You’ve heard all the jokes about nightmare mother-in-laws, but in this case, she truly is terrifying…

Abby and her husband have moved back into his childhood home to care for his ailing mother, Laura. When Laura takes her own life (not a spoiler, it happens within the first sentence), Ralph sinks into a deep depression, while Abby begins to see and hear things that cannot possibly be real. As the horror of the situation unfolds, and the vengeful ghost is slowly revealed (like details from Abby’s traumatic past), she realises that in order to save everything she holds dear, she’ll have to make some drastic sacrifices (and cook the best Chicken à la King Ralph has ever tasted).

A warning, this book is not for the faint of heart, with some graphic descriptions of violence, and references to mental illness; abuse; fraught family relationships, as well as the difficulties of trying to conceive. While these are heavy subjects, Ainslie Hogarth’s dark sense of humour allows them to be explored in a way that doesn’t feel so heavy.

Motherthing is full of clever writing devices-the switch from first person stream of consciousness narrative to play script format builds further on the 1950s domestic horror story element hinted at by the excellent cover art, as does the incorporation of the recipe book that Abby frequently refers to. The quick-witted conversations between Abby and Ralph provide some very funny dialogue which had me laughing out loud at times.

Ainslie Hogarth is a master of metaphor and word play, as evidenced by the title-without a reliable and caring maternal figure in her own life, Abby seeks comfort in other people and objects. She feels a particularly strong bond to her favourite patient, Mrs Bondy (no pun intended) at the nursing home she works at. While while Mrs Bondy might be Abby’s ‘baby’, at the same time she is also a substitute mother to Abby, and when this relationship is threatened, all hell breaks loose.

As the story progresses, Abby becomes more unhinged, and so too does the plot-it follows the trajectory of her madness. While seemingly starting off as a regular heroic protagonist, Abby turns into somewhat of an anti-hero by the end of the novel.

For more than one reason, this reminded me of another favourite book that I read this year, Sayaka Murata’s ‘Earthlings’. Like Earthlings, it was disturbing, gruesome, hilarious and sad, yet also had a redemptive quality to it. I loved it.

"...I wanted to die but nothing happened. I wanted to not be alive anymore but I had to be. Alive still, in this terrible moment too, even though frankly I have that feeling again where I wouldn’t mind not being alive."
Well, this book was soME OTHER THING(does this count as a pun? If so, then it was very much intended)
It was almost perfectly unhinged and fresh and raw and relatable and also kind of disgusting at times and I loved it way more than I expected.
Also, the story is very food and cooking oriented, in the end it all led to the perfect recipe of love and devotion, with madness sprinkled on top.
I don't usually give away plot points in my tiny reviews, because there are others who already do that, so I'll only say this: (spoiler, maybe) it's a cannibalism story, perfect ending of this crazy story and I'm so glad I read it, because I have a slight obsession with literary Cannibalism.
I loved the audiobook as well, the narrator did amazing job, I kind of want to listen to more books by her. Reading and listening at the same time provided an interesting side of Abby's character, giving voice to her thoughts was needed to fully immerse myself in her life and inner workings of her brain.

I'm so sorry to say that, while I tried many times, I just could not get into this book. I wanted so much to like it but I kept losing interest.
I'm very thankful that the publisher and Netgalley gave me a chance to read this. I truly wish I could've given it a positive review..

ABSOLUTE BANGER.

A slow descent into madness that ends with a WTF-did-I-just-read. The sentences are so honest. It feels like the main character, Abby, is a realized person. The twist and turns are set in reality, and the book's form, going from modern format to screenplay, makes it a delicious read.

Love love loved this book. It’s so unique. And don’t get me started on how much I LOVE the cover! This book is one where you’re constantly like,”oh no what’s going to happen next?”. You’re saying it all the way until the final line. This is such an emotional book and so well done. It talks about depression and suicide for those who may need a trigger warning.

I really tried to like this book because the summary seemed like something I would enjoy. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the writing style which felt disjointed. The conversations were weird and hard to follow. Too bad, because I love a good haunting/ghost story.

Reading Motherthing felt intense for so many reasons. Wild, funny, and pretty grim, this book took the haunting presence of generational mental illness and toxic family dynamics to a horrifying level.

The story follows Abby, a care professional whose mother-in-law recently took her own life. Already feeling in competition with mother-in-law for her husband’s attention, Abby feels even more distant from Ralph as the death of his mother pulls him into a grief-filled depression. To make a difficult situation worse, Abby begins seeing the ghost of her dead mother-in-law who continues to taunt Abby in death with the same cruelty she did in life. As Abby becomes more isolated, more haunted, and more desperate to pour forth her love, she begins to spiral. Her acute need to care for her husband, potential child, and Mrs. Bondy, a resident and mother-figure at the long-term care facility where she works, soon increases Abby’s profuse love to reckless and dangerous places.

At times, I wanted to shove this book between my couch cushions and forget about it for awhile. Not because of the writing quality or any other technical reason. No, instead Ainslie Hogarth's ability to tap into real-life challenges and turn them into an unhinged nightmare affected me in a way that made me feel very uncomfortable.

This discomfort, though, is a sign of Hogarth's skilful and darkly effective storytelling. From the absurd lengths Abby goes to express her love to her tactics for exorcising the ghost of her mother-in-law, Mothingthing really forces us to question who's the dangerous one here. I loved every second of this guessing game, and now that I'm finished with the book, I think I will hide it in my couch cushions.

I tried for a while to get into this book. I read half of it and it sadly wasn't keeping my attention throughout so I stopped. It took me longer to read half of this fairly short book than it usually does for me to complete books that are even longer. I found this too slow moving for what the synopsis promised.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for this e arc.
What a dark and twisted book. I will be buying a physical copy asap.

I enjoyed this book on an OK level. It's probably not something I would have chosen for myself, but after I got into the book, it blended with me more. Abby moves in with her MIL (something at least half the American population would dread on any given day) and hopes that this move will rekindle their friendship. Her MIL isn't interested in her however and suddenly dies. How will Abby progress from this and move forward?

I will say it also had a few odd turns and twists which I think again allowed me not too give it 100%.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***


Netgalley wish granted me a copy of Motherthing which was exciting. Hearing only good things, I expected to love it.

I didn't think it was terribly funny like some folks do, but dark humor is maybe not my thing. I found it traumatic but not scary.

I was immediately interested in the story and what was happening but that wanted a bit around the 20% mark. All trauma and depression, no ghost yet.

Once the odd things started happening, I was back into it.

I think it's an interesting idea and definitely a hot take on a mother-in-law from hell.

"What the hell did I just read?"

Was my initial reaction after I reached the last few pages;
It was the perfect 'surprise myself' kind of book and I honestly don't know what to feel about this.

I love the writing style, it reminded me so much of 'The Year of Rest and Relaxation' only this time I actually enjoyed reading. All throughout the experience I was conflicted with the thought of liking Abby or be scared of Abby or to rationalize her way of thinking and actions.

Another thing that I loved about this is the accurate if not close enough portrayal of Depression, Psychosis and Psychotic Delusions, I guess also of folie a deux.

It came to the point that it was actually triggering to read some of the passages but that only made the reading experience thrilling.
I wouldn't suggest doing what I did of course. Mind your mental space at all times.

What I'm saying is, the author didn't shy away from writing the dark, scary and messy truth of having this disease and that it's not something to be romanticised.

Besides the topic of mental health problems obviously this book talks about mothers and mother figures and I think it's brave to openly discuss about this, about the significance of not just a mother's guidance and love but both parents with how a child grows up, how it might affect their way of thinking and how they express their love and admiration and how they view a family and marriage in general.

I don't know if it's morally right to say that I loved this but I said it anyway. It's not something that I normally read and recommend openly and I still won't unless you tell me you want to be surprised or you want to try something new.

So if you're looking for a book that's out of your normal genre and you're not squeamish and scared so easily?

This one's for you.

Motherthing is creepy, weird and horrific. Dark humor at its best but the novel does carry a strong psychological undertone that managed to send more than a few shivers down my spine.
The writing is crisp and the narrative flow unrelenting.
It will definitely always come to my mind when discussing mother in law/daughter in law relationships in the future...

A delightful fictional weirdness that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever...

Many thanks to Vintage and Netgalley for this terrific ARC

A very original concept. Definitely have to get the print for my shelf. The tension was terrific. I finished the book in one sitting. Couldn‘t put it down.

This was not what I was expecting, and it honestly exceeded expectation! It was creepy, it was disturbing, it was heart-wrenching. *chef's kiss!*

Abby loves her husband Ralph and Ralph loves Abby but he’s also a mama‘s boy and when she dies and Abby take something that belongs to her Irene will not let her forget it. If Abby thought her mother-in-law was a problem when she was alive, she hasn’t seen anything yet! This was a really good book I thought the story went along quickly and although it can be pretty funny it’s definitely a horror story. I also thought Abby and Ralph had a really good relationship I just like this book all the way around. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I LOVED this book. It’s so uniquely well written. I went all in during a long layover and couldn’t put it down. It made me chuckle a good few times, and also make horrified faces.

This is soaked in dark humor and trauma. I’m not sure I would have marketed this so heavy on the humor part but I so appreciate the humor and writing style of this book. I can’t quite explain what I read, part ghost story, part trauma filled nightmare, and really I just wanted to hug Abby and never eat her food.

Awful mother-in-law stories always have a weird draw for me and Motherthing did not disappoint.

Have you ever had that guest that is downright horrible but just won't leave? You're forced to put up with them for what feels like forever, as if you might have died and this is now your own personal hell? To listen to this person nag and berate and belittle you for all of eternity?

Abby finds herself in the position of many wives' worst fears: her awful mother-in-law might be gone, but her ghost still is lingering and tormenting them. Abby is hilarious. She's witty and smart and snarky and her commentary had me burning through this book in hours. I have been there before with the significant other with the mother I couldn't help but loathe for her treatment of myself vs her son and her attachment issues.

Even with Abby's snark, the overall mood turns dark and dreadful as Ralph's depression over his mother's passing grows. The psychological horror aspect ramps up quickly and the sad undertone pulled at my heart for Abby. It is hard to not feel for her as the story progresses.

I loved this and will recommend it to anyone looking for a suspenseful, psychological thriller. Especially anyone that has had to deal with the monster-in-law or even giving their everything but their love never returned in the amount it is given.

Thank you to the author and publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Motherthing.

This was not for me. I couldn't do the writing style. It felt all over the place and took away from the point of the story. Just no.