A review by lriopel
After Birth by Elisa Albert

4.0

I was a little worried this would just be a repeat of "Hausfrau", and they were some similarities in the main characters of both books, but despite the fact that she is excessively blunt, harsh and extremely sarcastic, Ari was much easier for me to like than Anna in "Hausfrau". The ideas of this book were much more focused on the issues that face women - particularly in the areas of childbirth, motherhood and female friendship. I imagine that people will say this is one big feminist rant, and that is definitely in there, but it also manages to inspire a reader to look at these big "female" issues with new eyes and question why our culture is so insistent on keeping women's struggles with birth and motherhood quiet, smoothing them over, prettying them up for public consumption. This novel challenges the culturally expected role of new mothers as joyful and presentable and positive about their experiences by showing us the ugly, difficult, frustrating and disappointing truth of Ari's experience, as well as her rage about what has happened to her. There is a lot to ponder about the consequences of the medical establishment taking away women's power to make decisions about their birth experiences and even scaring them into accepting drastic, unnecessary medical procedures, and how that can have an extreme effect on some women's' psyches - can become a kind of assault or trauma, even when the outcome is medically "good". It gave me a lot to think about. The writing was snappy and the plot and pacing were good. This book probably won't be to everyone's taste, but the issues addressed are important, and for me - I love a good, feminist rant - especially about issues that matter.