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charlottespiers's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gracelucy's review against another edition
4.0
Such a complex little book! It was slow to start but the last half was where the story became more developed & interesting.
vegantrav's review against another edition
4.0
Brit Bennett, with this debut novel, shows that she is an incredibly gifted writer. The Mothers is a story of love, lovers, friendship, and family that focuses on three young people--Nadia, Aubrey, and Luke--whom we watch grow and change as they are all moving from adolescence into adulthood.
Bennett shows us her characters as they face challenges that are not too different than those faced by many young people, but Bennett excavates far below the surface level. We come to know these characters intimately. The characterization is superb. While they may be fictional characters, they are completely realistic.
Bennett's talents are further on display as she strikes not a single false note in setting or tone. We readers are immersed in a suburban San Diego world that becomes our world as we are reading, and the mood and the emotions of the characters become our mood and our emotional state as we read. Bennnett has filled an ocean with her prose, and we swim easily and contentedly in it.
Now, this is a work of literary fiction. The novel is about the characters, not about the plot. We are here, in The Mothers, to experience the world of her characters. We're not here to be titillated or entertained. If you are looking for a plot-driven novel with a lot of action and suspense, this novel will not deliver. But it will deliver the fascinating stories of three people whose lives are average, not really abnormal at all. And in telling us such a good story about such ordinary people, Bennett announces herself as an extraordinary writer.
Bennett shows us her characters as they face challenges that are not too different than those faced by many young people, but Bennett excavates far below the surface level. We come to know these characters intimately. The characterization is superb. While they may be fictional characters, they are completely realistic.
Bennett's talents are further on display as she strikes not a single false note in setting or tone. We readers are immersed in a suburban San Diego world that becomes our world as we are reading, and the mood and the emotions of the characters become our mood and our emotional state as we read. Bennnett has filled an ocean with her prose, and we swim easily and contentedly in it.
Now, this is a work of literary fiction. The novel is about the characters, not about the plot. We are here, in The Mothers, to experience the world of her characters. We're not here to be titillated or entertained. If you are looking for a plot-driven novel with a lot of action and suspense, this novel will not deliver. But it will deliver the fascinating stories of three people whose lives are average, not really abnormal at all. And in telling us such a good story about such ordinary people, Bennett announces herself as an extraordinary writer.
rosedaug's review against another edition
5.0
Brit Bennett blew me away when I read “The Vanishing Half” by her. This book was much the same. For whatever reason, I LOVE this woman’s writing style and was impressed yet again with her golden nuggets of near poetic lines throughout. The story starts with Nadia and Luke, two teenagers in love and getting into trouble. The novel follows them over the course of their lifetimes, told from a very unique perspective and with constant references to a church group known as “The Mothers.” This novel touches on motherhood, pregnant loss, infertility struggles, unfaithfulness, betrayal, friendship, and love. Her writing is beautiful and I can’t wait to read more.
dasweinz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lexiskat's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty decent book. I didn't understand until later in the book that the mothers were the women in the church. Nadia disappointed me when she started sleeping back with Luke. Luke was a coward for not telling Aubrey what the deal was in the 1st place.
emthu57's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
floraroot's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
plannedbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! In all honesty, I didn't want this book to end.
lesserjoke's review against another edition
4.0
This novel strikes me as a great example of how talented writing and character work can elevate old tropes beyond their familiar patterns. When I try to summarize the plot -- a 17-year-old hides her romance with a college guy and subsequent abortion from her best friend, who later goes on to marry him -- it sounds a bit tired and dramatically overwrought. But in debut author Brit Bennett's hands, the people in this love triangle feel fleshed-out and compelling, particularly in their evolving dynamics with one another and their complicated relationships to the mothers and other maternal figures in their lives. The nearly-all-black cast lends a further air of distinction and authenticity to the story, and the Greek chorus of church ladies voicing the latest community gossip between chapters is a welcome frame of meta-narrative. Although the ending of the book is a bit open for my tastes, I've really enjoyed most everything leading up to that point.
[Content warning for suicide, death of a parent, domestic abuse, sexual assault, incest, and racism.]
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[Content warning for suicide, death of a parent, domestic abuse, sexual assault, incest, and racism.]
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter