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A review by kristinana
Jump at the Sun by Kim McLarin
I am not rating this book (which I would give a three) because I don't want to affect the overall rating, since I suspect some people are giving it a low rating because they don't like the idea of a woman talking about not enjoying motherhood. This is not why I did not love this novel. I think, actually, that most mothers are probably annoyed with their children, lose their temper, feel overwhelmed, and fantasize about leaving. Even those who do not do the latter certainly long for days or even just hours to themselves and feel unencumbered when they are able to go somewhere without them. Every working mother I've ever known feels at least a little bit of relief going to work and having someone else watch the kids for a while. None of this seems unusual or groundbreaking. Maybe it's just because I never had children, but the downsides to it seem really obvious to me, and every mother I've ever known had complained about being a parent at some point. So the fact that this book, in stating these feelings outright, is considered "brave" says perhaps more about our society and its attitude toward women and mothers than it does about the author or anything else. It's not like the protagonist ever did anything to her kids; in fact, all she is seen doing (other than, ok, yelling at one of the kids once and grabbing her too tight) is taking care of them: rushing them to the doctor when they have a fever, playing with them, feeding them, caring for them, holding them when they get upset.
So this is my problem with the book: I never for one little minute believed this woman would ever leave her kids. It seemed so obvious she was not going to, yet we are supposed to believe this is the main conflict? Will she or won't she leave her children behind? It just never seemed like a real question. And thus, it was so incredibly obvious from the beginning that the book was going to be an exercise in rehabilitating motherhood for this woman. Which might be ok, if they didn't try to pretend that her leaving was a real possibility. The book never once surprised me.
Maybe another reason why I was unconvinced by the book is that it's not like Grace's grandmother (who provides that precedent for leaving) had some type of enviable life, or was free in any real sense of the word. Another reason is that it didn't seem like Grace was giving up some kind of amazing career for these kids. Her lack of employment seemed temporary, and plus, she didn't seem to like academia -- so... what was she missing out on? Other than the very understandable desire to get out of the house?
Her husband was a dick, though. He sort of bullied her into having children, and then and tried to convince her to have more kids even after she said two was the limit. And was mad at her for using contraception. Why? So he could have a son? Great reason. Especially when you're not the one who has to stay home and take care of them, buddy. If the book was about leaving *him,* I would totally believe it.
What I did like about the book was the switching perspectives, and the commentary on how race complicates motherhood for Grace and her mother and grandmother. Overall, I did like the book, I was just annoyed that the main stakes felt like a straw-man plot.
So this is my problem with the book: I never for one little minute believed this woman would ever leave her kids. It seemed so obvious she was not going to, yet we are supposed to believe this is the main conflict? Will she or won't she leave her children behind? It just never seemed like a real question. And thus, it was so incredibly obvious from the beginning that the book was going to be an exercise in rehabilitating motherhood for this woman. Which might be ok, if they didn't try to pretend that her leaving was a real possibility. The book never once surprised me.
Maybe another reason why I was unconvinced by the book is that it's not like Grace's grandmother (who provides that precedent for leaving) had some type of enviable life, or was free in any real sense of the word. Another reason is that it didn't seem like Grace was giving up some kind of amazing career for these kids. Her lack of employment seemed temporary, and plus, she didn't seem to like academia -- so... what was she missing out on? Other than the very understandable desire to get out of the house?
Her husband was a dick, though. He sort of bullied her into having children, and then and tried to convince her to have more kids even after she said two was the limit. And was mad at her for using contraception. Why? So he could have a son? Great reason. Especially when you're not the one who has to stay home and take care of them, buddy. If the book was about leaving *him,* I would totally believe it.
What I did like about the book was the switching perspectives, and the commentary on how race complicates motherhood for Grace and her mother and grandmother. Overall, I did like the book, I was just annoyed that the main stakes felt like a straw-man plot.