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A review by powerpuffgoat
The Push by Ashley Audrain
medium-paced
5.0
This book was fascinating, and against all odds, I ended up loving it.
I say "against all odds" because I didn't expect to enjoy it. I stumbled upon it in my audio books, and I couldn't remember how it ended up on my TBR. When the narrative immediately headed towards motherhood, I think I let out an actual sigh because Nightbitch by Rachel Yonder left me with such an ick.
Well, turns out, my inability to relate to motherhood had nothing to do with my dislike for Nightbitch. The Push explores so many different forms of motherhood: different women, different generations, different babies... And it's woven so skillfully together, that throughout the story you get to see the way our parents' behaviour shapes us.
This book explored so many great nuances that were missing from Nightbitch, including post-partum depression, how parenthood isn't always a blessing, how some people shouldn't have kids, how some kids can be nightmares. And most importantly, how often men place expectations on women to perform this idea they have of an idyllic family, ignoring any signs that contradict their picture-perfect world.
The prime example of this is the father of Blythe's children, Fox. The writing is excellent at showing Blythe's desire to please him, her being taken by Fox's charm. Even with everything that happens throughout the book, she still addresses her story to him. Meanwhile, the reader can see how selfish and ignorant he is, how manipulative. How inferior he considers Blythe, or women in general. How he gets away with it, because he works, and because society is so accustomed at directing their judgement at the mothers.
Fox isn't the only one, of course. We see some disturbing behaviour in Blythe's father and grandfather, the police officer, the doctor...
And then there is a question of why we, as women, enable this type of behaviour. Whether we feel that we don't have a choice, whether it's because we are so conditioned to feel guilty all the time.
Honestly, my head is feeling! This book has so many layers, I feel like I could talk about it for hours.
The prose was captivating, and the way the story is told, I genuinely would pause what I'm doing several times. I gasped and exclaimed, "What the fuck?" more than once. Even the ending, although I can see how it would upset some readers, felt fitting. However you look at it, it's a lose-lose situation, the system has always been rigged.
I say "against all odds" because I didn't expect to enjoy it. I stumbled upon it in my audio books, and I couldn't remember how it ended up on my TBR. When the narrative immediately headed towards motherhood, I think I let out an actual sigh because Nightbitch by Rachel Yonder left me with such an ick.
Well, turns out, my inability to relate to motherhood had nothing to do with my dislike for Nightbitch. The Push explores so many different forms of motherhood: different women, different generations, different babies... And it's woven so skillfully together, that throughout the story you get to see the way our parents' behaviour shapes us.
This book explored so many great nuances that were missing from Nightbitch, including post-partum depression, how parenthood isn't always a blessing, how some people shouldn't have kids, how some kids can be nightmares. And most importantly, how often men place expectations on women to perform this idea they have of an idyllic family, ignoring any signs that contradict their picture-perfect world.
The prime example of this is the father of Blythe's children, Fox. The writing is excellent at showing Blythe's desire to please him, her being taken by Fox's charm. Even with everything that happens throughout the book, she still addresses her story to him. Meanwhile, the reader can see how selfish and ignorant he is, how manipulative. How inferior he considers Blythe, or women in general. How he gets away with it, because he works, and because society is so accustomed at directing their judgement at the mothers.
Fox isn't the only one, of course. We see some disturbing behaviour in Blythe's father and grandfather, the police officer, the doctor...
And then there is a question of why we, as women, enable this type of behaviour. Whether we feel that we don't have a choice, whether it's because we are so conditioned to feel guilty all the time.
Honestly, my head is feeling! This book has so many layers, I feel like I could talk about it for hours.
The prose was captivating, and the way the story is told, I genuinely would pause what I'm doing several times. I gasped and exclaimed, "What the fuck?" more than once. Even the ending, although I can see how it would upset some readers, felt fitting. However you look at it, it's a lose-lose situation, the system has always been rigged.