Is Mother Dead

pick

This book brilliantly documents the painful journey of a woman coming to terms with her relationship to her mother, as a child and now as an adult. Along the way, more and more of her mother is illuminated. It all comes to a boiling point at the end. It is infuriating and heartbreaking and also a story of peace and redemption. I wish it had made the Booker shortlist.

BarbaraBB Fantastic review. Stacked of course! 12mo

sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I think you‘ll like it! 12mo

batsy Lovely review! So glad you liked it. I still think about it... Kind of haunts me, in a way. 12mo

sarahbarnes @batsy I'm still thinking about it, and your comment about it haunting you really resonates with me. Parts of reading it felt so visceral to me and it's going to stay with me for a long time, too, I think. 12mo

41 likes2 stack adds4 comments

sarahbarnes

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

One of my favorite breweries has the perfect combination of a bookish vibe and great beer. I came here to do some work but I brought this book so….

jlhammar That looks wonderful! 12mo

LeahBergen That‘s a great beer glass! 🍻 12mo

BarbaraBB That bar and glass look 🥰🥰 12mo

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Cathythoughts That‘s a nice situation you find yourself in ❤️ I have this booked stacked already 👍🏻 12mo

batsy Nice! I hope you enjoy. 12mo

youneverarrived Perfect! 12mo

sarahbarnes @LeahBergen @BarbaraBB I know, I love their glasses! 😍 12mo

sarahbarnes @jlhammar @batsy @youneverarrived it was pretty fantastic. 😁 12mo

sarahbarnes @Cathythoughts it was nice! And I‘ll be interested to hear your thoughts on the book when you get to it. I‘m really enjoying it. 12mo

LoverOfLearning This place sounds incredible! 12mo

Reggie That looks pretty awesome. 12mo

sarahbarnes @Reggie @LoverOfLearning it‘s a pretty great spot indeed! 12mo

38 likes12 comments

batsy

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

pick

"Marguerite Duras writes somewhere that every mother in every childhood represents madness. That your mother is and always will be the strangest person you will ever meet, I think she's right." I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. It feels so personal and is filled with disconcerting insights about the protagonist's estranged, disturbed "relationship" with her mother. Another person's mind is always the most chilling mystery.

batsy This is a novel of interiors that holds up a mirror to a troubled psyche. Johanna is an artist who for some reason has long since lost contact with her family, & who is now back at her home town. Her father is dead & her mother refuses to speak to her; her sister sends her terse messages that revolve around telling her to stay away. It is filled with beautiful descriptions of nature & chilling revelations that feel emotionally true. So good. 13mo

batsy #InternationalBookerPrize2023 #InternationalBooker 13mo

Cathythoughts Great review 👏🏻 I usually shy away from the International Booker books , but I‘m stacking this one. Love that quote about the mother being the strangest person you‘ll ever meet. ❤️ 13mo

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batsy @Cathythoughts Thanks, Cathy! It is such an interesting book and yes, that quote really struck me. Her style is very different but the story reminds me of Dostoevsky a bit, in that the "thriller" aspect is related to the psyche and is wholly psychological. 13mo

sarahbarnes Great review! I‘m looking forward to reading this one! 13mo

erzascarletbookgasm I‘m intrigued, and stacking. Great review! 13mo

Suet624 Sounds so interesting! 13mo

batsy @sarahbarnes Thank you! I hope you like it. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this going in but it was so unexpected. I initially found the style (excessive comma splices) a bit weird, but then you sort of get into the rhythm of the narrator's thoughts. 13mo

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thanks, Jessie! 13mo

batsy @Suet624 A book that made me sit up and think hard, lol. I'm keen to read her other books. 13mo

sarahbarnes Thank you! The topic is definitely something I‘m drawn to. And appreciate the heads up on the style. 13mo

batsy @sarahbarnes I'm glad I said something of use there because I just realised I typed, "I didn't know what I was expecting but it was unexpected" which isn't helpful at all, sorry ? 13mo

sarahbarnes I sort of talk like that most of the time so it made perfect sense to me. 😂 13mo

91 likes12 stack adds13 comments

Coueriamb

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

so-so

I‘m not sure what to make of this one. It has/had the same issue as Luda for me. Very purple prose and a strange layout- maybe the fault of the ebook. It‘s easy to follow but meandering.

I figure that‘s the point, and the story is good, but it‘s just not my thing.

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