thank you to sarah bruni & netgalley for an arc of this book. all opinions are my own. ♡

₊˚⊹⋆ first thoughts: umm this sounds so interesting and im gonna leave it at that. super excited to get the arc!!

₊˚⊹⋆ final thoughts:

I really enjoyed this one. It was unlike anything I have read before. I did think that it started off as a slow burn then really picked up the pace. I will add that I read it basically in one sitting so it did keep my attention. Beautiful prose.

Mass Mothering is a quite profound, haunting, and fragmented novel that explores the way violence and grief can shape stories, how mothering is both a politicized and communal act of resistance, and how interconnected trauma can be a way forward. The novel is deeply human but through the prose remains emotionally detached in its’ exploration of how global violence displaces people, history, culture and most of all, truth. I found the writing to be rigid but in a good way. I finished this novel feeling a bit unsettled with the amount of uncertainty this book leaves the reader with but is honest in that it accurately reflects reality. The dual pov here was strong and a bit more tightly wound when it was discussing the accounts of the women but lost it’s steam when the pov switched to A. I would have liked to experience a bit more emotion there. It was difficult connecting with her character. I loved how layered and intertwining these stories were though which for me, speaks to the way generational trauma flows as this ever happening and difficult to pin type of harm. This story put me in the mind of Jacqueline Harpman’s I Who Have Never Known Men in theme, tone, and the penetrating ambiguity that each novel rests on.

WOW. Beautiful beautiful prose. I thought this started very slow but sped up after the first chapter from A's perspective. I almost wish that the author had kept A's country unnamed, as I felt it spoiled a bit of the atmosphere once I knew where it was. So many interesting motifs that weave through the book like birth/death, tea, womanhood, and the way that women view men in the modern world. I feel like a literature class could really pick this piece apart, and I mean that in a good way.

I read this all in one go, except for a few hours of sleep. I rescheduled a meeting in order to finish it. I got the alert from NetGalley that I had been approved to read it just as I was finishing up another book. I didn't even stop to read the description. I just started reading it, so I didn't know what it was about, or even the genre.

This book was so well written. I have a Keep note where I save quotes from books, movies, humans. I opened it a lot during this reading. I would put one of my favorites here, but I absolutely don't want to give anything away. I would love it if you could jump in, as I did, knowing nothing.

I normally end my reviews by saying "if you like book X, Y, or Z you'll probably like this one. I'm not going to do that here. If you love words, ideas, feelings, this might be the book for you. I don't give these 5 stars lightly, just so you know.

Such a beautifully haunting voice. Something about the language is gossamer and phantasmal! The entire thing reads like moments after waking where you’re not certain what’s reality and what isn’t. Lovely lovely writing and a truly interesting concept. The actual story leaves a bit to be desired, unfortunately! It feels largely like building a big, gorgeous, empty, mansion. Many many pretty adornments and descriptions. Building blocks for amazing things. Missing the life, missing the heart. This touches on a lot of feminine concepts with delicacy and just grazes the violence of them without really reaching in! Very glad I read it but wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it to anyone.