Review: All My Mothers

Title: All My Mothers

Author: Joanna Glen

Publisher: 28th July 2021 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Pages: 400 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction 

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

From the author of the Costa shortlisted debut, The Other Half of Augusta Hope, comes the story of one girl’s journey to find her birth mother, and her realisation that mothers – and family – can be discovered in the most unexpected of places…

London, 1980s. Though she has a comfortable, privileged life, Eva Martínez-Green is deeply unhappy. The only child of an emotionally absent mother and a physically absent father, Eva has grown up in a cold, unloving house. But Eva is convinced that all is not as it seems. Why are there no baby pictures of her? Why do her parents avoid all questions about her early years?

When her parents’ relationship crumbles, Eva begins looking for a different, better life: a proper family, a perfect mother, and, importantly, real love. Her desire to find where she belongs leads Eva on a journey spanning years and continents – and, along the way, she meets women who challenge her idea of what a mother should be, and who will change her life forever…

My Thoughts

I was eager to read Joanna’s latest book as her previous one, The Other Half of Augusta Hope, was met with such great acclaim and I really enjoyed it. This one is likewise inviting but for different reasons. 

‘Some days heaven touches Earth.

And do we notice it at the time?

Or do we know it later - when heaven is snatched away?’

The story centres around Eva from her early years through to adulthood. Eva always feels that something does not quite sit right and spends time trying to discover the truth, not only about herself but also about origins and meaning for a person. Joanna is always upfront with her character's emotions, and here you will see Eva be both strong yet also fall apart. At times she may self-destruct and come across as hard to like but that is what adds depth and realism to the story. 

‘If it’s meant to be, it will work,’ I said, thinking that, although people said this a lot, it really was a load of crap.’

Yes, this is a journey of self discovery, however the themes run much deeper than that. It really is about life and how often things can come full circle to find yourself right back where you figuratively started. It is a story for females - girls, women, friends, mothers - this story sets out to investigate it all. 

‘A joy not often talked about, the joy of expertise.

I recommend it.

Finding your thing.

Your place in the scheme of things.’

At times I struggled with this book - it can read slowly with nothing appearing to be happening. I am also unsure about the constant sharp, clinical writing style that, whilst providing the desired impact, lost something through its regular use providing a lack of fluidity. 

‘How do we make happiness?

Is it by loving other people?

Is that how it works?’

This book will make you think and carefully consider your own female relationships - many readers are deeply moved by Eva’s journey. It is not an easy read with the complicated emotions and hesitancy, however, the fierceness of her devotion is something one cannot help but admire in Eva. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review:The Other Half of Augusta Hope

Title: The Other Half of Augusta Hope

Author: Joanna Glen

Publisher: 13th June 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia - The Borough Press

Pages: 384 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: general fiction

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Augusta Hope has never felt like she fits in. At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi. And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia. When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta's life, she's propelled headfirst into the unknown. She's determined to find where she belongs – but what if her true home, and heart, are half a world away?

My Thoughts

‘There are places–aren’t there? Places which are so full of feeling you hardly dare return to them. I wonder which place it is for you.’

This is really a rather extraordinary book. Upon completion, events remains with you and the significance of the message grows stronger. At first it seems a little ‘left of centre’, especially considering the rather unique style of writing. Then you begin to realise that is the whole point - Augusta Hope is ‘left of centre and a most unique character. This book will grow on you as it is clever ... and funny ... and sad. Very sad. 

‘I didn’t bother to talk about the fact that love might be the hugest word there is in the world and that we would never, across a whole lifetime, work out what it meant.’

The story revolves around Augusta Hope, a twin, who feels she simply does not fit in and dreams of escape to more exotic locations. She is a logophile - a lover of words - and is always asking questions. Her parents find her hard to understand/appreciate, however her more mainstream twin, is her champion. 

‘Don’t you want to be extraordinary?’ I said. ‘To have an extraordinary life?’ 

‘I’m happy to be ordinary,’ said Julia.

Running parallel to Augusta’s story is that of Parfait - a young boy growing up in wartorn Burundi, who likewise dreams of a better life. The story of his journey will break your heart, as indeed, both Parfait and Augusta experience life changing occurrences. The constant thread through both of these tales in Joanna’s writing, it really is exquisite. Words of wisdom literally fly off the page in a highly unique yet beguiling way. The range of topics she fears not to embrace - plight of refugees and postpartum depression, to name but two - is full of courage. 

‘None of us can ever imagine being someone else. Isn’t that why being human is lonely? Because however many words there are in a language, they never express the actual thing, the actual feeling, the actual being ourselves?’

As you follow along the journey’s of Augusta and Parfait - from childhood through to adulthood - you will be moved by their struggles as both strive to find a place that is right for them in this world. This is a story that has a little of everything - some laughter, lots of love and simultaneously, great and overwhelming sadness - all surrounded in a cloak of serendipity. You will laugh ... you will cry ... but you certainly will not regret stepping into the world of Augusta Hope. 

‘I always had some kind of ache inside me,’ said Parfait.

 ‘Me too,’ I said. ‘I didn’t know anyone else had that ache.’ 

‘I always assumed everybody had it,’ he said. 

We were talking fast now, our words crashing against each other. 

‘I thought I’d been born into the wrong life,’ I said.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.