The Push

The Push is a debut novel that hit the ground running. Readers are raving about this psychological drama from Canadian author Ashley Audrain due to its focus on motherhood and several incredible discussion points.

This psychological drama is a multigenerational look at how family dysfunction permeates through three generations of women. It is a quick read with short chapters that often had a chilling feel because the issues raised continue to be faced by many women today. The topics are grave and will make some readers uncomfortable and may be a trigger for others as Audrain takes a no-holds barred look at motherhood - the worries, paranoia, pressures and expectations put upon women by family, other mothers and society at large.

I liked this book but didn't quite love it. The issues addressed are amazing, but I wasn't fond of the second person narration and I found parts of the story predictable. I also thought the menfolk were relegated to one-dimensional tertiary characters and I think getting their POV on a few issues would have added an interesting layer. 

This is a disturbing and thought-provoking read that unabashedly addresses relevant issues that continue to impact some women. I believe this book will open people's eyes to the potentially long-lasting effects of unrealistic expectations placed upon women and the view of motherhood as an unquestionable end goal for all women. This book would make an excellent book club selection. 

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Ashley Audrain

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Canadian

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library

Pages: 320

Publisher: Viking

First Published: January 5, 2021

Opening Line: Your house glows at night like everything inside is on fire.

Book Description from GoodReads: A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do.

Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.