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A review by casskrug
The Pumpkin Eater by Penelope Mortimer
3.75
the pumpkin eater is a midcentury account of a woman’s emotional collapse and grappling with marriage, motherhood, and mental illness. our unnamed narrator had been married multiple times, has many children, and is pregnant with another child that her husband doesn’t want - he is having an affair that has a majorly negative effect on the narrator’s mental health. it is heavily based on penelope mortimer’s own life and as the introduction says, it seems like it was a very cathartic writing experience.
this was a quick read that was interesting because it feels ahead of its time - it feels like a blueprint for more contemporary books dealing with the same themes. the narrator’s breakdown is juxtaposed against the image of perfection that the family’s wealth projects in public. it also tackles women’s autonomy and abortion, which i don’t think was talked about so plainly and openly at the time this was written. it was very dialogue heavy but the conversations were done well - witty and ironic.
this was a quick read that was interesting because it feels ahead of its time - it feels like a blueprint for more contemporary books dealing with the same themes. the narrator’s breakdown is juxtaposed against the image of perfection that the family’s wealth projects in public. it also tackles women’s autonomy and abortion, which i don’t think was talked about so plainly and openly at the time this was written. it was very dialogue heavy but the conversations were done well - witty and ironic.