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William Rice

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The Mothers

by Brit Bennett (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in February 2022

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William Rice said: " The Mothers is a beautifully written and moving novel about a rebellious teenage girl who gets together with the pastor’s son. This seemingly harmless act stays with them far past their youth. The Mothers is written by Brit Bennett. Ms. Bennett gradu The Mothers is a beautifully written and moving novel about a rebellious teenage girl who gets together with the pastor’s son. This seemingly harmless act stays with them far past their youth. The Mothers is written by Brit Bennett. Ms. Bennett graduated from Stanford University and went on to earn a MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan. Ms. Bennett grew up in Oceanside, California. The Mothers is a work of fiction based on a true story and takes place in southern California, similar to where Ms. Bennett grew up. I quite liked the plot of the book but it was too slow for me at some points. In the middle of the book especially, there is not much going on. I am used to reading adventure books with constant action and escapades at every turn so this was a change from what I am used to.

The reason I started reading this book was because of my English class. This year's theme in English class is American beauty and my teacher felt The Mothers helps us learn a different perspective of this theme. The plot of the book was well thought out and the love triangle between Luke, Nadia, and Aubrey kept me interested and engaged through most of the book. There are parts of the book that move slowly but for the most part it is an engrossing book. On the very first page it says “We didn’t believe when we first heard because you know how church folk gossip.” The reader does not know who is talking or what they are talking about. This got me interested in the book and made me want to continue reading. The author does this often in the book and it kept me hooked.

The Mothers has a lot of similarities to The Reluctant Fundamentalist. One similarity is when Nadia’s father gets injured. She can fly back home to see him and comfort him but she has no way of helping him get better or speeding his recovery. Similarly, in The Reluctant Fundamentalist Changez can go to Pakistan, his home to help his family but he has no way of helping his country. Changez feels powerless when it comes to saving his country from India. In The Mothers it says on page 192 “Her father cried when she stepped inside his hospital room. Because of the pain or because he was glad to see her, or maybe even because he was ashamed for her to see him like this.” This is when Nadia goes back home to visit her father in the hospital after he hurt himself while working out. This is similar to when Changez went to visit his girlfriend in the mental institute.

When I started reading The Mothers, I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the book and read well past where I was assigned. I read three fourths of the book in the first week. I would recommend this to my grandmother and maybe my father. Although I enjoyed reading this book, I did not enjoy it as much as the other books we read at the beginning of the year. ...more "

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(page 244 of 288)
"I think the fact that the author keeps bringing up "baby" is symbolism for the life Nadia would've had if she hadn't had an abortion. Nadia would have been stuck at home for the rest of her life and would not be able to get a good job. Instead, Nadia had the abortion and now she can accomplish all of her dreams because she went to college. I believe "baby" symbolizes what would happen if Nadia hadn't gone to school." — Feb 26, 2022 04:59PM

Apr 03, 2022 06:00PM · see review