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A review by bhnmt61
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
3.0
The Mothers is a beautifully written, compelling story about two young women and the choices they make. It’s an absorbing read, but the beautiful writing is wrapped around a Sunday school morality that dictates that the “bad” girl ends up alone, friendless, and untethered, while the “good” girl gets the (found) family, the baby, and the golden ring.
I thought the first half, before it became clear where she was going with this story, was terrific— but I thought we were on our way to a complex story about grace and accepting responsibility for one’s desperate and/or dumb past decisions. Instead, the second half is just one example after another about how once you’ve made a choice, you can never grow beyond it.
It’s funny that I have a such a strong reaction to this novel, because in real life I am far more like Aubrey, the good girl, than Nadia, the bad girl. In fact, few of Nadia’s choices were choices I would have made. But Nadia gets pummeled in this book and there is no grace and no growth for her. It ended up just making me angry. I hope someday Bennett writes a book that matches complexity with her spectacular writing skill. She has a book coming out later this summer, so maybe she is already there.
I thought the first half, before it became clear where she was going with this story, was terrific— but I thought we were on our way to a complex story about grace and accepting responsibility for one’s desperate and/or dumb past decisions. Instead, the second half is just one example after another about how once you’ve made a choice, you can never grow beyond it.
It’s funny that I have a such a strong reaction to this novel, because in real life I am far more like Aubrey, the good girl, than Nadia, the bad girl. In fact, few of Nadia’s choices were choices I would have made. But Nadia gets pummeled in this book and there is no grace and no growth for her. It ended up just making me angry. I hope someday Bennett writes a book that matches complexity with her spectacular writing skill. She has a book coming out later this summer, so maybe she is already there.