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rebekah_florence's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you’re a fan of the show Greenleaf, I would highly recommend this book. As a Black woman who grew up in the church (specifically with family members who were pastors of an A.M.E. Zion church) this book felt like coming home to me. The mothers of the church-their drama, adages, gossiping, compassion- were written in such an authentic way that I could hear their voices as they spoke. I could gush about this book all day. I love that the title is a nod to not just the mothers of the church but also the mothers of our three main characters in the novel. Each of their mothers has traumatized them in one way or another, and that trauma has brought them to they way each of them navigates their own life presently. I loved that the story was told from multiple points of view. Maybe it’s the theatre-lover in me but each time the “Mothers” narrated the story, I felt that they operated as a Greek chorus of sorts. If I had to make a complaint about this book, I would say that I wish the ending was a little more fleshed out without the major time jump but perhaps that’s for the best. Much like Nadia’s situation and relationships, some things will always be left unresolved .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Abortion, and Murder
Minor: Sexual violence
rebeccarudisill's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
lysduciel's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Minor: Violence
lindsloveslit's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
QOTD: Have you read more than one book by an individual author this year?
AOTD: This is the second Brit Bennett book I've read this year (The Vanishing Half was the first) and wowowowowowowow. The emotional toll BOTH of her books have had on me won't be forgotten. 😅💔 In both, she's able to write about deep, important subjects that HURT to read, but she does it with so much care.
"The Mothers" showed how one secret can grow throughout a community, and the impact a mother has on a child. It touches on many different topics including love, loss, religion, pride, secrets, race, grief, and adultery. The content was heavy, but still very readable! The amount of quotes I wrote down dang near made my hand hurt. 🤣
The only reason it wasn't a five star read is because it's was hard for me to follow all the different narrator voices and the time line confused me. This is a ME problem though - as I have this issue with most books.
AOTD: This is the second Brit Bennett book I've read this year (The Vanishing Half was the first) and wowowowowowowow. The emotional toll BOTH of her books have had on me won't be forgotten. 😅💔 In both, she's able to write about deep, important subjects that HURT to read, but she does it with so much care.
"The Mothers" showed how one secret can grow throughout a community, and the impact a mother has on a child. It touches on many different topics including love, loss, religion, pride, secrets, race, grief, and adultery. The content was heavy, but still very readable! The amount of quotes I wrote down dang near made my hand hurt. 🤣
The only reason it wasn't a five star read is because it's was hard for me to follow all the different narrator voices and the time line confused me. This is a ME problem though - as I have this issue with most books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
caitlinstanton's review
dark
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
5.0
this was so beautiful and so so sad
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
differentsisters's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was an amazing debut novel from Brit Bennett. The characters and relations weaved in and out of each other expertly. The omniscient narrators of ‘The Mothers’ in the church was a great narrative device to bring more information to the reader.
It was a story about Nadia, Luke and Aubrey, whose love for each other and their relationships span years of their lives after one eventful summer that continues to plague them. Three broken people dealing with issues in different ways, showcasing how trauma is not the same.
3.5 stars (4 leaning, a great read but didn’t quite grab me)
Trigger warnings: suicide, sexual abuse, abortion
It was a story about Nadia, Luke and Aubrey, whose love for each other and their relationships span years of their lives after one eventful summer that continues to plague them. Three broken people dealing with issues in different ways, showcasing how trauma is not the same.
3.5 stars (4 leaning, a great read but didn’t quite grab me)
Trigger warnings: suicide, sexual abuse, abortion
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
abbytwo's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
my_plant_library's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
jcstokes95's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The toughest thing about this book is trying to figure out why it isn't an absolute knockout for me. I'm sure some people think good books are like an alchemy of all the right parts. But this has all the components that should make it five stars. But it lacks the little bit of magic to seal the deal. For example, Brit Bennet's writing, line by line, is astonishingly good. I mean, she has a real gift, everything sounds realistic but like poetry. This is most on display during Greek chorus of The Mothers from Upper Room, who provide a real sense of time and place. They are both loving and spiteful; they give the reader a really profound sense of the silent pressure mounting on Nadia.
Nadia, our main character, finds herself pregnant, threatening her plans to get out of a town that only reminds her of the suicide of her mother. She makes the choice to end the pregnancy, seeking money from the pastor's son who put her in the family way. Her choice has far-reaching consequences (mainly because Luke, the pastor's son, is a big fucking loser. More on that later).
Obviously, the plot here is full of dramatic turns; Bennet has material that she can pull a lot of nuance out of. And she mostly does. Luke struggles with the fact that he would have liked to keep the child. Nadia struggles with consideration of a life she decided not to pursue while knowing she made the right choice for her future. The mother figures all loom large and we think a lot about all the kinds of mothers that exist in the world. The characters are complex and deeply human.
However, by the end of all this thinking and pontificating, I am not really sure what we are supposed to think. The fact that so many seem to think to think the novel is sending a pro-life message but also the author seems to want us to view Nadia as chasing a dream/escape that could only happen because of it; it just feels, without a clear message. Not even a clear message about what we are supposed to feel ambiguity about.
While on the whole, I found Bennet excellent at writing characters who make insane but very realistic choices, I've got one other gripe. I cannot fathom why Luke seems to unravel both the women at the center of this story. We are supposed to believe a girl with unearthly beauty and a law degrees continues to ruin her life over a washed up former athlete who has no emotional intelligence, all because she fucked him for two months when she was 17? Luke is so uniformly horrible, I can't buy that Nadia and a second woman would give a shit about him. Sorry. Can't do it.
Maybe I could have gotten behind this if at any point Nadia or Audrey showed some semblance of agency. But it felt like they were getting swept along in some bullshit current and I could not figure out why. I couldn't attach myself to characters who seemed so fully fleshed out, but then just stood there? All in all, I would read from this Bennet again, but am not sure I can quite stand still with her characters this long.
Nadia, our main character, finds herself pregnant, threatening her plans to get out of a town that only reminds her of the suicide of her mother. She makes the choice to end the pregnancy, seeking money from the pastor's son who put her in the family way. Her choice has far-reaching consequences (mainly because Luke, the pastor's son, is a big fucking loser. More on that later).
Obviously, the plot here is full of dramatic turns; Bennet has material that she can pull a lot of nuance out of. And she mostly does. Luke struggles with the fact that he would have liked to keep the child. Nadia struggles with consideration of a life she decided not to pursue while knowing she made the right choice for her future. The mother figures all loom large and we think a lot about all the kinds of mothers that exist in the world. The characters are complex and deeply human.
However, by the end of all this thinking and pontificating, I am not really sure what we are supposed to think. The fact that so many seem to think to think the novel is sending a pro-life message but also the author seems to want us to view Nadia as chasing a dream/escape that could only happen because of it; it just feels, without a clear message. Not even a clear message about what we are supposed to feel ambiguity about.
While on the whole, I found Bennet excellent at writing characters who make insane but very realistic choices, I've got one other gripe. I cannot fathom why Luke seems to unravel both the women at the center of this story. We are supposed to believe a girl with unearthly beauty and a law degrees continues to ruin her life over a washed up former athlete who has no emotional intelligence, all because she fucked him for two months when she was 17? Luke is so uniformly horrible, I can't buy that Nadia and a second woman would give a shit about him. Sorry. Can't do it.
Maybe I could have gotten behind this if at any point Nadia or Audrey showed some semblance of agency. But it felt like they were getting swept along in some bullshit current and I could not figure out why. I couldn't attach myself to characters who seemed so fully fleshed out, but then just stood there? All in all, I would read from this Bennet again, but am not sure I can quite stand still with her characters this long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
egmamaril's review
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Abortion
Minor: Infertility