A review by juliannareads_
Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth

2.0

This is a difficult book for me to review. On one hand, it contains important messages about gender dynamics and double standards, but on the other hand, it reinforces harmful depictions of motherhood that I don’t think were touched upon with care. This novel paints motherhood as a trap and prison—and while I do see the point of this depiction, it doesn’t also say that motherhood can be balanced with work and life outside your child. Yes, as a mother it is difficult to not default as the primary caregiver, but I think motherhood deserves a more nuanced depiction than what Hogarth offered.

The plot line with her solving the mystery of her friend’s disappearance didn’t start until more than halfway through this novel and that was written in the description. I was disappointed by the plot progression and it just felt like I was reading an angry (second wave; white) feminist manifesto. I have Hogarth’s other novel which I will give a try but this one really fell flat.