Reviews

The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar

Only show reviews with written explanations

ellenjohannas's review

emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

DNF. The writing of this book is beautiful and poetic. It does a uniquely wonderful job of depicting the cyclical, dark, timeless hours of early motherhood. I had to return it to the digital library at 50% and I’m not planning to re-check it out because I get the idea and frankly it’s tough to read even with a toddler not an infant.

leahharris's review

Go to review page

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

hgullegrogan's review

Go to review page

4.0

A novel which illustrates the difficult transition into motherhood.

outis_metis's review

Go to review page

Ugh, I didn't like it and it was making me unhappy.

Content Warnings

lucyp21's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

I picked this book up on impulse from NetGalley. This is a story about a woman who becomes a mother and isn't prepared for the changes in her body and life, especially when she's struggling with post-partum depression as well.

This book hits the feeling of PPD extremely well (and I say this as someone who has never gone through it). The narrator (who never gets a name) swings between all encompassing worry for her baby and then feelings about what would happen if she just walked away. The intrusive thoughts are constant and a worry all on its own, especially when the narrator is feeling completely isolated from anyone. The author captures really well the toll pregnancy and childbirth can have on the body and how it can affect someone's ability and desire to leave the house, but then how that leads to a vicious cycle because the isolation just makes the narrator feel worse.

What I found really interesting was how the author wrote the husband, Peter. He got a name and a job and more of a personality than the narrator, but that seemed to be far more of a demonstration of how that can all still continue when he becomes a father, while the unnamed narrator is only the mother/the nursery. I really loved how the author didn't make the husband a bad guy or even a bad father, more oblivious to what was actually going through his wife's head and exactly what she needed. One line that stood out for me in particular was him telling the narrator that he had a big day at work the next day so he was going to put his earplugs in overnight. It may be true but it made me as the reader want to slap him even, as I said, he wasn't a bad person, husband or father. He just didn't seem to realise his partner's experience of parenthood was different from his own.

This was more of a character study about an experience (motherhood) rather than a book with a solid plot, and the upstairs neighbour subplot didn't seem to connect too well to the rest of the story.

That said, I did enjoy this story, a lot more than I thought I would if you had purely described it to me. The description of PPD hit extremely hard.

3.5 stars!