The Push

The blurb describes this novel as "tense" and "page-turning," but the only thing that kept me going till the end was how I received a free copy in exchange for a review, and I felt it was unfair to post a review without actually finishing it. While I appreciated the psychological aspect of the story, I was frustrated by how literally nothing happened. The few big events of the story were glossed over in a few paragraphs, while we were forced to sit through page after page of the main character worrying about whether or not she was a decent mother.

I've had this rant before, and I'll have it again, but my biggest frustration with this novel was how it's a female-led thriller… but the main character does nothing. She thinks her daughter is a murderer? So she sits around and worries. Her husband leaves her? So she's a bit sad about that. Over and over again she asks if she should do something, and over and over again she does absolutely nothing. Perhaps that's realistic, I don't know, but as a reader it's infuriating.

Judging from the other reviews this seems to be a bit of a marmite book. Some people, apparently, absolutely love it. Sadly, I'm very much not one of them.

Disappointing novel that reminded me too much of recent read, 'The School for Good Mothers', which I didn't like much either. Others have compared it with 'We Need to Talk about Kevin' but in my opinion that's a better book. The Push similarly unsettles and disturbs but, to me, felt contrived and calculated. Shriver's story develops out of the characters without making authorial intent obvious. The structure of The Push, with its main narrative in the form of a letter purporting to set the record straight, is a constant reminder we are reading a book, from the viewpoint of an unreliable narrator.

'The Push' I found hard to read, and kept having to set it aside for a while. It made me upset and uncomfortable. While this can be effective in the hands of a good writer, in this case I just felt manipulated. At times it is nicely gothic in the vein of Shirley Jackson but there's not enough ambiguity to sustain this atmosphere.

My main beef is the way everything is telegraphed and sign-posted, right from the beginning, in a way that, somehow, both lessens and increases tension, with the end result falling flat. Take my advice and don't read the prologue until the end.

On a more positive note, as a story about motherhood, society's expectations of what makes a Good Mother and easy judgement of failure to fulfil a role we have no training for other than our own experience as children, it packs a powerful punch. I think this is a first novel so I'd be interested to read what Audrain writes next.

Our reading group, "The Bookworms" recently read "The Push" by Ashley Audrain published by Penguin.
This gripping, sometimes harrowing, tale traces the behaviour of three generations of women, and the early life of the newest daughter, Violet, from the perspective of her mother Blythe. The reader is drawn quickly and compellingly through 85 chapters, with twists and turns, some seemingly inevitable, others falsely promising respite from the trauma.
The brief chapters drive the momentum of this story, the joy of it being that though you have your darkest suspicions, there is always the possibility of one of the turns of the tale moving towards a positive conclusion.
Blythe and Fox marry as college students, Blythe set on a career in writing, Fox moving into a professional role but seeking a family and home life to match the seemingly idyllic upbringing he had experienced. For Blythe “family” had a very different connotation. Brief reference is made to the cruelty and unhappy circumstances in her own life and amongst her female forebears and possibly influencing across the generations. The unspoken question towards which the story inexorably drives is whether there is an inevitability of failure of redemption, given the history of dysfunctionality in Blythe’s family.
The value of the book for the group reading together was the platform it gave to discuss the range of child abuse instanced and the continuing influence on – or absence of - bonding and nurturing behaviour down the family line. At this level we discussed the changing pressures on family life, the responsibility on both partners for financial contribution and the equal desire of women to pursue their own interests and opportunities. The book brilliantly laid out the traumas, the inevitability of a psychological downward spiral as it occurred and left us seeking to analyse why certain events occurred, who was the protagonist in certain events, how things might have been different.
It is wholly absorbing and dark in places, not always an easy read, and in the end you are left to decide for yourself: What really happened?

Violet is the first child of Fox and Blythe. Whilst Fox is over the moon and almost obsessed with his daughter, Blythe never really bonds with Violet. As time goes on she starts to feel that something isn’t quite right. When their next child comes along Blythe’s experience of motherhood is completely different and she lives and breathes for her son, Sam. Her feelings of antipathy towards her daughter have not abated and she even starts to wonder if she is the embodiment of evil, a feeling which grows stronger as time goes by. This novel incorporates a fairly detailed investigation into the complexities of motherhood, mother-child relationships, nature vs nurture and a multitude of other issues with which many mothers have to battle, but which are too shameful to talk about openly.

This was an interesting premise for a book and the characters were well developed and played their parts well. My attention was kept throughout, despite the fact that not an awful lot actually happens. Its strength lies in the fact that it is a masterful study of motherhood and tackles some of the less obvious aspects of the mother-child relationship.

However, I was hoping for great things from this book and I’m afraid it didn’t really deliver. There were two major issues. The first was to do with expectations. One of the comments on the cover was “Like the Girl on the Train – but better”. I was therefore expecting a crime novel of some sort, complete with twists in the tale. That is not at all what this book is about. In reality it is a book about motherhood, written in the style of a psychological thriller. Had I read it with a more realistic expectation then my comments may well have been more positive but I can’t undo the experience I had which was based on a false premise.
The other issue was the prologue. Prologues are a pet hate of mine, partly because I don’t see the point in having them at all but also because, in a worst case scenario, the prologue gives away not just the storyline but also the ending. Unfortunately this was a “worst case scenario” book. To be honest it pretty much ruined the book for me because all the way through I basically knew what was going to happen. I would love somebody to explain to me how a prologue of that nature can possibly be a good thing for the reader.
The upshot of all this is that overall I was very disappointed.

Would I recommend this book? I’m not sure. I certainly had issues with it but when all was said and done I still found it quite gripping. Make your own mind up time I think, but do not read it expecting a crime novel.

This was a dark and brooding family drama. I really had to concentrate to keep up as the story jumps between different characters and timelines, and I found myself having to go back and forth in the book a few times along the way. Unfortunately this led to a disconnect with the story and characters

Rachel
I LOVED this book. I found it very easy to read, racing through it in no time. I sympathised strongly with Blythe, the main character, and the writer captured her feelings of inadequacy, isolation and grief very well. I thought weaving in different time periods was clever and creative, showing how abusive or neglectful parents are most often products of neglect themselves. It also made you question Blythe's impression of her daughter - is Violet truly a disturbed child, or is Blythe failing to bond with her due to her own traumatic childhood? Even the end doesn't clear things up entirely, only hints at it.

I strongly disliked Blythe's husband, who is too caught up in what Blythe should be like as a wife and mother to offer her support.

Overall, a beautifully-written, thrilling and heart-wrenching novel which reminded me strongly of 'We Need to Talk about Kevin', exploring how much pressure society puts on mothers to be perfect. 10/10

Jacinta
I was immediately drawn into the novel by the intriguing second person narration and trying to work out who the author was talking to. Even when I realized, the pace, characters and storyline engaged me and I wanted to know what happened next. Where there were lulls in the action, such as when the parents split up, the writing was accomplished and interesting enough to keep me reading. Although the twist at the end was somewhat expected, much of the latter part of the book was wondering whether Jet would be safe and by choosing to end the book with the phone call, the author succeeded in surprising the reader as well as ending the book on just the right note. I would read more novels by this author and out of 10 would give it an 8.

Helen
I enjoyed the book and kept reading to the end. I found the overall plot something I hadn’t read before, and the growing sense of paranoia worked well. I think the growing sense of distrust of her own child was really interesting to read.
I think the main story would have been enough without all the flicking back and forth in time. That got in the way and made me have to check who was who a couple of times. If I’m honest I think I prefer for a book that tells a chronological story!
I didn’t really like any of the characters very much except Gemma who seemed lovely.
I thought the ending was good - a real twist in the tale. I’d give this 8/10

Arleen
Once I started to read this book I found it hard to put down. It was certainly full of suspense and kept me on my toes right until the end. It is hard to believe a child could deliberately kill another child. My sympathy went out to Blythe who just couldn't get close to Violet, her first child. I liked that the time lap was also in the 60s, so we see how Blyth interacted with her mother. Her life changed when her son was born. She loved him so much, he was her saving grace. When his pram was pushed into the road and he was killed, she saw a pair of mittens that Victoria was wearing push him into the road. She couldn't believe his sister had pushed him deliberately. The story goes on from there and her husband remarries and the new wife has a baby boy called Jet. Blythe befriends her and tries to warn her about Victoria and to keep her baby safe. Of course she isn't believed, and the book ends with the new wife phoning Blythe to say 'Something has happened to Jet'. So, it all starts again. It would appear that Victoria has killed another child.

A fantastic book that gives one goose pimples. 8/10

Carolyn
The Push wasn't a book for me. I thought it was miserable and depressing and not thrilling. I did finish it but the ending was predictable. I found it confusing at times as it went to and fro between the characters and the years.

I give it 3

Cat
I expected to enjoy this but sadly I didn't. I found the start of the book confusing with characters being referred to by she/her/I too much, so it was hard to figure out who was who. Then there were the major themes of the book: 'natural' versus 'unnatural' mothers, child abuse, child pychopathy. I feel that treating one of these themes in depth would have worked well, but that using them all was an unnecessary overload, and ended up with them all being treated superficially, and also as if they were in the same bracket when I really don't think they are. The premise that her child is clearly mentally disturbed and yet she doesn't take her to a doctor, ever, was irritating to say the least. The ending was unbearably sensationalist. Just 3/10 for me

Eve
This book was often confusing to read. I usually rather enjoy books that go back and forth through time and characters, but this one was difficult. Sometimes I lost my way through the mothers and daughter's. I felt sorry for Blithe, she wanted to be a good mother, but this was difficult as Violet was not a loving child, apart from with her father. The father had no sympathy and did not understand any problems with Violet. Of course, he soon found another wife, but it was obvious that this was not going to be a good move, at least for Gemma. We knew as soon as Jet was born that he would not last while Violet was around. Enjoy was perhaps not the word to use with this book. It was compelling to read and I needed to get to the end. No explanations of course, - I would give this book 8.

Ffion
This story I felt left me unaffected from the very beginning. It was very muddled, confused, and jumped around too much. I understand that we followed the traumatic childhood of 3 generations, but it was the inner workings of the 4th generation I was most interested to get to, and sadly, that didn’t happen. Having just finished the book, it could have been so much more than it was. Out of 10 I would give it a 2.

Sonia
Once I had worked out the relationships between the characters in the first chapter I really enjoyed this book. Beautifully written and a real page turner for me. You could see so clearly how the relationships of the various mothers and daughters followed similar patterns but, rightly, it did not seek to establish whether nature or nurture was the more important factor. Etta, Cecilia and Blythe had the same sort of relationship with their daughters but Blythe's relationship with her son was completely different which begs the question was it her or him that was the more important factor. The anticipation of the fear and horror of what seemed to be the inevitable conclusion was written so well. As someone else has noted, although the story was different, the feeling invoked was reminiscent of We Need to Talk About Kevin and deserves to be as lauded.

It was such a refreshing change from the usual - in my view - over simplistic and romanticised portrayal of mother/child relationships and one which I have to say I could relate to! I give this a score of 8 out of 10.

Average score is 6.5

I was lucky enough to win some copies of The Push for our book club in the Forest Of Dean from the Publishers. Since it was released, I have wanted to read this, as it has some excellent reviews. It has been selected as one of the Richard and Judy book club reads and is a Sunday Times Bestseller, some great accolades, so I am keen to get stuck in, and this is our read for May.

First off, I think this is possibly the most challenging book I have ever reviewed. Two days after finishing, I still can’t quite work out if I liked it or not.

Blythe comes from a line of ‘bad mothers’ Etta, her grandmother, was devastated by death and committed suicide in the front garden, hanging herself from a tree. Cecelia, Blythe’s mother, never wanted to be a mother and abandoned her at 11 years old, never to return. However, Blythe’s husband, Fox, manages to convince her it’s not in her nature to be a lousy mother, and she soon finds herself pregnant with her daughter, Violet.

This is a detailed study of Blythe’s life and that of her daughter Violet. I feel pretty sure that Violet is probably suffering from severe postnatal depression. She doesn’t like her daughter much and is convinced that her daughter hates her. She isn’t the best mother but doesn’t have much support or help around her. Fox is back to work quickly, and Violet is a demanding, tearful, screaming newborn.

I liked that this deals with the complexities of becoming a mother for the first time and that not everybody falls in love immediately. The story continues to follow Blythe and Violet through their lives, trials, and tribulations. Fox and Blythe then have a son, Sam. Blythe feels the love for him immediately, but Fox doesn’t seem so sure. Violet is loving and caring, but then one day, everything goes wrong, and we wonder whether Violet is to blame as Blythe would have us believe. Fox eventually has an affair and leaves Blythe for Gemma, a younger model already pregnant with his son, Jet.

There are so many questions here, and I felt it would be better suited to a dark family drama genre rather than a thriller or psychological fiction, as I was led to believe. The ‘shocking twist’ at the end doesn’t really come through for me either.

I enjoyed the premise of the plot, and it is pretty dark. Violet may be evil and have issues but is that nature or nurture? We see the inclusion of the story of Etta and Cecelia possibly to help demonstrate that its nature causing the problems and to intensify why Blythe has such issues with her child. The narration was a little challenging to get to grips with at first, especially with the inclusion of ‘you’, who later turns out to be Fox.

Most confusingly, Blythe writes the story for her daughter Violet to explain why she is the way she is, but it’s more like a long letter written to her husband, Fox. There are some very dark undertones and subjects which I liked. It’s far from the story of a loving, caring mother who is plagued by her daughter and whether there is something wrong with her.

Blythe’s attitude to Sam is entirely different, and by the end of the book, we see that maybe it is Violet that has the issues rather than the other way round, but unfortunately, this was a little unresolved for me. I wanted to know just a little bit more.

The characters were well developed. I didn’t warm to any of them particularly but understood them well. I disliked Fox. As readers, we could see some of the issues with Blythe, but I couldn’t see how Fox was seeing them when he was at work. From that perspective, his treatment of Blythe when Violet was so young seems wholly unfair and uncalled for. I didn’t feel he gave her much chance to be a good mother and offered even less love, support and understanding.

The ending wasn’t as good as I had hoped for. I felt like we were left hanging to know precisely what had happened and whether Violet had done something. I can only assume that she had and that this confirmed her personality.

There were some other issues we discussed in the book club. We are a small group, and some loved the book, others really didn’t, so I felt it gave a good balance. Some of the inconsistencies surrounded the placement of some scenes, for example, the lack of protective flooring around the children’s playgroup equipment. We felt that we couldn’t reliably place the times and ages of Violet at different stages and when certain things happened. How realistic were some of her actions, given her perceived age.

I don’t often reread books, aside from a few special ones, but I feel like this one needs to be reread to be fully understood. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can build myself up to do that now, but maybe I will come back in a year.

I would be really interested in a sequel either explaining more about Violet or seeing Violet as an adult, becoming a mother herself.

Of our small book club, one member didn't finish the book, one rated it 1 star, one rated 4 stars and two rated it 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and author for the free copies for us to review as a book club. We really enjoyed the opportunity and discussions from this book.

This is the type of book I've been waiting to read - gripping, compelling, and a total page-turner! Nura

It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked! DB

It made me question all the societal norms about parenthood and being a mum- loved it. KB

Reviews from Michele's book club:

Found the style of writing little difficult, had to stock with it, but glad I did ! I enjoyed the storyline and character studies so much. It tackled a few societal taboos in a way that makes you want to get to the end of the book, but also left me want to know more! Not a lighthearted read but interesting and thought provoking. - Joanne

Hooked from the start.
Psychological family drama throughout three generations. Disappointment, self doubt and hope, questioning oneself throughout motherhood. I read this book in a day as I could not put it down to find out the outcome. I was not disappointed - Linda

Wow !!! Be prepared to be gripped by this book, the mother/daughter relationships running throughout this book had me hooked from the first chapter. Excellent read - Michele

I did not expect to be so impressed by this novel. I think the UK cover looks a bit ‘pulp’ and I hadn’t realised it was a US bestseller (not that that would sway me). However, I read it in less than 2 days and I thought it was excellent, well-constructed, full of insight and suspense. It’s about motherhood, good and bad – looking for patterns from one generation to the next. There are definitely echoes of We Need to Talk About Kevin, but this is much more accessible, a family saga which is almost dreamlike in places, and not the hard fact, documentary style of Shriver’s classic. Blythe, the mother at the centre of this novel, has not been well-mothered herself and questions her own abilities as she struggles to form a bond with her daughter Violet. She has a completely different perspective of Violet to her husband’s and cannot openly share her suspicions about Violet until something terrible happens – but she is not believed, and slowly but surely her marriage disintegrates. To avoid spoilers I’ll say nothing else about the plot, but I would recommend this book to almost anyone. [TW: child bereavement]

A compulsive book, I just couldn't put down. As a mother some of the feelings in this book you could relate to. Some of which horrified you. A real emotional rollercoaster of a story.

Wow, this book kept me on the edge of my seat! Did she, didn't she, I really couldn't make my mind up. The novel smacked of 'We need to talk about Kevin' but had its own unique style, showing us snippets of maternal failings of the past. Still the age old question of nature versus nurture but dealt with in a very modern way.