against another edition
5.0
A messy, broken story wrapped up in gorgeous writing. Some of my favorite nuggets from this one that made me fall in love with Brit Bennett’s writing:
“”[…]hard deaths resist words. A soft death can be swallowed with ‘Called home to be with the Lord’ or ‘We'll see her again in glory’, but hard deaths get caught in the teeth like gristle.”
“A girl nowadays has to get nice and close to tell if her man ain’t shit and by then, it might be too late. We were girls once. It's exciting, loving someone who can never love you back. Freeing, in its own way. No shame in loving an ain't-shit man, long as you get it out your system good and early. A tragic woman hooks into an ain't-shit man, or worse, lets him hook into her. He will drag her until he tires. He will climb atop her shoulders and her body will sag from the weight of loving him.”
“After a secret’s been told, everyone becomes a prophet.”
“”[…]hard deaths resist words. A soft death can be swallowed with ‘Called home to be with the Lord’ or ‘We'll see her again in glory’, but hard deaths get caught in the teeth like gristle.”
“A girl nowadays has to get nice and close to tell if her man ain’t shit and by then, it might be too late. We were girls once. It's exciting, loving someone who can never love you back. Freeing, in its own way. No shame in loving an ain't-shit man, long as you get it out your system good and early. A tragic woman hooks into an ain't-shit man, or worse, lets him hook into her. He will drag her until he tires. He will climb atop her shoulders and her body will sag from the weight of loving him.”
“After a secret’s been told, everyone becomes a prophet.”
emwinch's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed Bennett's newest book, The Vanishing Half, so I had high expectations for The Mothers. Minor spoiler alerts ahead.
I love Bennett's writing and I really liked this storyline. I felt myself wanting more complexity from the characters, but I think that the concepts and ideas in this book made up for it. I always love a story that represents more than a single view of motherhood. There's this belief that women should just want to be mothers, when it's a hugely complex decision and sometimes there is an incredible amount of thought, or trauma behind these decisions.
I think that while Nadia had some regrets about her abortion and continued to wonder what her child could have become and how her life would have looked different, deep down she knew that path was not what she wanted for herself. (Or maybe it was. Her mom's suicide had an incredible influence on the way she chose to live). While Aubrey wanted the opportunity to be a better mother than hers was, I think that Nadia wanted to live the life that her mother could have lived, had she not had a child.
I think this one quote from the book really sums up what each of the main characters were going through:
"Grief was not a line, carrying you infinitely further from loss. You never knew when you would be sling-shot backward into its grip."
Side notes: I struggled with the collective Mothers who were narrating the story, and I was really bummed that the ending was left so open.
I love Bennett's writing and I really liked this storyline. I felt myself wanting more complexity from the characters, but I think that the concepts and ideas in this book made up for it. I always love a story that represents more than a single view of motherhood. There's this belief that women should just want to be mothers, when it's a hugely complex decision and sometimes there is an incredible amount of thought, or trauma behind these decisions.
I think that while Nadia had some regrets about her abortion and continued to wonder what her child could have become and how her life would have looked different, deep down she knew that path was not what she wanted for herself. (Or maybe it was. Her mom's suicide had an incredible influence on the way she chose to live). While Aubrey wanted the opportunity to be a better mother than hers was, I think that Nadia wanted to live the life that her mother could have lived, had she not had a child.
I think this one quote from the book really sums up what each of the main characters were going through:
"Grief was not a line, carrying you infinitely further from loss. You never knew when you would be sling-shot backward into its grip."
Side notes: I struggled with the collective Mothers who were narrating the story, and I was really bummed that the ending was left so open.
fboschetti's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
4.5
nbub123's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to read Brit Bennett's debut novel after I read The Vanishing Half. The plot was intense but the ending felt abrupt. I still had so many questions about where all the characters ended up but I think that was Bennett's intention.
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
3.0
If I summarized the plot of this story of a girl, her boyfriend, and her friend, it would seem run of the mill, typical realistic fiction, so I won't summarize it. Instead, I'll make a like/dislike list.
I liked the characters and the way the author showed all their flaws and the consequences of those flaws compassionately. While I wouldn't want to hang out with any of these characters in real life, I felt connected to them, and grew to care about them. I liked the perspective switch with the intermittent chapters narrated by the "Mothers" group, though they featured more in the first part than the end of the novel. It was a novel style choice and clearly showed the community's role in these three people's world. Finally, I especially liked the way the relationships and memories changed over the years - and the smooth way those years transitioned. There was no clunky "and then she moved to a new state" or "after five years, he finally got this job." If anything, the writing shines best when it's not trying to showcase some emotion or crucial plot point, but simply showing a summer day in a hammock or an afternoon in church.
I didn't dislike anything in this novel, than feel less than lukewarm about some things I think I was supposed to feel stronger about. Nadia and her father's relationship evolves from her childhood, teen years, to adulthood, but I felt that her "kind" actions were more driven by self-centeredness and guilt. Maybe I was supposed to sympathize with her, but I wanted to shake her most when she's supposedly repenting.. And a super minor point, why was there so much description of girls wearing sweatpants and having messy hair buns? I love me some comfy pants too, but there are other ways to show comfort and relaxation. (And look at how I avoided punning about lazy writing!).
The narrator, Adenrele Ojo, is also extremely excellent. She doesn't pretend to be an entire cast, but modulates her voice for the main characters so you can easily identify each speaker and feel their emotions.
I liked the characters and the way the author showed all their flaws and the consequences of those flaws compassionately. While I wouldn't want to hang out with any of these characters in real life, I felt connected to them, and grew to care about them. I liked the perspective switch with the intermittent chapters narrated by the "Mothers" group, though they featured more in the first part than the end of the novel. It was a novel style choice and clearly showed the community's role in these three people's world. Finally, I especially liked the way the relationships and memories changed over the years - and the smooth way those years transitioned. There was no clunky "and then she moved to a new state" or "after five years, he finally got this job." If anything, the writing shines best when it's not trying to showcase some emotion or crucial plot point, but simply showing a summer day in a hammock or an afternoon in church.
I didn't dislike anything in this novel, than feel less than lukewarm about some things I think I was supposed to feel stronger about. Nadia and her father's relationship evolves from her childhood, teen years, to adulthood, but I felt that her "kind" actions were more driven by self-centeredness and guilt. Maybe I was supposed to sympathize with her, but I wanted to shake her most when she's supposedly repenting.
Spoiler
I felt that the author wanted the affair to seem inevitable, but it wasn't at all justifiable to me. All the stuff about the two of them being emotionally intimate, even though we don't get much conversation written between them, combined with all the description of her smooth legs on his wounded leg, just confused me. Stop trying to quantify the affair as emotional or sexual or psychological. Let us readers judge that.The narrator, Adenrele Ojo, is also extremely excellent. She doesn't pretend to be an entire cast, but modulates her voice for the main characters so you can easily identify each speaker and feel their emotions.
gathonik's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book was so beautifully written. The way time moves quickly without much fuss as it does in real life I suppose. The writing style and the way the chapters blended was outstanding. And the characters? Oh my word I loved all of them with their flaws.
sarahprandall's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars | This book isn't a page turner, but rather a beautiful and insightful story that unfolds over a decade. The writing is top notch, and the characters flawed, realistic, and memorable.
sarah_harri5's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as The Vanishing Half, but some thought-provoking stuff on mothers / mothering