Reviews

Motherhood by Sheila Heti

catevanam's review against another edition

5.0

This book put into words feelings that have been stirring around inside me for a long time.

binnurdolunay's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

This book reflects the moody swings between sadness, depression, insecurity and joy and sense of belonging.

It reads as a diary and doesn’t follow a plot. The entries meanders between a deep questioning of the meaning of one’s life and some retellings of everyday moments. 

Some of the diary entries seem random, but that too had its place in the book as life has its randomness too. 

What Heti has perfectly done in this book is to show just how our family histories live in us and how trauma from past generations can be at the centre of a questioning of motherhood. 

kyannarichard's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

mairiela's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

1.5

kipahni's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

mxlawzarus's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

emmaemooney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This book definitely contained some truisms (that I now regret not recording fastidiously), despite not completely understanding what Heti was talking about at parts. But this is sort of a rare instance where it felt ok as the reader to not perfectly grasp the author, only in that as the reader, you are thrust into parts of Heti’s brain that only she will ever understand. Overall it was thought-provoking and weird in a mostly good way, albeit a little self important. 

saskia_jnm's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I found thought-provoking insights mixed in with a large dose of tenuos causal leaps and randomness. It's as much about decision paralysis and depression as it is about motherhood. I really enjoyed the unusual structure and irreverence, there's definitely a sense of 'what will she say next?' and the ending is satisfying.

wombat_reads's review against another edition

3.0

It was definitely a challenge. Mostly it was boring, but here and there I found shining nuggets of wisdom and insight. And I'm grateful for that

binchsensei's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.25

“For a woman of curiosity, no decision will ever feel like the right one. In both, too much is missing.”

This was an interesting read! Could have easily been cut down to a novella and gotten the same point across, but it didn’t drag much. Coin flipping & tarot card divination were fun bits to include.