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A review by _darbi_
Motherhood by Sheila Heti
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
motherhood by sheila heti reads like autofiction. in fact, i picked it up thinking it was a nonfiction reckoning on mothering (the photographic inclusions further perpetuated this belief. see knife placement coin questioning. i was about halfway through when i saw the “fiction” tag above the barcode.)
there are some really beautiful reflections in this book about ancestry, what it means to mother, and what role morality plays in the choice. standing alone, this would make the book an easy 4/5 star! however, i had an issue with the sporadic pacing of the book. the structure reminded me of a journal, jumping from memory to introspection to dream to action. this governing disconnection made it hard for me to stay emotionally invested.
that being said, if you can lock in, i think this is a great introductory primer for anyone questioning what role motherhood plays in their own life, but not as groundbreaking as i expected.
selected highlights:
besides, there are so many kinds of life to give birth to in this world… and there are children everywhere, and parents needing help everywhere, and so much work to be done, and lives to be affirmed that are not necessarily the lives we would have chosen, had we started again. the whole world needs to be mothered. i don’t need to invent brand new life to give the warming effect to my life i imagine mothering will bring. there are lives and duties everywhere just crying out for a mother (168).
what’s the difference between being a good mother and being a good daughter? practically a lot, but symbolically nothing at all (200).
since my girlhood, i had been cautious about allowing myself to imagine the beauty of being a woman alone in a house by the sea. yet now i saw the beauty my life could become (256).
i love the people who exist already, and there are so many books to read, and so much silence to inhabit. i don’t have to live every possible life, or to experience that particular love (268).
there are some really beautiful reflections in this book about ancestry, what it means to mother, and what role morality plays in the choice. standing alone, this would make the book an easy 4/5 star! however, i had an issue with the sporadic pacing of the book. the structure reminded me of a journal, jumping from memory to introspection to dream to action. this governing disconnection made it hard for me to stay emotionally invested.
that being said, if you can lock in, i think this is a great introductory primer for anyone questioning what role motherhood plays in their own life, but not as groundbreaking as i expected.
selected highlights:
besides, there are so many kinds of life to give birth to in this world… and there are children everywhere, and parents needing help everywhere, and so much work to be done, and lives to be affirmed that are not necessarily the lives we would have chosen, had we started again. the whole world needs to be mothered. i don’t need to invent brand new life to give the warming effect to my life i imagine mothering will bring. there are lives and duties everywhere just crying out for a mother (168).
what’s the difference between being a good mother and being a good daughter? practically a lot, but symbolically nothing at all (200).
since my girlhood, i had been cautious about allowing myself to imagine the beauty of being a woman alone in a house by the sea. yet now i saw the beauty my life could become (256).
i love the people who exist already, and there are so many books to read, and so much silence to inhabit. i don’t have to live every possible life, or to experience that particular love (268).