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A review by killmoore_
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was not at all what I was expecting, and I'm not mad about it.
Abby is atrocious, but relatable - at least for me. I loved her inner monolog, and thought that she was a great depiction of the classic bpd black and white thinking and the obsessive love/hate relationships that come along with it - as minute as they might be.
Her relationship with Ralph and Mrs. Bondy are a great example of this. The unwavering, self depreciating love for Mrs. Bondy as a motherthing that can never abandon her, and Ralph as the pivotal character in her life that validates her extreme emotions (favorite person, right down to the ability for her to "switch off" her total admiration once things get sketchy.)
I enjoyed the "scene setting" chapters quite a bit, and felt that they were a great way to add in Abbys disassociating with specific scenes of her life - painfully aware of every detail but unable to change the script.
This was not a book about a haunting, unless you consider ones own mind to be the source of all the things that go bump in the night. I felt that the Motherthing evil of this book was a great way of navigating childhood trauma, and the delicate relationship between a mother and daughter, femininity, and the Big Bad bpd™️ diagnosis that has been demonized into something less believable than your undead mother in law coming back to haunt you.
I will have to come back and add my thoughts on each motherthing character once I've had time to fully process them, as they each hit home a bit too hard for me, but all in all, this was a fun, gorey, slightly spooky and over the top read that had me wanting to make Chicken a la King for my beautiful, loving husband 🖤
Abby is atrocious, but relatable - at least for me. I loved her inner monolog, and thought that she was a great depiction of the classic bpd black and white thinking and the obsessive love/hate relationships that come along with it - as minute as they might be.
Her relationship with Ralph and Mrs. Bondy are a great example of this. The unwavering, self depreciating love for Mrs. Bondy as a motherthing that can never abandon her, and Ralph as the pivotal character in her life that validates her extreme emotions (favorite person, right down to the ability for her to "switch off" her total admiration once things get sketchy.)
I enjoyed the "scene setting" chapters quite a bit, and felt that they were a great way to add in Abbys disassociating with specific scenes of her life - painfully aware of every detail but unable to change the script.
This was not a book about a haunting, unless you consider ones own mind to be the source of all the things that go bump in the night. I felt that the Motherthing evil of this book was a great way of navigating childhood trauma, and the delicate relationship between a mother and daughter, femininity, and the Big Bad bpd™️ diagnosis that has been demonized into something less believable than your undead mother in law coming back to haunt you.
I will have to come back and add my thoughts on each motherthing character once I've had time to fully process them, as they each hit home a bit too hard for me, but all in all, this was a fun, gorey, slightly spooky and over the top read that had me wanting to make Chicken a la King for my beautiful, loving husband 🖤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship