Motherthing
Ratings55
Average rating3.4
Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy Motherthing but fans of elevated horror will gleefully sink their teeth into the main character's struggle to cope with her own existence.
Gory horror novel with dark humour, this follows Abby, whose mother-in-law died recently from suicide after she and her husband moved into her home. Abby suspects her mother-in-law's ghost haunts her husband, putting him into a deep depression but is also trying to destroy her dreams of having a child and her job as a caretaker. This book truly was weird and like, like a fever dream. I loved the lush and dreamy but dark writing that perfectly renders Abby's mental state. Abby felt very unhinged in her stream of consciousness with very fantastical, murderous and morbid rambling, but she made for a compelling character to read, like watching a train wreck. I did like seeing flashbacks of her past and her relationship with Ralph. I did love the different styles of narration, in addition to the main character's first pov, there was also parts where the story was told like a movie or a play, it added to the weird atmosphere. I expected more horror/paranormal moments involving the house and Abby's mother in law and husband are the beginning. The subplot involving Abby's workplace, I didn't particularly care for as well as some passages that didn't add much to the plot. The last 50 pages though were insane.
Grabbed this during a 2-for-1 sale for Spooky Season, coincidentally didn't realize that I also had NetGalley waiting on a review (sorry)! It's a little different as a domestic horror, but I enjoyed. The narration is well done, and the character's voice comes to life.
First and foremost, this is kind of a dark comedy. Or at the very least, the artistic voice comes across as funny. A lot of the analogies and metaphors are witty, and something I have never quite achieved in my own writing.
In a way, I would liken this to a fictional “I'm Glad My Mom Died” as it shows a lot of the darker sides of motherhood: abuse, obsession, and dysfunction. It also goes into depression and delusion in a very atmospheric way.
Unfortunately the end did lose me for a bit, which is when it was supposed to be building to climax, but it did end with quite the surprise. Personally a 3/5*, a fun one.
And I absolutely love the cover!
definitely not for everyone... but definitely for me. i actually LOL'd at the end
This book was weird, like weird weird. It wasn't particularly scary, but I did not expect that ending.
Ainslie wrote so wonderfully, I was sucked into the story right from the beginning. Abby, and even Ralph, were written so well! I was incredibly invested in how the story was going to play out and I absolutely loved experiencing and being in Abby's head during her slow descent into madness.
That ending. Phew.
This was a wild and twist ride that this FMC take you on whether you want to or not.
Abby wished for a great relationship with her mother-in-law, Laura but it was less than ideal. Then after a tragedy that left Laura dead she will never be able to have the relationship she dreamed of. In the wake of Laura's death everything around Abby starts to unravel. Her husband, Ralph, is slowly losing it after his mothers death, Ms. Bondy, Abby's favorite person in her care in the old folks home is in danger of leaving, and Abby is haunted by the past trauma her own mother left her with. But Abby is no quitter and she sets out on a path to fix everything.
This is wonderfully twisted. Between the writing and the characters I was cringing (in a good way). The path that Abby takes you on is both surprising and at the same time completely predictable. She's both a character you love and are rooting for and also a character that you wish would get a grip.
While these are all good things it's also the reason I didn't care for this book as much as I could have. The writing, the characters, how twisted it is are all good things in my opinion. However, you are basically just hearing what's going on inside Abby's head for the whole book. While this was wonderfully done by making you questions certain aspects of the plot, it also left me a bit bored (or I should say more tired of hearing Abby). This left this book being just okay for me, however I am happy I read it and would read more from this author!
I have to say I was really looking forward to reading this and felt super excited when I got the ARC from NETGALLEY.
The description basically telling me that a young wife is now haunted by the ghost of her mother in law. That premise sounds amazing and was why I requested the book.
In theory that's what this book is about, in execution it's actually trying to say a lot about grief, motherhood and depression. Our protagonist Abby and her husband Ralph are reeling from Ralph's mothers death and Ralph is slipping deep into a depression and is adamant that the ghost of his mother is haunting their basement.
Abby must do anything she can to bring Ralph out of it and she goes to some extreme measures for sure. I wouldn't classify this book as horror at all (except maybe one scene). This is more of a psychological meditation about the effects of grief on a marriage. It's also about the meaning of motherhood and what it means to be there for someone.
The writing is great and I'm glad this book exists. I'm giving it 3 stars because it wasn't exactly what I expected or wanted and that was disappointing. While I enjoyed the writing there are definitely parts that felt like a slog to get through for sure.
If you want a more literary take on the horror genre this might be for you.
What it's like:
Mother meets Hand that Rocks the Cradle
Men meets Ghost
Book Grades:
Plot Development and Pacing - 90/100
Character Development - 90/100
Theme and Subject Matter - 90/100
Writing Style - 90/100
Reader Engagement - 75/100
Overal Grade: 87% - B OR 3/5 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review