Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Mothers

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

106 reviews

lindseyas's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I really love Brit Bennett, but it's particularly her characterization methods that get me going. She has the power to create such incredibly diverse, flawed and deep characters that are perfect for one another and the plot. Each of the people in this novel, whether they play big or small parts, has their own personal history that contributes significant amounts of knowledge to the nature of the book. They each embody the stresses of motherhood or friendship or femininity or life itself — there is no perfect way to be a mother, no perfect way to be a friend, no perfect way to live or love or be yourself. The different ways in which motherhood is described in the novel is paramount to audience understanding — there are bad mothers, there are good mothers, there are absent mothers and there are mothers who just aren't up to the job just yet. It just depends on who you are. Also, Go Blue, baby.

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namii's review against another edition

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1.5

i hated reading about luke i hated all the men in this book i hated how they talked about abortion.
Nadia made awful choices that i don’t understand but i get that i’m not really supposed to understand most of those choices that just felt harmful to everyone including herself.
It’s like instead of choosing something easy she decided to torture herself.

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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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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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sparklefarm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

I don't know how to review this book. I've been sitting with it two days after I finished. I read Bennett's The Vanishing Half first, and found it arresting and unputdownable, which was not necessarily the case for The Mothers, although I truly enjoyed it. I think when reading books I tend to want them to have "a point," or a true conclusion. The Mothers didn't; it had the literary equivalent of a song fading out. No less effective, but it left me wanting. I wanted to know the details about whether our characters were okay, did they heal, did they find what they were looking for? But I suppose that's also the hallmark of a good book. I've kept thinking about Aubrey and Nadia and Luke, because Bennett made them feel real. She's so good.

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yajairat's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

Brit Bennett's novels read like a movie to me, they would be great for the screen! This book had me hooked from beginning to end. I really liked seeing the effects that different types of mothering (or lack of) had on the characters throughout the book. It's a little easier to understand why Nadia and Aubrey are the way they are. With that being said, they (along with Luke) were pretty frustrating characters, I found myself scowling a lot at my kindle when they made decisions that I found... stupid? But I understand that it's in the name of showing us their complex personalities. I kind of felt sad for the characters, for their relationships and where we left them. I wish we had a little more closure, a look into what they were feeling, if they found peace within themselves.

I appreciated the way the author approached the topic of abortion, with all of its nuances, what ifs, and effects on both parents. Also really liked its commentary on motherhood and the Black church (shoutout to the mothers).

Loved loved loved Brit Bennett's writing, using terms like unpregnant and unloved in the context of this story were very powerful, and a reason why I was so engrossed.

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arminam's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.25

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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

This was such a good read, I really liked the exact amount of plot we were given, we got a good slice of life. Somehow managed to include loads of heavy topics without being too triggering.

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moriahleigh'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

3.75

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whatcassiedid's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed most of this but the ending just didn't hit right for me

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