Daddy's Gone A-Hunting

3.5

I cannot say I “enjoy” Penelope Mortimer because her stories are not meant to be. Mortimer is a great writer and I find myself feeling so bleak after her books. This novel, much like “The Pumpkin Eater” feels like danger, a fever dream. “Daddy's Gone A-Huntin” is the encapsulation of my worst nightmare, and Mortimer writes it as such. Fragmented narration, changing perspectives–she does not want you on your feet. Penelope Mortimer wants you, much like her female protagonists, disoriented and unable to BE. You are not in control; like the men in her novels, Mortimer will not allow you, reader, that mercy.