A review by abbie_
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

dark funny tense medium-paced

3.5

Hoooo boy this book is a LOT a lot, especially when listening to certain parts at 5am. Honestly I don’t know what effect listening to a graphic butchering scene at 5am has on the rest of your day… probably not a great one! Motherthing is most often described as darkly funny, and while it definitely delivered on the dark, only sometimes was the narrator funny. It’s basically just us watching Abby spiral as she tries to help her husband cope with the death of his overbearing mother, and also try to save her favourite patient (she’s a carer at an old folks’ home) from being moved to a worse care home. Chaos ensues. 

I saw another review that made me snort, saying ‘Abby doesn’t shut up about coolers’ and honestly so true and quite annoying. She also addresses herself a LOT, and my name is Abbie so that was a bit weird on audio tbh. BUT for the most part you do like her, as chaotic as she is - you’re not necessarily rooting for her (she does bad things), but you’re invested. She just wants to have her little baby and make her husband happy again 🤷‍♀️

Icky and gross, much like The Eyes are the Best Part which I read last month, although the protagonists go off the deep end for very different reasons. But I just felt a little ‘and what?’ by the end. Not fully satisfied.