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Mothertongues
By Ceridwen Dovey and Eliza Bell
Published by Penguin Random House
ISBN 9781761043550
This was interesting reading. At first I thought, nah, not going to enjoy reading this book. I continued reading another couple of pages and suddenly I was hooked. It took a few pages to get used to the style of writing, but once settled into it, I couldn’t put it down. Before I realised it, I had read more than a quarter of the book in one sitting.
It is about the two mothers who used to share their thoughts and their creative frustrations at the school gate after dropping off their children. They decided they would write a book together about the absurdities of motherhood.
At times it’s confronting, a bit sweary, yet in context and somehow quite acceptable. At times it is also funny and a bit off-beat and there are some strange incidences.
They share memoirs, poetry, songs, words that resonate with themselves. I describe it as a word collage about mothering and sharing parts of their lives that perhaps one wouldn’t normally share. Imagine you’re sitting watching a musical with heroic odyssey with a lot of talking from two busy mums who do mothering well, sometimes badly, or doing a dinner cabaret.
It is a fun read, with with comedic influences, they almost poke fun at the motherhood dream, go off in a fantasy world and explore their creativity.
Eliza Bell is a teacher, a writer and theatre actor, from the USA who now resides in Australia and all of these experiences are drawn into this co-written story.
Would I recommend this book, yes, do read it, but don’t think of it as a traditional biography or life story.
This is independent review, I am not paid by the publishers, so.If you Liked this review, Buy me a coffee
