Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
Motherthing is a really, really good domestic horror novel. I found it to be so unique and strange.
The topics explored were interesting and I was definitely shocked by the final bits ((pun intended)). Yikes. Seriously, in some ways, I may never view the world the same again.
I’m sort of kidding with that reaction, but also not really. This one took me by surprise.
In this story we follow Abby and her husband, Ralph. At the beginning of the story, Ralph’s Mom is found dead in the basement of the home in which they all live together.
It appears she’s taken her own life. There’s a lot of blood. It’s super tragic for Ralph, and Abby as well, of course.
The heart of the story explores the aftermath of that sudden death. It explores Ralph’s grief and also Abby’s mixed emotions about her mother-in-law and her actions.
The narrative is stream-of-consciousness from Abby’s perspective and while generally, that isn’t a style I tend to enjoy, it actually really worked for me here.
I feel like when an author is able to bring a great sense of humor to the perspective we are hearing from, it definitely helps me to settle in and enjoy the story.
Keeping in mind this is an extremely dark story, with stomach-churning, toe-curling, won’t eat for a week imagery, it still had moments where I literally LOL.
Even with all the humor, I felt like Hogarth did a great job of capturing the different levels and outward expressions of grief. It came off as genuine and believable.
Additionally, while some aspects seemed jarring, because they were shocking in nature, or otherwise upsetting content, the flow of the story consistently worked throughout. It was well constructed and presented.
The final scenes had my jaw on the floor. I think I sort of got lulled into it all over the course of the narrative and wasn’t expecting it to go the direction it did. I loved that part. It was a super solid finish.
I recommend the audio format, if you are someone who enjoys audiobooks. The narration was perfect for the story and it definitely felt immersive to me.
I cannot wait to read more from Hogarth in the future. It’s clear she is super creative and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!