Bennett, B. (2016). The mothers. New York, NY: Prentice Hall Press.

The Mothers, by Brit Bennett, is a story about exactly that – mothers or a lack of a mother. A young girl named Nadia is seventeen and is about to leave for college when she finds out that she is pregnant and has an abortion. Just before the events of the novel open, we find that Nadia’s mother has killed herself. Nadia is very intelligent and has received a scholarship to go to school in Michigan. The novel follows Nadia intensely through her summer after the abortion, but before school and then checks in on her periodically throughout her college years. Though the book is told from her point of view, the author reveals little of Nadia’s inner thoughts. The father of the child and Nadia’s best friend play important roles in her life throughout the course of the novel and the drama that unfolds, because of the secret of the abortion affect all involved well into the each’s later life. It’s hard to tell if this is supposed to be a pro-life or pro-choice story, or if it is just meant to a be a story. You never get an idea that Nadia either regrets or does not regret the abortion – which is probably what is supposed to happen. Nothing that intense would feel right or wrong, one way or another. I think Nadia both regrets and is grateful for what she did, and the author conveys that ambiguity perfectly.

“The Mothers” are a group of much older, mostly widowed women, in Nadia’s congregation of Upper Room in a small town outside San Diego, CA. They narrate several points in the novel and give the town a voice that is lacking from Nadia, her friend Aubrey, and Luke (the father of the child). The Mothers judge Nadia for what she did, but not anymore harshly than anyone else in the town. They serve as a voice of wisdom and not condemnation, which is solely due to their age and their experience in the world. The collective “we” is used perfectly here, and is not intrusive in the reader’s mind. The only issue I had with the book, is that the characters seem a little flat – I do not believe that Nadia would hold onto Luke for such a long period of time, especially how he treated her after the abortion. The whole theme of the novel, that our past perpetually haunts us, is explored well, but I am not sure that our past haunts ALL of us – certainly Nadia, Luke and Aubrey. I think it haunts them because they let it.

In reality, we cannot change what has happened to us in the past, we must deal with it. I am not sure there is a moment in the novel, The Mothers, when Nadia really and truly deals with her past actions. We all long to know our parents better, and to know the “why” behind many of their choices.