pickOur unnamed narrator has just given birth and returned home from the hospital with her baby. Her husband is given zero days off for parental leave. She struggles not only to care for her baby alone, but also to try to discover who she is now that she is a mother. This little novel is relentless in its depiction of PPD, so if that's something that will bother you, stay far away.
pickI didn‘t like this short book while I was reading it, but once I finished it, I thought it had something to say. It‘s about a new mother, sometimes depressed, sometimes elated. So depressed at times she thinks about different ways to kill the baby. It‘s a book of her thoughts, from before she had the baby, during childbirth, and the first week after coming home. I really felt her despair and alternatively her happiness.
Most women expect birth to be a reckoning.
#FirstLineFridays@ShyBookOwl
pickThere have been so many fabulous books about motherhood recently that are truthful about the parts that aren‘t sunshine and roses. This weirdly creepy novel also had a thread of Margaret Wise Brown‘s actual life that was also interesting. Good narration on #audiobook
pickWhile this book is not perfect, I found it immensely helpful, reassuring, and an interesting read. It's full of scientific citations, details about studies about breastfeeding, guidance on general approach, and practical tips. I could have done without the intro which argues breastfeeding is superior to formula and about health benefits. This intro is a) unnecessary if you've already decided to breastfeed; b) scary to read; c) a bit judgmental.
so-soIn the days following the birth of Megan's first child, strange things begin to happen. The reader wonders, is she being haunted or is she psychotic? Fine's depiction of the isolation of new motherhood and of the expectation for everything to be a-ok right away feels capital-T True, but the unfolding of the story is tedious at times (as is motherhood). This novel addresses the ways we fail women and the things that we pass down to our children.
pickI personally think that Julia Fine is super underrated. This is a masterful unraveling. I deeply disliked Meg, but the writing kept me enraptured. The inclusion of Margaret Wise Brown and Michael Strange was interestingly done. Julia Fine‘s style is decidedly offbeat, but in a way that really works for me. I can‘t recommend her books enough.
I found myself picking this up and putting it down more than I anticipated—savoring delightful twists. Relishing the ideas and the oddity. Both wanting to devour and languish. This is exactly the weird and wonderful I hoped for. This book created vivid mental pictures, played with form, and explored important topics. That being said, the MC isn‘t necessarily likable and this may not be for everyone. YT thoughts —> https://youtu.be/3WipNj32WPc
Diving in—expecting weird and wonderful, though in a different weird and wonderful vein than What Should Be Wild. (I do recognize What Should Be Wild was kind of polarizing but I LOVED it). Also many Chicago indies have signed copies I‘m sure they could ship to you, if you want a signed copy.
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