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RamblingRose has given my own opinions more succinctly than I can.
The book is divided into different chapters, following the lives through flashbacks to 1993 and the present day 2011.
We were asked ‘What does motherhood mean for each of the characters and how does becoming a mother impact their lives?’
Although it would have stopped the story before it got started, I wish that Laura had explored the possibilities of abortion or adoption more fully rather than acquiescing to her mother Joan’s insistence that she carried the one night drunken side stand pregnancy to term. Laura didn’t want to be pregnant and didn’t want to be a mother.
It was Joan’s selfishness and as it transpires inability to support her daughter in their mutual grieving over the death of her husband/father which caused the tragedy which is the basis of this book.
It wasn’t until Laura’s second daughter Mandy was born that she got her act together. In doing so, Laura became an over protective mother. Although for different reasons, so did Anna with her daughter Sophie.
Considering the stifling love that their mothers cocoon them in, both Sophie and Mandy seem to be quite well balanced. At 17/18 Sophie has a mature head on her shoulders but possibly an idealistic view of life which could come with age.
Although I had more sympathy for Anna, the mother I was most interested in was the peripheral character of Molly’s mother, Molly being Sophie’s friend. She is far more normal mother with 3 children loving them and their differing characteristics equally.
An interlude plot line which was ignored was when Mandy and Sophie return to Laura’s home after a party, obviously the worse for drink. Considering Laura’s behaviour at the same age, and the consequences of that, one would have thought that Laura’s reaction would have been explored.
Although I read half the book in one sitting, it was a struggle to continue with it. If a reader is looking for a ‘good news’ story, this isn’t it. Despite willing to read most books outside my preferred genre, this isn’t one which I’d choose.
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I struggled as well. I haven't read anything by this author before and I won't again. I found the language sloppy and plot mundane. The characters were 2 dimensional and mostly not very sympathetic.
The "twist" was fairly obvious from the start and the reveal unsurprising. I think the meaning of motherhood has been written about better and in more depth than in this rather shallow tale.
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I struggled to read this book and have struggled to review it because I feel it could have been so much better given the potentially intriguing central plot and interesting underlying themes of motherhood and nature vs. nurture.
This reminded me of a tv movie adaptation of a potentially involving and thoughtful story. Based on a good initial idea but chopped about, with the customary large gaps in the plot, heavy handed emotional scenes and poorly drawn characters, needed to fit it into a 90 minute programme slot without any real depth.
Without giving too much of the story away SPOILERS! , for those who haven’t yet read it, I had considerably more sympathy for the 'adoptive mother' Anna who was shown in a positive light from the outset in that she cared for the children in her role as a teacher ( just as she later cared for the child Sophie) not as an extension of herself but as individuals with their own potential and in need of nurturing and love. Yes she did the wrong thing, but she did it for the right reasons.
The birth mother was essentially selfish to the end and I felt the only times when she wasn't, were added in as an obvious afterthought by the author in order to tie up loose ends, rather than indicating a character who had developed and grown as a person because of loss and longing.
In the story had Sophie not shared the same condition with her birth mother ( synaesthesia, which I felt was not really explored as much as it might have been ) looked like her birth mother and had the same passion for art, I think it’s unlikely that there would have been the ‘happy ending’ ( or ‘happy beginning’ if you see the characters making it work). Again I see this as the mother being selfish in the sense that she was more interested in the ‘mini-me’ than she was in her other daughter who didn’t fit the mould, and children whether birth or adopted often don’t ’fit’ or have the same looks, interests or personality as their mother .
I felt that was the main problem with the book really , all the characters were essentially stereotypes and moulded to fit the requirements of the plot rather than the other way round, making it hard to have much empathy with them.
It would have been good to see a bit more depth in the characters to reflect more of the conflicting emotions and experiences of those who have found themselves in a similar situation, ie caught between the family you know and the family you come from.
But as with all books, you might love it, and see things in it that I have missed.
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We have a copy of the book doing the rounds in the office and I have just finished. If I was rating this book I would give it a 3 out of 5. There were lots of times when I found it gripping, but others where I felt like I was skim reading to make the story go faster.
SPOILERS! The books main focus is motherhood and people's perception of it. On one hand we have Anna who is desperate to be a mother and constantly watches other people being bad parents. Then we have Laura, a pregnant teen who sees her daughter as nothing but a burden until she is taken away from her.
Both women seem to set unrealistic standards to be the ultimate perfect mother in order to make up for their previous sins and this effects each of their daughters differently. The main thing I took away from the book was the nature vs. nurture question. The book seems to suggest that Sophie/Jody was always going to turn out as a bright, happy young woman because of her happy disposition as a child, whereas Mandy was always moody and fighting for her independence even as a toddler.
I think the book deals with some serious subjects, but in quite a lighthearted manner, and I would have preferred for there to be more serious consideration about how this would have effected everyone involved. I felt like some of the characters were steeped in stereotypes, particularly Lexie the wag with a good heart. This made them some of them unbelievable and I did roll my eyes a couple of times. However, overall I did enjoy the book and would read more of this author's work.
Katie - The Genes Team
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I got the distinct impression that with all the mothers in the book all they thought of was how they felt and how things affected them. I realise this is a fiction story and things were manipulated to make it a good story but as a mother I don't think I ever felt that possessive over my children. I have to imagine how I would have felt in that situation and that's so difficult but not the answer to the question being asked.
Motherhood for each of them seems to be about their own ability to be a good mother. Even the Grandmother spends time wondering about whether she was good or not. Do mothers wonder about that? I never put it into those words. I don't like analysing a book too deeply so I'll shut up now
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Congratulations to everyone who emailed in time to receive this book for free. Books will be sent in the post over the next few days. Please post your reviews in this thread.
To get you all started, we have a few discussion points starting with:
In This Child of Mine and many of Sinead Moriarty’s novels, motherhood is at the forefront of the plot. What does motherhood mean for each of the characters and how does becoming a mother impact their lives?
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