Reviews - Motherhood | The StoryGraph

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1.99k reviews for:

Motherhood

Sheila Heti

3.69 AVERAGE

groovywitch's review against another edition

3.25

challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kathcam's review against another edition

3.5

challenging informative slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Not my usual type of book. Interesting exploration of the meaning of motherhood/life.

lucysiri's review against another edition

5.0

“How hard it is to understand what the other has done when it looks to me like she has been stolen, and when it looks to her like I have stalled. We both look so cowardly and so brave. The other one seems to have everything and the other one seems to have nothing at all.

But we both have everything and nothing at all. We are both so cowardly and so brave. Neither one of us has more than the other, and neither one of us has less. It is so hard, I think, to see this: that our paths equal something the same; that having a child reflexively or not having one doubtfully are equal lives, the number of her life and the number of my life the same. That makes our hearts sink more than anything else, really, that the childless and the mothers are equivalent, but it must be so—that there is an exact equivalence and an equality, equal in emptiness and equal in fullness, equal in experiences had and equal in experiences lost, neither path better and neither path worse, neither more frightening or less riddled with fear.”

“A measure of impatience, a bad feeling on the walk, too many sunflowers lining the edge of the lawn, not enough sun for everyone, the distribution of love wholly unequal, the sense that one is being depended on, the sense that one is failing. The feeling that there is little in life left to strive for; something having been accomplished, not much left to do. A feeling of uselessness, of the end of the world coming, of other people's lives having no purpose, of all of us doing whatever we feel like, no collective direction in which we're all taking part. And another dark shadow on a dark lawn: the fact that

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

What can I say, except: I forgive myself for every time I neglected to take a risk, for all the narrowings and winnowings of my life. I understand that fear beckons to a person as much as possibility does, and even more strongly.”

awortiz's review against another edition

3.75

reflective 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

A bit navel-gazey but can I blame the author for it as she contemplates such a personal decision? Experimental novel that feels like a collaboration of the author and the randomness of the universe, with some absolute gems of quotes and poignant observations of what it means to be a woman.