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sausome's review against another edition
3.0
I'm between 3 and 3.5 for this one, more for the overall feeling the book gave me before it got schmaltzy in the end. I think what happened was Bridget went crazy, and Rebecca died on the side of the road. I was endlessly frustrated that Bridget didn't explain ANYTHING to Mark, and he never asked, just got pissed off and petulant. Ugh. But anyway, I liked the dark feeling of women hovering between depression, fleeting moments of contentment, anger, and madness, all due to, I feel, pressures of life-expectations for women (that of love, marriage, babies, and in current times, debates between work and staying at home). I loved some of the descriptions, like Bridget's describing the sprawl of her lonely, boring days, like spools of thread unwinding endlessly. There are descriptions like this all over the book. There's a ghostly reminiscence of "The Bell Jar" for me, for some reason. I think it's the discontentment with mothering and the inside struggle of feeling self-hatred at not liking being a mother with wanting to be an independent women with "it all", etc. Not sure this makes a ton of sense, but most of my reaction to this book is a series of complicated, over-lapping feelings that I'm having trouble identifying ...
mzdeb's review against another edition
3.0
Bridget is a 21st-century mother in suburban Texas (wish I made note of the city) who “opted out” of her law career to stay home with her daughter Julie, while her husband Mark is the sole breadwinner working 24/7 for a game publisher. 20-year old Rebecca lived in the same location 100 years earlier, a city gal turned farmer’s wife who can only be described as dysfunctional if not outright mentally ill. The book starts with Bridget up late in the dark with her 10-month old daughter, anxiously preoccupied with death--and suspecting that’s what draws a female ghost to her. Later it shifts to Rebecca, on the verge of marrying a childhood acquaintance, John Hirschfelder--who is handsome, and kind, but she can’t exactly pinpoint what exactly made her agree to marry him. And it’s this self-unaware characteristic in her that, while it makes her and her story on some level more interesting, to me made her more annoying.
HERE BE SPOILERS…
YOU WERE WARNED…
STILL HERE?
YOUR LOSS…
Maybe Rebecca never expressing her inner conflict about getting married--what choices did she have, really--and therefore being uneasy about becoming a sexual being, made her actions seem more complex, but in 21-century parlance, she is a headf%*#. While having (consensual) sex with her husband on their kitchen table on their wedding night, she’s developing “theories” as to why this is all happening: 1) she’s doing this because she wants to, but maybe wants to because she knows she has to; 2) she’s the best actress in Texas; 3) maybe some day she would love and desire her husband the way he deserved, but it wasn’t today. (And apparently, that day never comes.) John’s not a brute--he seems like a really nice guy (handsome, too). But Rebecca has it in her head that she’s a fake and deserves to be miserable, to punish some darkness inside her, and what’s the best way to do that? By making John miserable.
W.T.F. Today, if she didn’t already feel free enough to simply jilt John at the altar, John would’ve annulled the marriage within weeks.
And this is before she has their only child, Matthew, so simply saying it’s post-partum depression doesn’t cut it.
Bridget, however, sounds in the beginning like it could be just that. Struggling in that first year, wrestling with her identity now that she’s a SAHM, husband hardly ever home, money and sleep are tight--into this walks a ghost. (And really, do we need to guess who? It’s just a matter of HOW she came to be.) It’s funny how everyone was more critical of Bridget, when you’d think people--well, 21st-century mothers, anyway--could relate to her more. Maybe they see Bridget and sniff “Well, I dealt with it, why can’t she?” It’s as if were we to find Bridget relatable, it means we suck as parents. At least Bridget had the self-awareness to sort out what was going on in her head, ghost notwithstanding. Rebecca just runs hot and cold with no other self-reflection than “I’M A BAD PERSON,” and I wanted to grab her and slap her and say “What the HELL is your problem?”
There are some truly creepy moments (Bridget locks the bedroom door behind her before her family gets in bed together, and is about to fall asleep when the door opens and the smell of dirt enters the room), but “the Barter”--trading an hour of mother and baby’s life for a wish, but usually with immediate and tragic consequences--didn’t seem like a reliable concept. It kinda fizzles out with Bridget anyway--she trades an hour so their family can be happy, which means her and Mark share everything, work and family time; and nobody died for it.
Still--the writing WAS really good.
HERE BE SPOILERS…
YOU WERE WARNED…
STILL HERE?
YOUR LOSS…
Maybe Rebecca never expressing her inner conflict about getting married--what choices did she have, really--and therefore being uneasy about becoming a sexual being, made her actions seem more complex, but in 21-century parlance, she is a headf%*#. While having (consensual) sex with her husband on their kitchen table on their wedding night, she’s developing “theories” as to why this is all happening: 1) she’s doing this because she wants to, but maybe wants to because she knows she has to; 2) she’s the best actress in Texas; 3) maybe some day she would love and desire her husband the way he deserved, but it wasn’t today. (And apparently, that day never comes.) John’s not a brute--he seems like a really nice guy (handsome, too). But Rebecca has it in her head that she’s a fake and deserves to be miserable, to punish some darkness inside her, and what’s the best way to do that? By making John miserable.
W.T.F. Today, if she didn’t already feel free enough to simply jilt John at the altar, John would’ve annulled the marriage within weeks.
And this is before she has their only child, Matthew, so simply saying it’s post-partum depression doesn’t cut it.
Bridget, however, sounds in the beginning like it could be just that. Struggling in that first year, wrestling with her identity now that she’s a SAHM, husband hardly ever home, money and sleep are tight--into this walks a ghost. (And really, do we need to guess who? It’s just a matter of HOW she came to be.) It’s funny how everyone was more critical of Bridget, when you’d think people--well, 21st-century mothers, anyway--could relate to her more. Maybe they see Bridget and sniff “Well, I dealt with it, why can’t she?” It’s as if were we to find Bridget relatable, it means we suck as parents. At least Bridget had the self-awareness to sort out what was going on in her head, ghost notwithstanding. Rebecca just runs hot and cold with no other self-reflection than “I’M A BAD PERSON,” and I wanted to grab her and slap her and say “What the HELL is your problem?”
There are some truly creepy moments (Bridget locks the bedroom door behind her before her family gets in bed together, and is about to fall asleep when the door opens and the smell of dirt enters the room), but “the Barter”--trading an hour of mother and baby’s life for a wish, but usually with immediate and tragic consequences--didn’t seem like a reliable concept. It kinda fizzles out with Bridget anyway--she trades an hour so their family can be happy, which means her and Mark share everything, work and family time; and nobody died for it.
Still--the writing WAS really good.
livreads7's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5 stars. Thanks to Penguin First Reads, I got a chance to read this book.
I liked how the two couples, one in a modern day setting and one in an older setting, seemed so much alike. Both marriages had young children and were failing for similar reasons.
I liked the essential plot of the story. However, the ghost part was a little over drawn and unrealistic. It just wasn't realistic when Bridget, the "present day" protagonist of this novel, calls her mom for ghost advice and her mom believes her instantly.
The narrative for the other couple was slightly boring and mundane.
Overall the story was nice with a few boring bits in between and a few very unrealistic scenes with the ghost.
I liked how the two couples, one in a modern day setting and one in an older setting, seemed so much alike. Both marriages had young children and were failing for similar reasons.
I liked the essential plot of the story. However, the ghost part was a little over drawn and unrealistic. It just wasn't realistic when Bridget, the "present day" protagonist of this novel, calls her mom for ghost advice and her mom believes her instantly.
The narrative for the other couple was slightly boring and mundane.
Overall the story was nice with a few boring bits in between and a few very unrealistic scenes with the ghost.
christiek's review against another edition
Getting ready for bed and I found myself dreading picking up this book. Time to ditch.
One Chapter in, and I hated the main character. 2nd chapter was good, thought I'd keep with the book to see where this storyline goes. Chap 3, more of the annoying character. Chapter 4, good character turns out also awful and her inner monologue also unbearable. Please, no more.
One Chapter in, and I hated the main character. 2nd chapter was good, thought I'd keep with the book to see where this storyline goes. Chap 3, more of the annoying character. Chapter 4, good character turns out also awful and her inner monologue also unbearable. Please, no more.
jaclynday's review against another edition
3.0
The Barter tells the stories of two mothers, separated by a century or so, who are struggling with their identities, marriages, and with parenthood. In the modern-day story, we have Bridget, a former lawyer who decided to stay at home with her daughter after she was born. In the early 1900’s, we follow Rebecca, a confused newlywed who cannot make sense of her feelings toward her husband and her new role as wife/mother on the family farm. The crux of the story is actually a supernatural element—a ghost that Bridget (and her infant daughter Julie) begin to see in their home. Bridget’s husband can’t see the ghost, but Bridget can smell and see the entity and is terrified. The ghost seems to want something from her and she can’t figure out what it is. Even with this very unique plot, it’s not a perfect book by any stretch. It’s not a thriller, though it wants to be, and I didn’t connect to the story initially. For example, the supernatural plot line that appears between the realistic universes of Bridget and Rebecca never becomes a smooth (or even scary) transition. Still, the more I think about this book, the more I like it. There is some very interesting exploration of what it means to become a mother and how all one’s identities and relationships get sucked into the vortex of parenthood. I think Adcock was trying to show that there are no wrong choices when it comes to how we mindfully identify ourselves and our relationships post-baby—but there are choices and acknowledging them, prioritizing them, dissecting them: that is where the hard work begins.
candiebella's review against another edition
2.0
I got this as an advance copy and it got lost in my pile...wish it had stayed lost. Ghost story or rant about what women must sacrifice to have a family? Unclear. I felt it very hostile to stay at home moms- of which I'm one. Are we really all living with our head in the sand about our future in the workforce? Are we all that unpleasant and judgmental to working moms? I hope to hell not. The connection between the ghost and the other main character was sketchy besides the obvious parallel of being asked to sacrifice their identity. Why did she haunt this particular woman? Unclear. Who was the magician??? Really not a good book. I gave it 2 stars because the two story lines as individual plots started off as interesting.
sarahjo's review against another edition
3.0
This book did nothing but confuse me. I did not hate, I did not love.
bluekaren's review against another edition
3.0
This book was slow to start but then it picked up. I loved the depth of the characters. Neither of these ladies is in a typical marriage and their stories are interesting, although a bit slow at times. The relationships between these two woman separated by decades have some things in common, they are both lost in their roles as mother and wives. I found The Barter an enjoyable read by about chapter 4. The ghost in this book was not very believable, but I guess everyone’s ghost story is unique.
These woman are both willing to give up something for their children. Bridget is our modern day mom. Bridget has the pressure of money woos and play groups. She has a lot going on as a stay at home mom. I believe a lot of new moms could relate to her story. She struggles to reconnect with her husband after a baby and fit in with the top moms of the neighborhood. Bridget gave up her job as an attorney to raise her daughter. Her husband is absent throughout most of the story, working double time to support his new family. The only thing different for this mom is that she has a ghost living her home. A ghost that her husband can’t see. She is alone in dealing with this thing invading her home.
Rebecca is a woman living in the early 1900′s. Her child rearing looks much different than Bridget’s. She is the daughter to a German immigrant doctor. Rebecca’s mother died shortly after childbirth, so Frau, Rebecca’s father’s cousin, helped raise her. Of the many stories Frau told her, the one of her mother’s bartering an hour of life for her daughter’s happiness troubles Rebecca the most. She contemplates what she would give up for her son’s happiness. Rebecca marries a man she doesn’t especially love and the whole relationship is strained right from the start. Her story was really interesting since her struggles are so different from the modern woman. Daily life is harder and child rearing in this time proves to be much more difficult. Her horrors about the Barter are passed on from her mother.
I was sure by about chapter 2 that the title had nothing to do with the story, and was all about the ghost. I was wrong as this book is all about a Barter. The Barter is with their love for their children. This story about a ghost haunting a new mother is scary. I got a bit sucked into Rebecca’s story as well. The last two chapters left me baffled. After all that these mothers though, went through, and wondered, the story ends abruptly. All the loose ends are tied up by a magician for Rebecca, and a night at a party for Bridget. What happens in these last two chapters is confusing and left me really disappointing by this book. If the ghost story was unbelievable, the ending is even more so. The Barter had some bright spots but I would not recommend this read. I am left wondering what the Barter in this story actually means and what the author was trying to do with this story.
These woman are both willing to give up something for their children. Bridget is our modern day mom. Bridget has the pressure of money woos and play groups. She has a lot going on as a stay at home mom. I believe a lot of new moms could relate to her story. She struggles to reconnect with her husband after a baby and fit in with the top moms of the neighborhood. Bridget gave up her job as an attorney to raise her daughter. Her husband is absent throughout most of the story, working double time to support his new family. The only thing different for this mom is that she has a ghost living her home. A ghost that her husband can’t see. She is alone in dealing with this thing invading her home.
Rebecca is a woman living in the early 1900′s. Her child rearing looks much different than Bridget’s. She is the daughter to a German immigrant doctor. Rebecca’s mother died shortly after childbirth, so Frau, Rebecca’s father’s cousin, helped raise her. Of the many stories Frau told her, the one of her mother’s bartering an hour of life for her daughter’s happiness troubles Rebecca the most. She contemplates what she would give up for her son’s happiness. Rebecca marries a man she doesn’t especially love and the whole relationship is strained right from the start. Her story was really interesting since her struggles are so different from the modern woman. Daily life is harder and child rearing in this time proves to be much more difficult. Her horrors about the Barter are passed on from her mother.
I was sure by about chapter 2 that the title had nothing to do with the story, and was all about the ghost. I was wrong as this book is all about a Barter. The Barter is with their love for their children. This story about a ghost haunting a new mother is scary. I got a bit sucked into Rebecca’s story as well. The last two chapters left me baffled. After all that these mothers though, went through, and wondered, the story ends abruptly. All the loose ends are tied up by a magician for Rebecca, and a night at a party for Bridget. What happens in these last two chapters is confusing and left me really disappointing by this book. If the ghost story was unbelievable, the ending is even more so. The Barter had some bright spots but I would not recommend this read. I am left wondering what the Barter in this story actually means and what the author was trying to do with this story.