Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

92 reviews

thewellbitch's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Abortion

abigailwillshee's review

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Abortion, Alcoholism, Ableism, Suicide, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Grief

abbruzzese's review

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

Oh girl, we have known littlebit love. That littlebit of honey left in an empty jar that traps the sweetness in your mouth long enough to mask your hunger. We have run tongues over teeth to savor that last littlebit as long as we could, and in all our living, nothing has starved us more.

written so nicely. compelling story, and though i never felt attached to any of the characters, i appreciate the way they're written. very human, flawed enough but not so much that they're despicable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Rape

Minor: Racism

mollysam's review

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

intimate yet distant

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Suicide, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Death of parent, Death, and Abandonment

m0_x13's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Rape

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcoholism

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

What I enjoy the most about Bennett's novels is the writing style. The perspective of this book starts from that of a group of older women who attend church and are always keeping tabs on what's happening in their community. A bit of gossip yes, but also that introspective moment when they start to remember what it was like to be a young woman falling in love, making mistakes, and always reacting to what the church would think of those actions.

At its core, this book is about motherhood, all viewed from the perspective of two young women, Nadia and Audrey, who don't have their mothers in their lives anymore. There are also other mother figures, such as Audrey's sister and her partner, the women at the church who try to give guidance in their own way, and even people at clinics who hold hands and give advice when needed. 

Nadia, Audrey, and Luke are three young people whose lives are intertwined throughout the book, they will fall in love, be protective of each other, hold resentments, and even hurt each other as they try to find ways to live their own lives. The influence of their parents, the church, and society weighs heavy on them and they really are only trying to find some kind of happiness in the best way they can. 

If you like contemporary stories that take a hard look at the influence of a community on young people, this is a great book to read. It's a heavy book with a lot of sadness and loneliness throughout so do read carefully.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Medical content, Rape, Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Infertility, and Infidelity

sarahholliday's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Bennett is able to tell stories in a way that feels so effortless—you could easily read The Mothers in a single sitting because it feels like an extended conversation, or a story being told to you by a friend over coffee.

Like in any story, things happen and events transpire, but emotions are the main star of this story—the healthy and unhealthy ways we deal with them, how complicated and layered they are, how they evolve over time as we grow.

I wouldn't have minded a little more meat to the final chapters of the book.

To see how Luke and Aubrey put their life back together, what Nadia goes on to do with her law degree.

I would've also liked to have seen some more intentional grappling with religion and its impact on the characters' lives, but I think that may be a desire informed by my own (white) evangelical upbringing. That kind of deconstructing may not be an accurate reflection of the black religious experience, given the ways the church is tied up in community and political activism.

All of those very small issues aside, The Mothers has proven my theory that Brit Bennett is an automatic-read author for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Grief, and Infidelity

jaja_1212's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

The characters felt realistically flawed in their own ways and I enjoyed the writing metaphorical and intimate writing style, which kept me going even although the narrative voice took a while for me to get used to.

After getting such a deep, intimate look into the lives and minds of these characters the ending felt a little too abrupt,  I can see why the author might want to end it at that point in their lives though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abortion, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Grief, Rape, Infidelity, and Child abuse

Minor: Racial slurs, Car accident, Alcohol, and War

bbonaguro's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

really great book, definitely reflective and pulled at the heartstrings interesting way the story was told from the mothers perspectives and also by Aubrey, Nadia, and Luke. Challenging topic but great book 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Infidelity, Abortion, and Pregnancy

jessereadsthings's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really interesting story! My only complaint is I’m not sure how I feel about the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide