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Saturday, January 21, 2006
The Bad Mother's Handbook - Kate Long
ISBN: 0-670-06373-8 (Hardcover)
Pub: Pengin Group (Viking Canada), 2005
Book borrowed from the Library.
In a story of three generations of women living in the same house, we are introduced to Nan (the grandmother), Karen (the mother), and Charlotte (the daughter). Each has a unique perspective that causes static and sparks. Nan has dementia which makes for some interesting dialogues. Karen discovers a secret about Nan that changes her life. Charlotte gets pregnant and ruins Karen's hopes for her future.
It takes a little while to get used to the way the author trudges back and forth between perspectives (written in the first person, the three take turns telling the story so it takes a few lines in to realize who took over). A pretty good read though, and kind of amusing.
Excerpt:
All those times I was here, I was thinking, and the last few weeks, we never knew; I had cells dividing inside me: 2, 4, 8, 16, an exponential time bomb. Cells all drifting to their alloted place like syncrhonized swimmers. Shape-shifting: amoeba to blackberry, shrimp, alien, baby. There's a baby under this sweatshirt. Hello, Dad.
"Hey, are you all right? You look a bit -- funny."
I took heart from what might have been concern in his voice and stepped forward. "Paul, I - no. I'm not all right. I, I'm--" My hand dipped automatically to my stomach and his eyes followed it, then widened. Then his brows came down and his whole face went hard.
"Paul?"
Time to read: 2 evenings
Rate: ***--
Posted by: Slowplum at: 8:35 AM
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