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waitalienat's review against another edition
1.0
So, let me start off by clarifying something: I am not a mother. I can't make any claims whatsoever about how difficult pregnancy is and about how babies suck the life out of you. I can't.
However, I am a daughter, I'm about to turn 19 and I have a mother who shares more secrets and thoughts with me than I care to admit to the public. She's never lied to me about how hard motherhood is, she's never embellished her thoughts about pregnancy and adulthood for my own sake and, what's more, I know that she would never leave her children and go on a fucking road trip across the United Kingdom simply because she might, at some point in her life, feel depressed.
And I'm not saying this because I'm some silly teenager who lies to herself and tries to cover her eyes when she's supposed to face the harsh truths of life.
No, I'm saying this because I have the incredible luck of looking up to a good mother, a woman who has had her fair share of troubles in her life, who has gone through two pregnancies, who has had to make sacrifices and give up habits for the sake of family life, but she's also a woman who would never question, or even regret, the choices that have led her to be the person that she is now. Giving birth is not easy and, let's admit it, it's not for everyone. But once a woman decides to go on, rather than interrupting her pregnancy, then she doesn't have a choice but to take responsibility for the decision that she's made.
And the main character of [b:Nine Months|13517120|Nine Months|Paula Bomer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359951378s/13517120.jpg|19074946] royally fails at that.
I have never encountered a character as unpleasant, irresponsible, childish and immature as Paula Bomer's Sonia. Into her late thirties, she's a woman who suddenly decides to pack her things, leave her husband and two little children and embark on a journey across America, having sex with random strangers, gulping down beer and getting high on weed.
Now, I wouldn't normally criticise this sort of reaction. I get it, unexpected pregnancy - if not pregnancy, in general - can really hit you in the guts and make you think through everything you've done up to that point with your life. You might be crushed under the weight of regret for all the things that you could have done but didn't, for all the possibilities that only come once in your life and that, now that you're about to give birth to a new human being, probably will never come again. As I've said, I get it.
What I don't get, however, is the fact that such a reaction should come from a thirty something year old woman, a mother of two little children, who has previously experienced pregnancy and who should by now be aware of the risks brought about by unprotected sex!
I mean, seriously, cut the crap and behave like a grown up, Sonia.
"And what's wrong with Sonia anyway, wanting to go out to bars at night? A married woman? Why would she want to do that?
Because she does. Because she just fucking does. She misses bars. She loved bartending. It was something, besides painting, that's she was good at."
Well, what's preventing you from painting? What's keeping you from pursuing your passions?
Having to take care of children is a big, a huge responsibility, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to annihilate you! You can be a good mother and have your exhibitions all at the same time!
I really tried to sympathise with Sonia, I tried so hard.
I tried to understand her anger and her frustration, only to end up becoming angry and frustrated myself.
You see, what I'm trying to get across here is that methods of contraception exist, they are there for us to use them. And I'm not against abortion, because I fully agree with the idea that a woman is the sole owner of her body and that she should do whatever she wants to do with it.
But, dear Sonia, once you decide to keep the baby, you have to be aware of the responsibilities and the duties that come with such a decision, including the fact that you should stay the hell away from alcohol and drugs! Her road trip did not make me sympathise with her issues in the least.
Rather than a depressed pregnant woman, Sonia feels more like an angsty teenager craving for attention and going from one extreme to the other, drinking beer and smoking weed, because she simply, fucking can!
However, I am a daughter, I'm about to turn 19 and I have a mother who shares more secrets and thoughts with me than I care to admit to the public. She's never lied to me about how hard motherhood is, she's never embellished her thoughts about pregnancy and adulthood for my own sake and, what's more, I know that she would never leave her children and go on a fucking road trip across the United Kingdom simply because she might, at some point in her life, feel depressed.
And I'm not saying this because I'm some silly teenager who lies to herself and tries to cover her eyes when she's supposed to face the harsh truths of life.
No, I'm saying this because I have the incredible luck of looking up to a good mother, a woman who has had her fair share of troubles in her life, who has gone through two pregnancies, who has had to make sacrifices and give up habits for the sake of family life, but she's also a woman who would never question, or even regret, the choices that have led her to be the person that she is now. Giving birth is not easy and, let's admit it, it's not for everyone. But once a woman decides to go on, rather than interrupting her pregnancy, then she doesn't have a choice but to take responsibility for the decision that she's made.
And the main character of [b:Nine Months|13517120|Nine Months|Paula Bomer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359951378s/13517120.jpg|19074946] royally fails at that.
I have never encountered a character as unpleasant, irresponsible, childish and immature as Paula Bomer's Sonia. Into her late thirties, she's a woman who suddenly decides to pack her things, leave her husband and two little children and embark on a journey across America, having sex with random strangers, gulping down beer and getting high on weed.
Now, I wouldn't normally criticise this sort of reaction. I get it, unexpected pregnancy - if not pregnancy, in general - can really hit you in the guts and make you think through everything you've done up to that point with your life. You might be crushed under the weight of regret for all the things that you could have done but didn't, for all the possibilities that only come once in your life and that, now that you're about to give birth to a new human being, probably will never come again. As I've said, I get it.
What I don't get, however, is the fact that such a reaction should come from a thirty something year old woman, a mother of two little children, who has previously experienced pregnancy and who should by now be aware of the risks brought about by unprotected sex!
I mean, seriously, cut the crap and behave like a grown up, Sonia.
"And what's wrong with Sonia anyway, wanting to go out to bars at night? A married woman? Why would she want to do that?
Because she does. Because she just fucking does. She misses bars. She loved bartending. It was something, besides painting, that's she was good at."
Well, what's preventing you from painting? What's keeping you from pursuing your passions?
Having to take care of children is a big, a huge responsibility, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to annihilate you! You can be a good mother and have your exhibitions all at the same time!
I really tried to sympathise with Sonia, I tried so hard.
I tried to understand her anger and her frustration, only to end up becoming angry and frustrated myself.
You see, what I'm trying to get across here is that methods of contraception exist, they are there for us to use them. And I'm not against abortion, because I fully agree with the idea that a woman is the sole owner of her body and that she should do whatever she wants to do with it.
But, dear Sonia, once you decide to keep the baby, you have to be aware of the responsibilities and the duties that come with such a decision, including the fact that you should stay the hell away from alcohol and drugs! Her road trip did not make me sympathise with her issues in the least.
Rather than a depressed pregnant woman, Sonia feels more like an angsty teenager craving for attention and going from one extreme to the other, drinking beer and smoking weed, because she simply, fucking can!
melanie_page's review against another edition
4.0
In Nine Months, a novel that begins at the end then takes us back to show how we got there, Paula Bomer puts her naughty nature as a writer up front. In the first paragraph alone, be prepared to read words like "bloated," "ripped and torn," and "yellowish-green umbilical cord." She puts "placenta" and "hurdles" in the same sentence. Of course, she wouldn't be Paula Bomer if she didn't. Or, maybe you won't be prepared for Nine Months, the novelization of the anti-mother, because you haven't read Bomer's collection Baby.
Meet Sonia, the lady who is married and pregnant (again—how inconvenient!) just when her two boys are getting out of diapers. Just when Sonia is about ready to take up painting again, like she did in college. Back when she used to sleep with her professors. Back when she was "someone." If Nine Months had a thesis, I dare suggest the book argues children make you old and no fun (fun is for individuals). Sonia's personality was so divided to me: one minute she's hugging her kids, the next minute she's giving them the stink eye. What does this mean? Is there no coinciding between mother and child? Must it be love or hate and never "you exist and I appreciate that, but I'm going to work you into my life, not make you my life"—Sonia doesn't seem to think so. Because Sonia is so flip-floppy in her attitude toward motherhood, you either love or hate her (just check the Goodread scores!).
But Bomer's book, both disgusting (hemorrhoids!) and funny (ahhh, masterbation), points out some deeply ingrained societal issues. Another mother ("educated, white, middle-class") points out that her youngest kid, a girl, "helps me pick up after the boys. She's just a baby, but she knows how to pick up. My boys don't, of course." Have these boy children no sense of self-pride? Sonia's friend tries to put Sonia's unexpected/unwanted pregnancy into a better light, suggesting this baby might be a girl: "Everyone needs a daughter...Who's going to take care of you when you get old? Your sons? I don't think so." Girls and woman: maids, wombs, sex providers. After giving her husband a blow job, he returns the favor to Sonia in the morning by picking up and making breakfast. "Why is this special," she asks, "Why don't you give me your best shot every morning? Why don't you feel any obligation around here? All I can say is, I'm never sucking your fucking dick again. You got that? Never." The points Bomer makes about expected gender divides are made clear without sounding preachy. Honest dialogue comes from Sonia on these topics, even when she sounds "bitchy." Sonia tries to figure out what it means to be a mother through her interactions with others, and everyone seems to lean toward female = self-sacrifice (whether a mother or not).
I'm sure other book reviews will describe how Sonia flees her family and goes on a road trip, ingesting drugs and having unprotected sex at a rest stop. But I think focusing on the fringe behaviors misses the big picture of the story. It's a rambunctious book, one that wants to cover a lot, but if you're only reading to find out how "naughty" Sonia is and how her husband will react/punish her (or how the reader would condemn her), then Nine Months will end on an empty note indeed.
Review originally published at JMWW.
I just read this and it made me think of the main character in Nine Months:
"It is a seductive position writers put the reader in when the create an interesting, unlikeable character--they make the reader complicit, in ways that are both uncomfortable and intriguing."--From Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Meet Sonia, the lady who is married and pregnant (again—how inconvenient!) just when her two boys are getting out of diapers. Just when Sonia is about ready to take up painting again, like she did in college. Back when she used to sleep with her professors. Back when she was "someone." If Nine Months had a thesis, I dare suggest the book argues children make you old and no fun (fun is for individuals). Sonia's personality was so divided to me: one minute she's hugging her kids, the next minute she's giving them the stink eye. What does this mean? Is there no coinciding between mother and child? Must it be love or hate and never "you exist and I appreciate that, but I'm going to work you into my life, not make you my life"—Sonia doesn't seem to think so. Because Sonia is so flip-floppy in her attitude toward motherhood, you either love or hate her (just check the Goodread scores!).
But Bomer's book, both disgusting (hemorrhoids!) and funny (ahhh, masterbation), points out some deeply ingrained societal issues. Another mother ("educated, white, middle-class") points out that her youngest kid, a girl, "helps me pick up after the boys. She's just a baby, but she knows how to pick up. My boys don't, of course." Have these boy children no sense of self-pride? Sonia's friend tries to put Sonia's unexpected/unwanted pregnancy into a better light, suggesting this baby might be a girl: "Everyone needs a daughter...Who's going to take care of you when you get old? Your sons? I don't think so." Girls and woman: maids, wombs, sex providers. After giving her husband a blow job, he returns the favor to Sonia in the morning by picking up and making breakfast. "Why is this special," she asks, "Why don't you give me your best shot every morning? Why don't you feel any obligation around here? All I can say is, I'm never sucking your fucking dick again. You got that? Never." The points Bomer makes about expected gender divides are made clear without sounding preachy. Honest dialogue comes from Sonia on these topics, even when she sounds "bitchy." Sonia tries to figure out what it means to be a mother through her interactions with others, and everyone seems to lean toward female = self-sacrifice (whether a mother or not).
I'm sure other book reviews will describe how Sonia flees her family and goes on a road trip, ingesting drugs and having unprotected sex at a rest stop. But I think focusing on the fringe behaviors misses the big picture of the story. It's a rambunctious book, one that wants to cover a lot, but if you're only reading to find out how "naughty" Sonia is and how her husband will react/punish her (or how the reader would condemn her), then Nine Months will end on an empty note indeed.
Review originally published at JMWW.
I just read this and it made me think of the main character in Nine Months:
"It is a seductive position writers put the reader in when the create an interesting, unlikeable character--they make the reader complicit, in ways that are both uncomfortable and intriguing."--From Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
christinalepre's review against another edition
3.0
Like Bomer's wonderful short story collection, [b:Baby and Other Stories|8654838|Baby and Other Stories|Paula Bomer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348185246s/8654838.jpg|13526100], this novel explores the fear and desperation many women feel about having children, something rarely voiced in fiction in such a visceral way. It's hard to stick with a character as difficult as Sonia for the length of an entire novel; if you don't think you can do it, I would strongly recommend trying Bomer's short stories instead, which feature challenging female characters in smaller, more manageable doses.
katie666's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
rebeccahussey's review
2.0
Very interesting subject matter, loved the honesty of it, but could not abide the writing quality.
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