Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Mothers

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

mollysam's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

intimate yet distant

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m0_x13's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

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bites_of_books's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

What I enjoy the most about Bennett's novels is the writing style. The perspective of this book starts from that of a group of older women who attend church and are always keeping tabs on what's happening in their community. A bit of gossip yes, but also that introspective moment when they start to remember what it was like to be a young woman falling in love, making mistakes, and always reacting to what the church would think of those actions.

At its core, this book is about motherhood, all viewed from the perspective of two young women, Nadia and Audrey, who don't have their mothers in their lives anymore. There are also other mother figures, such as Audrey's sister and her partner, the women at the church who try to give guidance in their own way, and even people at clinics who hold hands and give advice when needed.

Nadia, Audrey, and Luke are three young people whose lives are intertwined throughout the book, they will fall in love, be protective of each other, hold resentments, and even hurt each other as they try to find ways to live their own lives. The influence of their parents, the church, and society weighs heavy on them and they really are only trying to find some kind of happiness in the best way they can.

If you like contemporary stories that take a hard look at the influence of a community on young people, this is a great book to read. It's a heavy book with a lot of sadness and loneliness throughout so do read carefully.

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sarahholliday's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Bennett is able to tell stories in a way that feels so effortless—you could easily read The Mothers in a single sitting because it feels like an extended conversation, or a story being told to you by a friend over coffee.

Like in any story, things happen and events transpire, but emotions are the main star of this story—the healthy and unhealthy ways we deal with them, how complicated and layered they are, how they evolve over time as we grow.

I wouldn't have minded a little more meat to the final chapters of the book.

To see how Luke and Aubrey put their life back together, what Nadia goes on to do with her law degree.

I would've also liked to have seen some more intentional grappling with religion and its impact on the characters' lives, but I think that may be a desire informed by my own (white) evangelical upbringing. That kind of deconstructing may not be an accurate reflection of the black religious experience, given the ways the church is tied up in community and political activism.

All of those very small issues aside, The Mothers has proven my theory that Brit Bennett is an automatic-read author for me.

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jaja_1212's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

The characters felt realistically flawed in their own ways and I enjoyed the writing metaphorical and intimate writing style, which kept me going even although the narrative voice took a while for me to get used to.

After getting such a deep, intimate look into the lives and minds of these characters the ending felt a little too abrupt, I can see why the author might want to end it at that point in their lives though.

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bbonaguro's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.0

really great book, definitely reflective and pulled at the heartstrings interesting way the story was told from the mothers perspectives and also by Aubrey, Nadia, and Luke. Challenging topic but great book

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jessereadsthings's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really interesting story! My only complaint is I’m not sure how I feel about the ending.

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abbie_'s review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

I was heading for a bit of a slump, luckily Brit Bennett’s debut sailed in and saved the day! I read The Vanishing Half when it came out, loved it, then in classic fashion, didn’t get round to the author’s debut for 3 years. But The Mothers is definitely worth the wait, I may even have enjoyed it more than The Vanishing Half, can’t quite decide!

It’s only 280 pages or so, but it has the richness of a novel twice that length. It follows the impact of a decision made by a 17 year old girl that reverberates through her life and the lives of those around her. It includes a perspective we don’t often hear from when it comes to abortion, and to me it felt thoughtfully done. Bennett navigates the ups and downs of a teenage friendship through to adulthood, and I think everyone did genuinely feel like they’d grown up - so often characters in their twenties are written to behave like 16 year olds.

There are quite a few questionable decisions made throughout this book, which honestly I always love lol. Can’t be dealing with drama in real life but I love my books with plenty of messiness. If you enjoy a good drama centred on friendship rather than family, I’d def recommend giving this one a go!

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