It’s Monday evening, May 1st, International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day. When I realized this, I had a sudden urge to reread Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, but alas, I have too many children’s books to read to indulge in such a wonderful read.
Speaking of children’s books, I read a book last week that I think was too long and frightening for my award’s grade level, suitable more for young adults, so that took up most of my reading time. Of course I can’t tell you what it was or anything about it. Sorry!
Then I went back to my book club selection for this coming Saturday, The Push by Ashley Audrain, which I began a couple of weeks ago but put down almost immediately because it wasn’t grabbing me. The novel, the debut by this Canadian author, tells the story of Blythe Connor, a young mother who seems to have it all, a loving husband and a beautiful daughter. Her own mother was cold and distant, and Blythe determines to be the opposite with her own daughter. Then Blythe begins to suspect that Violet’s behaviour is manipulative and that she is not to be trusted. Is this true, or is Blythe suffering from delusions and/or mental health issues similar to those that run in her family? When Blythe has a second child, Sam is everything she wished for the first time around, but when tragedy strikes, Blythe is unable to move past the grief to fulfill her role in the lives of her family. What happened that fateful day? Is it as Blythe remembers, or is the truth something completely different? And how will they all move on from here? This book picked up after what I consider to be a slow beginning, and became somewhat of a roller coaster ride through Blythe’s thoughts and experiences as she tries to process what has become her new normal. Is she a reliable narrator? Are her suspicions true? Or is she just suffering in the "maternal instinct" department as her mother and grandmother did decades before? I found it a bit hard to follow, as we have three different points of view from three different time periods, but no names as chapter headings, but once it got flowing, it began to make more sense. And the ending was exactly what I needed. This book might be what would happen if We need to talk about Kevin met The other black girl, with a splash of Girl on a train. It was very good, not great, a bit overlong and repetitive, but overall I think it’ll be a great book club discussion book.
That’s all for tonight.
Bye for now… Julie
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