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The Push
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller (2021), Nominee for Readers' Favorite Debut Novel (2021)An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.
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.
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.
307 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 2021
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June 11, 2024
I proudly announce another grandiose WINNER! This is freaking earth shattering, oh my goodness what the hell I just read I cannot gather my wits, I feel like hit by car kind of reading!!!!
I’m soooo tense! I can explode at any second! My heart is pounding so fast! My knuckles turning white! I’m a mess! Since watching A Quiet Place, I haven’t been so edgy, anxious, an UTO ( I unidentifiable trembling object) but here I am! This book is freaking good deserves more than my five stars!
It’s about the art of being a good mother! What defines a good mother? If you haven’t been raised by good role models who haven’t taught you how to care, how to be patient, understanding and reasonable, also passionate parent, this would mean you would be destined to fail at parenthood!
Blythe has shittiest heritage: a grandmother suffered from mental illness who has been tortured her own daughter for years and ended her life tragically, a mother who was mostly lost in her life, showing no care or attention to her, leaving without a word.
Will Blythe be the carbon copy of those two woman? Will she suck to be a caring parent?
She did her best to connect with her daughter Violet but there was something really wrong with her daughter! And nobody believes in Blythe! Her own husband thinks she is incapable to raise their daughter appropriately. There’s something wrong with Blythe! Actually her mother in law also agrees with her son!
Does Blythe act biased around her daughter or is she really inherited the madness of her grandmother?
When their second child is born, Blythe thinks everything will change and they will become real family. But she doesn’t consider Violet’s reaction to her new little brother! What if Blythe put their lives in danger by bringing another child into their family? What if she can lose everything she’s worked for so hard including her insanity!
I already gave too much away! This book is soook intense! It pushes you out of your comfort zone! I barely breathe as I flip the pages quickly! At some chapters, I want to stop and just screammmmm! I want to throw things at Fox- the idiot husband of Blythe who was too brainwashed to see the reality about their issues and of course that little daughter gave me creeps reminded me of the mash up of Omen series’ Damien- Exorcist’s Regan - We need to talk about Kevin’s Kevin ( actually some parts of the book really reminded me of We need to talk about Kevin: especially the babyhood parts of Violet who never stops crying!)
This is a real gem and one of the craziest, most frustrating, blood pumping, mind numbing, explosive, blasting, stimulating, WTH I just read kind of deliciously disturbing thriller! I can honestly say this already reserved its place as one of my top ten thriller reads of 2021! IT’S A BIG WINNER!
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I’m soooo tense! I can explode at any second! My heart is pounding so fast! My knuckles turning white! I’m a mess! Since watching A Quiet Place, I haven’t been so edgy, anxious, an UTO ( I unidentifiable trembling object) but here I am! This book is freaking good deserves more than my five stars!
It’s about the art of being a good mother! What defines a good mother? If you haven’t been raised by good role models who haven’t taught you how to care, how to be patient, understanding and reasonable, also passionate parent, this would mean you would be destined to fail at parenthood!
Blythe has shittiest heritage: a grandmother suffered from mental illness who has been tortured her own daughter for years and ended her life tragically, a mother who was mostly lost in her life, showing no care or attention to her, leaving without a word.
Will Blythe be the carbon copy of those two woman? Will she suck to be a caring parent?
She did her best to connect with her daughter Violet but there was something really wrong with her daughter! And nobody believes in Blythe! Her own husband thinks she is incapable to raise their daughter appropriately. There’s something wrong with Blythe! Actually her mother in law also agrees with her son!
Does Blythe act biased around her daughter or is she really inherited the madness of her grandmother?
When their second child is born, Blythe thinks everything will change and they will become real family. But she doesn’t consider Violet’s reaction to her new little brother! What if Blythe put their lives in danger by bringing another child into their family? What if she can lose everything she’s worked for so hard including her insanity!
I already gave too much away! This book is soook intense! It pushes you out of your comfort zone! I barely breathe as I flip the pages quickly! At some chapters, I want to stop and just screammmmm! I want to throw things at Fox- the idiot husband of Blythe who was too brainwashed to see the reality about their issues and of course that little daughter gave me creeps reminded me of the mash up of Omen series’ Damien- Exorcist’s Regan - We need to talk about Kevin’s Kevin ( actually some parts of the book really reminded me of We need to talk about Kevin: especially the babyhood parts of Violet who never stops crying!)
This is a real gem and one of the craziest, most frustrating, blood pumping, mind numbing, explosive, blasting, stimulating, WTH I just read kind of deliciously disturbing thriller! I can honestly say this already reserved its place as one of my top ten thriller reads of 2021! IT’S A BIG WINNER!
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
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December 5, 2020
Ashley Audrain's debut is a hard to read, multilayered, complex and chilling family drama, the worst nightmares viscerally and vibrantly given life, a psychological thriller that ventures into horror territory. It is a multi-generational examination of the dysfunctional nature of many families, where the role of mother is not all its cracked up to be, breaking under societal expectations of motherhood, mother-child relationships and raises the dark questions of nature versus nurture when it comes to children. There are echoes of Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin in the story that unfolds that looks at the life of Blythe Connor, her meeting Fox at college, a relationship that develops into a marriage, seemingly set for a dream future with the expectation that they will have children. As we are to discover, this dream is set to be shattered into a million tiny pieces.
For starters, Blythe has a traumatic childhood, and as is made clear within the narrative, we learn that Cecilia, Blythe's mother, and Etta, her grandmother, were problematic mothers, unsurprisingly leaving Blythe with little confidence in her ability to be a good mother. As she contemplates the future, Blythe has good intentions when it comes her baby. However, when she gives birth to her daughter, Violet, she fails to connect with her, is exhausted, as nothing pans out as she imagines. Fox takes little notice of her concerns when it comes to Violet, who is an utter daddy's girl, but not like other children, and harbouring less than warm feelings towards her mother. Is Blythe paranoid, too unreliable and flawed to be believed? Blythe feels completely differently when she gives birth to her son, Sam, now she has the unswerving feelings of love and connection, all of her maternal instincts have kicked in and Violet appears to have accepted him.
Audrain writes a riveting and tense drama that documents the terrors of a family disintegrating in the most appalling ways possible. I have to be honest though, whilst this is a thought-provoking read, if I had any idea of what I was going to encounter in this novel, I would not have chosen to read this, and I do not think it is a book for everyone, there are multiple trigger issues. This is a unsettling and disturbing book of damaged characters, mental health issues, and the realities of families, mothers and children that are far from society's chocolate box expectations. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.
For starters, Blythe has a traumatic childhood, and as is made clear within the narrative, we learn that Cecilia, Blythe's mother, and Etta, her grandmother, were problematic mothers, unsurprisingly leaving Blythe with little confidence in her ability to be a good mother. As she contemplates the future, Blythe has good intentions when it comes her baby. However, when she gives birth to her daughter, Violet, she fails to connect with her, is exhausted, as nothing pans out as she imagines. Fox takes little notice of her concerns when it comes to Violet, who is an utter daddy's girl, but not like other children, and harbouring less than warm feelings towards her mother. Is Blythe paranoid, too unreliable and flawed to be believed? Blythe feels completely differently when she gives birth to her son, Sam, now she has the unswerving feelings of love and connection, all of her maternal instincts have kicked in and Violet appears to have accepted him.
Audrain writes a riveting and tense drama that documents the terrors of a family disintegrating in the most appalling ways possible. I have to be honest though, whilst this is a thought-provoking read, if I had any idea of what I was going to encounter in this novel, I would not have chosen to read this, and I do not think it is a book for everyone, there are multiple trigger issues. This is a unsettling and disturbing book of damaged characters, mental health issues, and the realities of families, mothers and children that are far from society's chocolate box expectations. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.
January 25, 2021
I’ve come here to give this to you.
This is my side of the story.
I'd been eyeing this book for a while when, earlier this week, I got a text from my thriller-loving brother asking if I'd heard of The Push by Ashley Audrain and saying I needed to read it. Needless to say, I cancelled all the social plans I didn't have anyway.
I settled in to read what I imagined would be a psychological thriller. And, for a while, it was just that. Sinister, mysterious, with short punchy chapters that kept me on the edge of my seat. None of this prepared me, though, for what came later. I wasn't expecting it to hurt so much.
I must have cried no less than five times whilst reading this book. It's about mothers and motherhood and paranoia (maybe?) and stress. It's feeling like you're constantly being dismissed and undervalued. It's getting to the point where you feel like you can't trust your own mind. And it contains one of the most shattering portrayals of grief I've ever read.
It is a thriller, but also a multi-generational character study; a very complex portrait of a mother who is in turn a victim and her own worst enemy. Is she so deep in postnatal depression that she can't be the mother her daughter needs? Or is she being wrongfully dismissed as "hysterical" because she is a woman and her instincts go untrusted again and again? It doesn't matter if you "figure it out" because that's not the point; either option is devastating.
This is the kind of book I love to discover: rich, layered, emotional without being overly sentimental. Blythe will stay with me for a long time.
January 31, 2021
Fuck I loved this. I was hesitant going into this book because I had seen some mixed reviews, so I did not expect to love this as much as I did. I will say, I don't think this book should be marketed as a thriller, and I think if you go in expecting a thriller, you'll probably be disappointed. This is more of a psychological drama about a family, and it's a character study of our protagonist Blythe.
This felt like it was written in such a real and honest way, it terrified me. This book highlights every single one of my fears about becoming a parent one day... every single one of them. This book is very dark and unsettling and depressing as fuck sometimes, but wow it's an incredible, tense story. I was 100% immersed and invested in this story and I finished it in two sittings because I had to know what was going to happen to their family. It's also interesting because this book will gave you major hints as to what's coming and I was still completely shocked when certain things happen.
The ending of this book was everything, I'm a huge fan of the final scene in this book. I know some people will find this book to be boring and maybe repetitive, but I don't know what it was about this book, I just couldn't put it down and I found it all to be very interesting. I love reading about mother/daughter relationships in general and this mother/daughter relationship is one of the most complicated and complex relationships I've ever read about..
I just can't stop thinking about this.
This felt like it was written in such a real and honest way, it terrified me. This book highlights every single one of my fears about becoming a parent one day... every single one of them. This book is very dark and unsettling and depressing as fuck sometimes, but wow it's an incredible, tense story. I was 100% immersed and invested in this story and I finished it in two sittings because I had to know what was going to happen to their family. It's also interesting because this book will gave you major hints as to what's coming and I was still completely shocked when certain things happen.
The ending of this book was everything, I'm a huge fan of the final scene in this book. I know some people will find this book to be boring and maybe repetitive, but I don't know what it was about this book, I just couldn't put it down and I found it all to be very interesting. I love reading about mother/daughter relationships in general and this mother/daughter relationship is one of the most complicated and complex relationships I've ever read about..
I just can't stop thinking about this.
February 14, 2021
I read to 50% then speed read to an unsatisfying, predictable conclusion. This book has been much hyped but for me it fell into the category of a tired trope that has been done before. Many times. The disintegration of a marriage, generational neglect and abuse, the "bad seed", weak ineffectual men, nature vs nurture.
The majority of the book is written as one long letter by Blythe to her husband, which becomes repetitive and boring. The chapters move back and forth between time periods and characters, without a heading to indicate who and when. WHY?? It's a stylistic choice that annoys me to no end. As do incomplete sentences, which this book has in abundance.
I was left disappointed, and even worse, bored to tears. I'm trying to find one thing I found interesting, but I'm coming up blank. There was nothing interesting, riveting, or illuminating. Some books I can recognize as having value but for one reason or another they aren't for me. This isn't one of those times.
Finishing it was perhaps not the best decision I’ve made this year, but oh well. Perhaps I'm being harsh but with so many glowing reviews and hype surrounding this book, my review will barely make a dent.
2 stars because I finished it. Kind of. I'm being generous.
The majority of the book is written as one long letter by Blythe to her husband, which becomes repetitive and boring. The chapters move back and forth between time periods and characters, without a heading to indicate who and when. WHY?? It's a stylistic choice that annoys me to no end. As do incomplete sentences, which this book has in abundance.
I was left disappointed, and even worse, bored to tears. I'm trying to find one thing I found interesting, but I'm coming up blank. There was nothing interesting, riveting, or illuminating. Some books I can recognize as having value but for one reason or another they aren't for me. This isn't one of those times.
Finishing it was perhaps not the best decision I’ve made this year, but oh well. Perhaps I'm being harsh but with so many glowing reviews and hype surrounding this book, my review will barely make a dent.
2 stars because I finished it. Kind of. I'm being generous.
July 12, 2022
Most of this book was adequate; I was even gonna give it three stars, up until that cheap ass last line. You want to be a psychological drama about motherhood and generational trauma? Fine! But don't build to an ending only to pull a 180 and go, "gotcha! it WAS the shitty thriller you thought it was going to be the whole time!"
August 18, 2024
The Push made me laugh and cry and challenged my way of thinking.
The Push focuses on three generations of mothers: Etta, Cecilia, and Blythe. Most of the book focuses on Blythe's story where we are introduced to her in the first chapter where she is sitting in her car observing another family. Then, we discover that the girl in the family is her daughter. How did this other family end up with her daughter? What decisions led up to Blythe allowing someone else to raise her daughter?
The Push is a groundbreaking book about mothers, and the brutal reality that motherhood is not always smooth sailing, happiness, sunshine, and Barney songs. Sometimes there are nights (or months) with no sleep, children who have behavioral challenges, mother-in-laws who think that you aren't doing enough or give you little reminders how she never would allow her children to do X, Y, or Z, and partners who are less than supportive. Hallmark would have us believe that every person has a mother who is top 10%: She would never complain about taking the children to piano lessons three times a week while Joey wants to be at karate. She home cooks every meal from scratch, and the house is always magically sparkling clean. However, that isn't the reality. Some Moms can't be Moms in the traditional sense of the word. For some, the best thing that they can do is allow someone else to step into the role. Some Moms are bottom 10% Moms. Moms are also not defined by DNA - they are women who notice a need and generously step in and offer support.
This book challenges the role of how mothers in society are viewed. At the beginning of the book, Blythe is watching another family raise her daughter. By the end of the book, we know exactly why that is, but we think differently of Blythe and the situation overall. Gosh...what an emotional roller coaster!
Overall, The Push is very dark but page-turning. Excellent read! Can't wait to read it again!
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Insta My Bookstore at Pango
The Push focuses on three generations of mothers: Etta, Cecilia, and Blythe. Most of the book focuses on Blythe's story where we are introduced to her in the first chapter where she is sitting in her car observing another family. Then, we discover that the girl in the family is her daughter. How did this other family end up with her daughter? What decisions led up to Blythe allowing someone else to raise her daughter?
The Push is a groundbreaking book about mothers, and the brutal reality that motherhood is not always smooth sailing, happiness, sunshine, and Barney songs. Sometimes there are nights (or months) with no sleep, children who have behavioral challenges, mother-in-laws who think that you aren't doing enough or give you little reminders how she never would allow her children to do X, Y, or Z, and partners who are less than supportive. Hallmark would have us believe that every person has a mother who is top 10%: She would never complain about taking the children to piano lessons three times a week while Joey wants to be at karate. She home cooks every meal from scratch, and the house is always magically sparkling clean. However, that isn't the reality. Some Moms can't be Moms in the traditional sense of the word. For some, the best thing that they can do is allow someone else to step into the role. Some Moms are bottom 10% Moms. Moms are also not defined by DNA - they are women who notice a need and generously step in and offer support.
This book challenges the role of how mothers in society are viewed. At the beginning of the book, Blythe is watching another family raise her daughter. By the end of the book, we know exactly why that is, but we think differently of Blythe and the situation overall. Gosh...what an emotional roller coaster!
Overall, The Push is very dark but page-turning. Excellent read! Can't wait to read it again!
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Insta My Bookstore at Pango
October 20, 2022
i was ready for this book to ruin my life.
i mean...what could be scarier than the idea of having children?
but i was left with the most profound, defining feeling of "OKAY SURE WHATEVER" i have had in years.
this was so completely blah.
maybe i can be generous and say this was one of those books that could have been interesting if it defined itself. in truth, it was trying to do too much: thriller? social commentary? vaguely feminist chick-lit vibes? and then ultimately it didn't do anything new.
relying on clichés from multiple genres is a real easy way to technically qualify as a genre-bender.
bottom line: snooze city!
i mean...what could be scarier than the idea of having children?
but i was left with the most profound, defining feeling of "OKAY SURE WHATEVER" i have had in years.
this was so completely blah.
maybe i can be generous and say this was one of those books that could have been interesting if it defined itself. in truth, it was trying to do too much: thriller? social commentary? vaguely feminist chick-lit vibes? and then ultimately it didn't do anything new.
relying on clichés from multiple genres is a real easy way to technically qualify as a genre-bender.
bottom line: snooze city!
August 5, 2022
(4.25) I've read quite a few books with the premise of a mother thinking there's something wrong with her daughter or that she is crazy but this is the best one so far!
I read this one very fast, felt terrible for the main character and hated her husband.
Two things this book did better than the other ones:
1. The ending was pretty satisfying. I don't like open ending. I always assume the author had no idea how to finish the book and that means they're terrible writers.
2. I really liked the flashbacks to the main character's childhood and her mother and grandmother. It gave the possibility of intergenerational trauma/possible mental illness.
Recommend!
Books that made me not want to have children: https://youtu.be/H_ES-eqbKQs
I read this one very fast, felt terrible for the main character and hated her husband.
Two things this book did better than the other ones:
1. The ending was pretty satisfying. I don't like open ending. I always assume the author had no idea how to finish the book and that means they're terrible writers.
2. I really liked the flashbacks to the main character's childhood and her mother and grandmother. It gave the possibility of intergenerational trauma/possible mental illness.
Recommend!
Books that made me not want to have children: https://youtu.be/H_ES-eqbKQs
December 8, 2020
I had already heard a lot of praise for this book before I started it. Ashley Audrain is a local author, this is her debut novel and although it's not released until next month, the movie deals are already being made. I was thrilled when I saw it available on NetGalley and jumped at a chance for a copy.
Blythe and her husband are expecting. He's thrilled and so is she but she's nervous too because the women in her family have a pattern of not adapting well to motherhood. We see flashbacks to Blythe's childhood and the abuse she suffered from her mother. We also get glimpses into her mother's own childhood.
But Blythe is confident she'll be a great mom.
Until her daughter Violet is born and she struggles to bond with her.
Blythe finds her daughter to be a nuisance and, as she gets older, is convinced there's something fundamentally wrong with Violet that makes her unlovable.
This story goes to some dark places. The author really doesn't pull punches and knows her readers will feel uncomfortable.
There were a couple of times that I got too flustered and put the book down mid-sentence because I needed space from it.
I once watched a documentary about a man in prison because he murdered someone during a robbery. The show explained all the abuse he'd suffered as a kid that made him into someone who didn't understand love or empathy.
His victim's family forgave him and said that they thought his mother was the one who should be punished instead. I understood that but I also wondered what that mothers childhood had been like. Probably she was abused too and how far back does the cycle go.
This book explores that and at times I hated Blythe, then at other times I had a lot of sympathy for her.
I can see why this book is building so much attention.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊.
Blythe and her husband are expecting. He's thrilled and so is she but she's nervous too because the women in her family have a pattern of not adapting well to motherhood. We see flashbacks to Blythe's childhood and the abuse she suffered from her mother. We also get glimpses into her mother's own childhood.
But Blythe is confident she'll be a great mom.
Until her daughter Violet is born and she struggles to bond with her.
Blythe finds her daughter to be a nuisance and, as she gets older, is convinced there's something fundamentally wrong with Violet that makes her unlovable.
This story goes to some dark places. The author really doesn't pull punches and knows her readers will feel uncomfortable.
There were a couple of times that I got too flustered and put the book down mid-sentence because I needed space from it.
I once watched a documentary about a man in prison because he murdered someone during a robbery. The show explained all the abuse he'd suffered as a kid that made him into someone who didn't understand love or empathy.
His victim's family forgave him and said that they thought his mother was the one who should be punished instead. I understood that but I also wondered what that mothers childhood had been like. Probably she was abused too and how far back does the cycle go.
This book explores that and at times I hated Blythe, then at other times I had a lot of sympathy for her.
I can see why this book is building so much attention.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊.
January 23, 2021
It truly astounds me that this book has so many 5 star reviews. The writing was fine. The storyline was morbid, depressing and very predictable. If you would even consider the ending a plot twist at all - it was like the most obvious non-twist I’ve ever read. Also the backstories/flashbacks has zero bearing on the actual plot. People are the way they are based on a mix of genetics and environment? Absolutely shocking, who would’ve thought? (Sarcasm)
I kept reading this book hoping there would be some huge payoff, something I didn’t see coming - but that never happened. I’m just left feeling sad and annoyed I wasted my time. Read this if you want to read about child abuse, child death, and grief with absolutely no payoff.
And authors - the whole theme of not knowing if the woman narrator is crazy or not is OLD AF! I’m so tired of reading stories with potentially unreliable narrators. It’s been done, it’s boring now. Be a little more creative.
I kept reading this book hoping there would be some huge payoff, something I didn’t see coming - but that never happened. I’m just left feeling sad and annoyed I wasted my time. Read this if you want to read about child abuse, child death, and grief with absolutely no payoff.
And authors - the whole theme of not knowing if the woman narrator is crazy or not is OLD AF! I’m so tired of reading stories with potentially unreliable narrators. It’s been done, it’s boring now. Be a little more creative.
January 24, 2021
The Push was a solid 4.5 star read, rounded up to 5 after some thought as, although I wouldn’t say it was an all time favourite, I had to give credit to the incredible writing and also the fact that not only did I dream about this book but it impacted me in so many areas and left me thinking and reflecting and remembering. I feel like I have soo much to say about this read so I will try to keep it as brief as I can. Two things before I start, 1 - This is a psychological drama with emphasis on the psychological, I was on the edge of my seat with discomfort (yay!) but this is not a novel for those looking for a thriller. For me, it was really incredibly readable literary fiction that I couldn’t put down and thought about when I had to do so. Leading me to 2 - this is not comfortable, this isn’t even nature vs nurture, it’s nature meets nurture and fights for it’s life. It is raw and dark and cruel and would be triggering to many and likely not a read for all. For me it was a huge success, see below :)
So, briefly, this is the story of Blythe’s life, with a focus on her as a Mom and a daughter. We learn of her mother and her mother’s mother. We learn of her life now and her life when she met her husband and how they existed in their first years of life as a couple and as parents. Every mother in Blythe’s bloodline has fallen devastatingly short as a parent, and Blythe is nervous that she will be the same despite the encouragement of a husband and mother-in-law that she loves. When she has her daughter Violet, she doesn’t bond with her and questionable things happen that make her wonder whether the issue is with her or whether it there is something wrong with her child. This is Blythe’s autobiography.
The first person narrative was perfection. This is how to write in this POV!! 👏 I knew Blythe but I also knew the people around her and magically knew when they actually thought differently than Blythe as a character thought they did, yesss Ashley Audrain!! Soo well written, you’re told through characters’ movements and body language/expression, glimpsing their perspective and personas. Also by doing this, we are constantly aware we may be in the hands of an unreliable narrator... Another thing I loved in her doing this was that by using I/you/her instead of names, this book allowed the reader to get confused about who the narrator was talking about/to and also to understand that these feelings and thoughts apply to so many. It showed the confusion and spiralling of Blythe with ease.
Blythe, her mom and her Grandmother’s stories were all interspersed in chapters throughout the story and sometimes I would stop and wonder whose story I was on, wonder whose husband she was discussing, whose Dad, whose Mom, and then perhaps a bit late to the game, I realized 💡 hello, could that literally be the point?? Amazing!
I was so devastated at all of the missed moments for help for so many of the characters. But, I was also so completely confused at who to feel for (again the point? 💡) is Blythe reliable as a narrator? Violet is a child, I had to remind myself of my children at that age and imagine.. well best you read for yourself... Ah-mazing! Speaking of emotions, although there were such heart stopping abusive moments, the moments that truly broke me down into tears were the moments of kindness, the neighbour, omg I could barely read those through crying. 👏 what a book that inserts you so firmly into someones darkness that when they see kindness you cry for them.. bravo!
I saw in the acknowledgements that Ashley Audrain is a mom and it confirmed what I had thought throughout, a mom wrote this, every nuance, every feel (or lack of) that she described, triggered memories of bonding that were, with a mere sentence, brought so forth in my mind that I was instantly emotional and further tying me up in a book that I am still trying to untangle myself from.
If you had a book club with people who could all handle the subject matter, this would make for incredible discussion. There were so many moments beyond the huge plot movements, subtle nuances that so caught me and I wanted to say “hey, what did you think of that moment?” “What did you think of the title?” could be one whole discussion...
The only thing it lacked for me was that I felt it lost itself a teensy bit in the last 1/4 with a few “thriller” elements that took away from it in the overall for me but still only 1/2 a star of loss there. All in all, such a well written book, I +++ recommend that if you can handle the subject matter that you push yourself to read it now!👩👧
I thank Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this wonderfully written book, so pleased it was written by a Canadian author 🇨🇦
So, briefly, this is the story of Blythe’s life, with a focus on her as a Mom and a daughter. We learn of her mother and her mother’s mother. We learn of her life now and her life when she met her husband and how they existed in their first years of life as a couple and as parents. Every mother in Blythe’s bloodline has fallen devastatingly short as a parent, and Blythe is nervous that she will be the same despite the encouragement of a husband and mother-in-law that she loves. When she has her daughter Violet, she doesn’t bond with her and questionable things happen that make her wonder whether the issue is with her or whether it there is something wrong with her child. This is Blythe’s autobiography.
The first person narrative was perfection. This is how to write in this POV!! 👏 I knew Blythe but I also knew the people around her and magically knew when they actually thought differently than Blythe as a character thought they did, yesss Ashley Audrain!! Soo well written, you’re told through characters’ movements and body language/expression, glimpsing their perspective and personas. Also by doing this, we are constantly aware we may be in the hands of an unreliable narrator... Another thing I loved in her doing this was that by using I/you/her instead of names, this book allowed the reader to get confused about who the narrator was talking about/to and also to understand that these feelings and thoughts apply to so many. It showed the confusion and spiralling of Blythe with ease.
Blythe, her mom and her Grandmother’s stories were all interspersed in chapters throughout the story and sometimes I would stop and wonder whose story I was on, wonder whose husband she was discussing, whose Dad, whose Mom, and then perhaps a bit late to the game, I realized 💡 hello, could that literally be the point?? Amazing!
I was so devastated at all of the missed moments for help for so many of the characters. But, I was also so completely confused at who to feel for (again the point? 💡) is Blythe reliable as a narrator? Violet is a child, I had to remind myself of my children at that age and imagine.. well best you read for yourself... Ah-mazing! Speaking of emotions, although there were such heart stopping abusive moments, the moments that truly broke me down into tears were the moments of kindness, the neighbour, omg I could barely read those through crying. 👏 what a book that inserts you so firmly into someones darkness that when they see kindness you cry for them.. bravo!
I saw in the acknowledgements that Ashley Audrain is a mom and it confirmed what I had thought throughout, a mom wrote this, every nuance, every feel (or lack of) that she described, triggered memories of bonding that were, with a mere sentence, brought so forth in my mind that I was instantly emotional and further tying me up in a book that I am still trying to untangle myself from.
If you had a book club with people who could all handle the subject matter, this would make for incredible discussion. There were so many moments beyond the huge plot movements, subtle nuances that so caught me and I wanted to say “hey, what did you think of that moment?” “What did you think of the title?” could be one whole discussion...
The only thing it lacked for me was that I felt it lost itself a teensy bit in the last 1/4 with a few “thriller” elements that took away from it in the overall for me but still only 1/2 a star of loss there. All in all, such a well written book, I +++ recommend that if you can handle the subject matter that you push yourself to read it now!👩👧
I thank Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this wonderfully written book, so pleased it was written by a Canadian author 🇨🇦
January 12, 2021
5++++ outstanding stars!
2021 Favourites List!
The hype is real! Even better than I had hoped. Gut wrenching. Most emotional and amazing book I’ve read in years!
“A mother’s heart breaks a million ways in her lifetime.”
Blythe struggles to connect with her newborn daughter and worries that her own traumatic childhood has damaged her ability to properly bond and nurture as a parent. She battles these thoughts on a daily basis and pushes herself through the endless stress-filled days of parenting a young child. Things seem to be easier once her son is born.
Emotionally draining and compulsively readable. This is one of the most intense and amazing books I’ve read in years. I was quite literally addicted to this book....to this mother’s pain and her struggles. I was rooting for Blythe. My heart broke every time hers did which was a constant ache from start to finish.
The writing! I don’t know how to adequately describe the beauty of the writing. The writing flowed directly into my heart and had me feeling as though I was experiencing the heartache and struggles right alongside Blythe. My connection and investment in Blythe’s situation was so strong due to the exceptional writing that I felt as though it was happening to me. Quite simply — I was Blythe while I read this. I have no personal experience with what Blythe went through but I feel like a changed person after reading this. This moved me so deeply.
This is not a happy book. It is brutally honest and raw. It will rip your heart out. It will make you feel the pain of a mother fighting her own thoughts and worries.
I know it’s very early in the year, but I think this will be my favourite book of 2021. This will be extremely hard to top. I usually move right on to the next book once I finish reading but the intensity of this one forced me to take a break to think and truly absorb the situation. Major book hangover! I feel bad for whatever book I pick up next....
Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!
This is AVAILABLE NOW!
2021 Favourites List!
The hype is real! Even better than I had hoped. Gut wrenching. Most emotional and amazing book I’ve read in years!
“A mother’s heart breaks a million ways in her lifetime.”
Blythe struggles to connect with her newborn daughter and worries that her own traumatic childhood has damaged her ability to properly bond and nurture as a parent. She battles these thoughts on a daily basis and pushes herself through the endless stress-filled days of parenting a young child. Things seem to be easier once her son is born.
Emotionally draining and compulsively readable. This is one of the most intense and amazing books I’ve read in years. I was quite literally addicted to this book....to this mother’s pain and her struggles. I was rooting for Blythe. My heart broke every time hers did which was a constant ache from start to finish.
The writing! I don’t know how to adequately describe the beauty of the writing. The writing flowed directly into my heart and had me feeling as though I was experiencing the heartache and struggles right alongside Blythe. My connection and investment in Blythe’s situation was so strong due to the exceptional writing that I felt as though it was happening to me. Quite simply — I was Blythe while I read this. I have no personal experience with what Blythe went through but I feel like a changed person after reading this. This moved me so deeply.
This is not a happy book. It is brutally honest and raw. It will rip your heart out. It will make you feel the pain of a mother fighting her own thoughts and worries.
I know it’s very early in the year, but I think this will be my favourite book of 2021. This will be extremely hard to top. I usually move right on to the next book once I finish reading but the intensity of this one forced me to take a break to think and truly absorb the situation. Major book hangover! I feel bad for whatever book I pick up next....
Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!
This is AVAILABLE NOW!
March 8, 2021
It would be too easy to refer to Ashley Audrain’s novel, The Push, as just another We Need to Talk About Bad Seed Rosemary's Baby Teeth, but it doesn’t deserve it.
I’ve read all of those books, and The Push is better.*
The term “trope” exists for a reason, yet somehow a plot about a mother and child not bonding is so taboo that a handful of books tackling it often get lumped together as copycats of one another. Why is that? There have to be thousands of true crime books about murderers that don’t get called "In Cold Blood knockoffs.” And then of course there are thousands of thrillers about psychopaths who attribute their rage to having ‘evil’ moms during childhood.
But what if we see things from the mom’s first person POV, and she’s (gasp) not evil? She just feels that something is off with her daughter from birth and struggles to form a connection with her. Is she correct in feeling that way, or is her own ambivalence towards the child creating a young person who lashes out negatively for attention?
Audrain’s novel expertly tackles that question of nature vs. nurture in a very thought-provoking way. Putting readers inside the mind of mom Blythe is a genius device that allows us to feel her paranoia and distress about her frigid relationship with daughter Violet. The writing is so well done that it’s difficult to put the book down. In fact, reading The Push is a little like driving by a car crash. It’s hard to witness, but also hard to look away.
The Push is not an easy read by any means, and I even felt my mood darken more and more with each passing page. I wouldn’t recommend it to people looking for a book to “enjoy,” but I wouldn’t hesitate to put it in the hands of anyone looking for a compelling one.
(*Rosemary’s Baby actually has a pretty spectacular audiobook narrated by Mia Farrow. It’s got to be in my all-time Top 5, and if you like to be spooked you’ll want to check that out asap.)
This review and more bookish content can be found on my blog at www.confettibookshelf.com
I’ve read all of those books, and The Push is better.*
The term “trope” exists for a reason, yet somehow a plot about a mother and child not bonding is so taboo that a handful of books tackling it often get lumped together as copycats of one another. Why is that? There have to be thousands of true crime books about murderers that don’t get called "In Cold Blood knockoffs.” And then of course there are thousands of thrillers about psychopaths who attribute their rage to having ‘evil’ moms during childhood.
But what if we see things from the mom’s first person POV, and she’s (gasp) not evil? She just feels that something is off with her daughter from birth and struggles to form a connection with her. Is she correct in feeling that way, or is her own ambivalence towards the child creating a young person who lashes out negatively for attention?
Audrain’s novel expertly tackles that question of nature vs. nurture in a very thought-provoking way. Putting readers inside the mind of mom Blythe is a genius device that allows us to feel her paranoia and distress about her frigid relationship with daughter Violet. The writing is so well done that it’s difficult to put the book down. In fact, reading The Push is a little like driving by a car crash. It’s hard to witness, but also hard to look away.
The Push is not an easy read by any means, and I even felt my mood darken more and more with each passing page. I wouldn’t recommend it to people looking for a book to “enjoy,” but I wouldn’t hesitate to put it in the hands of anyone looking for a compelling one.
(*Rosemary’s Baby actually has a pretty spectacular audiobook narrated by Mia Farrow. It’s got to be in my all-time Top 5, and if you like to be spooked you’ll want to check that out asap.)
This review and more bookish content can be found on my blog at www.confettibookshelf.com
May 5, 2021
4,7 ⭐
acho que vai ser difícil encontrar uma opinião morna sobre esse livro. que história avassaladora e angustiante em todos os sentidos e fragmentos dela, onde a autora leva o leitor pra dar um passeio em pensamentos inescrupulosos e extremamente reais. sou muito fã de "precisamos falar sobre o kevin" e entendo a comparação por termos duas tramas sobre maternidade não-romantizada, mas as obras não se parecem em nada além disso. narrativas, enredos, conflitos... ao mesmo tempo que eles se encontram na rotina mundana retratada em ambos livros, são abordados de maneiras diferentes.
recomendo demais demais demais a leitura de "o impulso" (atentando-se sempre a alguns assuntos sensíveis: ) e fiquei chocada quando vi que este é o primeiro livro da ashley audrain. quero ler tudo que ela escreve.
acho que vai ser difícil encontrar uma opinião morna sobre esse livro. que história avassaladora e angustiante em todos os sentidos e fragmentos dela, onde a autora leva o leitor pra dar um passeio em pensamentos inescrupulosos e extremamente reais. sou muito fã de "precisamos falar sobre o kevin" e entendo a comparação por termos duas tramas sobre maternidade não-romantizada, mas as obras não se parecem em nada além disso. narrativas, enredos, conflitos... ao mesmo tempo que eles se encontram na rotina mundana retratada em ambos livros, são abordados de maneiras diferentes.
recomendo demais demais demais a leitura de "o impulso" (atentando-se sempre a alguns assuntos sensíveis: ) e fiquei chocada quando vi que este é o primeiro livro da ashley audrain. quero ler tudo que ela escreve.
March 30, 2021
Update: Ashley Audrain has joined us for a spoiler-free Q & A in the Behind the Pages Group!
To see what she has to say you can find the thread here
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Hot Emotional Diggity Dang! If you haven't read this one, it is one you don't want to miss! Put on your lounge pants and lock yourself in a room because you won't want to put it down once you start it. It's one you will want to talk about!! It is a book I am so excited to share with everyone. I want to stand in a book store and hand it to everyone who comes in and tell them they have to read it. It has been a long time since a story has made me feel like this one did—that feeling of being spent emotionally yet completely satisfied. It's the best way to feel after reading a book.
We are expected or think we are good mothers, have the perfect children, and the ideal relationship with them, right? Well, Ashley Audrain boldly challenges that expectation here and shows us a compelling, complex story that explores the bonds of mother and daughters and motherhood's dark, uncomfortable, emotional realities. The things we hide, burying our heads and don't push by talking about it. She weaves a well-layered, emotionally intelligent story with suspense elements to create an absorbing psychological drama that is not to be mistaken for a psychological thriller. I went in thinking this was going to be a dark, twisted, entertaining psychological thriller and I started to worry it would go in the direction of those bad mother and psychology tropes and that the over thinker in me would come raging out. Thanks to my reading twin Jen who picked up on some things I didn't, I started thinking differently about this one. Thank you, Jen!! I had nothing to worry about! It would be easy for this story to fall into those harmful tropes; however, Ashley Audrain pushes for better here.
The story is told almost entirely in second-person narrative from Blythe to her husband, Fox. Ashley Audrain creates one of the best opening scenes I have read to set up suspense, a sense of foreboding, and an ominous feel to the story. I wished from the start I would have checked that thriller mind of mine and paid more attention to Blythe's tone to the story and picked up more of her feeling of self-doubt. Blythe is a relatable character and Audrain does a good job of putting us in her shoes allowing us to feel with her.
The title is brillant and worth thinking about and we spend some time talking about it and how it relates to the story.
There is so much more to this story to talk about, and so much I want to say, but I will leave it at this. I recommend this one to readers who love a well, developed psychological drama with depth layers.
This was a Traveling Sister read and one we all highly recommend!!
I received a copy from the publisher through NG
Traveling Sister reviews can be found on our blog
Traveling Sister Book Reviews
To see what she has to say you can find the thread here
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Hot Emotional Diggity Dang! If you haven't read this one, it is one you don't want to miss! Put on your lounge pants and lock yourself in a room because you won't want to put it down once you start it. It's one you will want to talk about!! It is a book I am so excited to share with everyone. I want to stand in a book store and hand it to everyone who comes in and tell them they have to read it. It has been a long time since a story has made me feel like this one did—that feeling of being spent emotionally yet completely satisfied. It's the best way to feel after reading a book.
We are expected or think we are good mothers, have the perfect children, and the ideal relationship with them, right? Well, Ashley Audrain boldly challenges that expectation here and shows us a compelling, complex story that explores the bonds of mother and daughters and motherhood's dark, uncomfortable, emotional realities. The things we hide, burying our heads and don't push by talking about it. She weaves a well-layered, emotionally intelligent story with suspense elements to create an absorbing psychological drama that is not to be mistaken for a psychological thriller. I went in thinking this was going to be a dark, twisted, entertaining psychological thriller and I started to worry it would go in the direction of those bad mother and psychology tropes and that the over thinker in me would come raging out. Thanks to my reading twin Jen who picked up on some things I didn't, I started thinking differently about this one. Thank you, Jen!! I had nothing to worry about! It would be easy for this story to fall into those harmful tropes; however, Ashley Audrain pushes for better here.
The story is told almost entirely in second-person narrative from Blythe to her husband, Fox. Ashley Audrain creates one of the best opening scenes I have read to set up suspense, a sense of foreboding, and an ominous feel to the story. I wished from the start I would have checked that thriller mind of mine and paid more attention to Blythe's tone to the story and picked up more of her feeling of self-doubt. Blythe is a relatable character and Audrain does a good job of putting us in her shoes allowing us to feel with her.
The title is brillant and worth thinking about and we spend some time talking about it and how it relates to the story.
There is so much more to this story to talk about, and so much I want to say, but I will leave it at this. I recommend this one to readers who love a well, developed psychological drama with depth layers.
This was a Traveling Sister read and one we all highly recommend!!
I received a copy from the publisher through NG
Traveling Sister reviews can be found on our blog
Traveling Sister Book Reviews
May 26, 2021
Chilling narrative and compelling plot, but I couldn’t connect.
Life has been a little crazy, but I am finally getting back to reviews!
The Push is a tautly written, dark psychological thriller about mothers and daughters.
I found the plot riveting and twisted, but at the same time, something was lacking, which I am going to blame on the main character/narrator and the structure of the plot. I was trying to empathize with her, but I found myself not really caring. She was distant and cold (for good reason). I would have rather witnessed the events and come up with my own interpretation than be told what was happening. I get the format and the purpose of the way the story unfolds, but I wasn’t feeling it.
Parts of the plot were fascinating, others I felt like I was waiting for something to happen already. The plot has some creative elements, and the ending was jarring (in a good way).
Overall, this didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. There were elements I enjoyed, but in the end, I had trouble connecting and fully immersing myself in the narrative. I read with a continuous sense of underlying dread and felt a weight lift when I finished reading.
Life has been a little crazy, but I am finally getting back to reviews!
The Push is a tautly written, dark psychological thriller about mothers and daughters.
I found the plot riveting and twisted, but at the same time, something was lacking, which I am going to blame on the main character/narrator and the structure of the plot. I was trying to empathize with her, but I found myself not really caring. She was distant and cold (for good reason). I would have rather witnessed the events and come up with my own interpretation than be told what was happening. I get the format and the purpose of the way the story unfolds, but I wasn’t feeling it.
Parts of the plot were fascinating, others I felt like I was waiting for something to happen already. The plot has some creative elements, and the ending was jarring (in a good way).
Overall, this didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. There were elements I enjoyed, but in the end, I had trouble connecting and fully immersing myself in the narrative. I read with a continuous sense of underlying dread and felt a weight lift when I finished reading.
January 14, 2021
A woman is supposed to WANT to be a mother.
She will fall IN LOVE at first sight despite the searing pain of childbirth and the recovery (nothing held back here!)
She will KNOW instinctively what do do and feel fulfilled while doing so.
BUT, what IF you weren’t nurtured as a child?
What will happen if THAT child grows up to be a mother herself and motherhood for her turns out to be nothing at all what she hoped for, and everything she feared? What if she doesn’t bond with her child in the same way that her own mother did not bond with her?
Be prepared to dive deeply into the psyche of Blythe.
She is THAT child.
And, this deep dive is raw, and painful.
Both her experience AS a daughter, and her experience AS a mother.
And, then there is her daughter VIOLET.
A difficult baby.
A child with a mean streak.
A child she may love, but doesn’t necessarily like.
She watches the other women she comes across.
Perplexed at the mother-infant bonds.
Until she gives birth to Sam.
And, it all makes sense.
This book was reminiscent of Zoje Stage’s “Baby Teeth” for me-BUT ONLY in the sense that the question is raised about if the mother’s behavior is at all responsible for her daughter’s, so don’t let this one comment dissuade you!
Nature vs. Nuture
This book will probably make a lot of mothers uncomfortable.
They may balk at the idea that a mother can FEEL this way toward any of her children-beyond the Postpartum Depression stage that many women experience.
They can. Some do.
I am not a mother.
But, I am a daughter........
AND, I know a woman like Blythe.
She will fall IN LOVE at first sight despite the searing pain of childbirth and the recovery (nothing held back here!)
She will KNOW instinctively what do do and feel fulfilled while doing so.
BUT, what IF you weren’t nurtured as a child?
What will happen if THAT child grows up to be a mother herself and motherhood for her turns out to be nothing at all what she hoped for, and everything she feared? What if she doesn’t bond with her child in the same way that her own mother did not bond with her?
Be prepared to dive deeply into the psyche of Blythe.
She is THAT child.
And, this deep dive is raw, and painful.
Both her experience AS a daughter, and her experience AS a mother.
And, then there is her daughter VIOLET.
A difficult baby.
A child with a mean streak.
A child she may love, but doesn’t necessarily like.
She watches the other women she comes across.
Perplexed at the mother-infant bonds.
Until she gives birth to Sam.
And, it all makes sense.
This book was reminiscent of Zoje Stage’s “Baby Teeth” for me-BUT ONLY in the sense that the question is raised about if the mother’s behavior is at all responsible for her daughter’s, so don’t let this one comment dissuade you!
Nature vs. Nuture
This book will probably make a lot of mothers uncomfortable.
They may balk at the idea that a mother can FEEL this way toward any of her children-beyond the Postpartum Depression stage that many women experience.
They can. Some do.
I am not a mother.
But, I am a daughter........
AND, I know a woman like Blythe.
November 7, 2021
Le pongo las 5 estrellas por esos dos últimos capítulos que me dejaron helada.
Una historia sobre el lado oscuro de la maternidad, los miedos e incertidumbres a los que una mujer se enfrenta al que se supone debe ser el papel más importante de su vida.
Adictivo.
Una historia sobre el lado oscuro de la maternidad, los miedos e incertidumbres a los que una mujer se enfrenta al que se supone debe ser el papel más importante de su vida.
Adictivo.
September 28, 2024
I’m writing this from a brewery at 2pm PST so take it with a grain of salt x pepper. This book was really good but not what I was expecting. I thought I was getting myself into a psychological thriller which wasn’t at all the case. This book was heavy on the psychological elements but it was also really sad and heavy and not at all thrilling. The writing was addictive and I basically read it in one sitting. Would def recommend for fans of family dramas!
December 30, 2020
Just WOW!! 5 GLOWING stars indeed!! This is what I would categorize as a psychological family drama AND literary fiction...yes it is written THAT well!! This is a debut novel by a fellow Canadian and local author. This book is deserving of the 2021 book buzz!
This is a sad, and twisted tale of 3 dysfunctional generations of motherhood. Every Mother loves their child, right? I think the less you know about this book the better.
It is just fantastic but very dark so don't expect a loving tale. This will lead you on an emotional rollercoaster like no other. At times you will be rooting for the mother, crying with her and then wanting to shake her and throw her across the room!
I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for granting me access to this fantastic Advanced Reader Copy.
This is a sad, and twisted tale of 3 dysfunctional generations of motherhood. Every Mother loves their child, right? I think the less you know about this book the better.
It is just fantastic but very dark so don't expect a loving tale. This will lead you on an emotional rollercoaster like no other. At times you will be rooting for the mother, crying with her and then wanting to shake her and throw her across the room!
I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for granting me access to this fantastic Advanced Reader Copy.
April 20, 2021
4,5 ⭐
Para ser bem sincera, eu não tinha nem ideia da premissa desse livro. Comecei a ler sem saber nada. E acho melhor que você leia sem saber também.
A história tem 3 linhas do tempo que se complementam e vão dando as informações necessárias para o leitor entender o que está acontecendo aos poucos. Os capítulos são bem curtos, o que dá a sensação de fluidez. Mas o livro traz assuntos tão tensos e nos coloca em um lugar de desconfiança tão grande que eu não consegui ler tudo de uma vez.
Só não dei cinco estrelas porque o livro não me deu a sensação de completude. É como se eu precisasse de mais um pouco só para conseguir dormir "tranquila". Algo pessoal, não algo necessário para a história.
Se você quer surto, leia.
Ps: O "tranquila" é entre aspas porque se tem uma coisa que não existe nesse livro é tranquilidade.
Para ser bem sincera, eu não tinha nem ideia da premissa desse livro. Comecei a ler sem saber nada. E acho melhor que você leia sem saber também.
A história tem 3 linhas do tempo que se complementam e vão dando as informações necessárias para o leitor entender o que está acontecendo aos poucos. Os capítulos são bem curtos, o que dá a sensação de fluidez. Mas o livro traz assuntos tão tensos e nos coloca em um lugar de desconfiança tão grande que eu não consegui ler tudo de uma vez.
Só não dei cinco estrelas porque o livro não me deu a sensação de completude. É como se eu precisasse de mais um pouco só para conseguir dormir "tranquila". Algo pessoal, não algo necessário para a história.
Se você quer surto, leia.
Ps: O "tranquila" é entre aspas porque se tem uma coisa que não existe nesse livro é tranquilidade.
December 12, 2021
SAFE TO READ....
NO SPOILERS
Audiobook...read by Marin
Ireland
....8 hours and 38 minutes
Dear Readers....
A New Buzz—2021 psychological (non-traditional), mysterious thriller arrives.
I’m usually willing to take the plunge and read a few buzzers each year. The risk is usually worth it... allowing me to (at least), engage in the yay or nay discussions.
Dear Fox,
You might want to read what I have say....
From ...
Blythe Conner (wife/mother of your children/ex-wife)
Dear Curious psychological thriller Readers....
.....Do you try to pick the golden gems from the sandy stones?
“Push” is a mixture of both golden gems & sandy stones.
Our feelings and thoughts are tested — in the same way one might feel when riding a Tilt-A-Whirl at the amusement park.
Note: The last time I was on a Tilt-A-Whirl, I was in grade school....so, what do I know?...ha!
...Readers will talk about “Push”,
with controversial thoughts.
For me, “Push” was both a ‘yay’ and ‘nay’ experience.
...I’m sure this has been said in other reviews:
This contemporary novel is dark, disturbing,
compelling & realistically frightening....
It’s mostly a ‘hooker’...( got-ya-now)....😏
“Push” might not teach readers everything they need to know about family, marriage, parenthood, children, motherhood, generations of mothers, and/or love for one’s children—
but....
it will ‘push’, ‘pull’, and ‘stretch’ our thoughts associated with nature versus nurture.
NO SPOILERS
Audiobook...read by Marin
Ireland
....8 hours and 38 minutes
Dear Readers....
A New Buzz—2021 psychological (non-traditional), mysterious thriller arrives.
I’m usually willing to take the plunge and read a few buzzers each year. The risk is usually worth it... allowing me to (at least), engage in the yay or nay discussions.
Dear Fox,
You might want to read what I have say....
From ...
Blythe Conner (wife/mother of your children/ex-wife)
Dear Curious psychological thriller Readers....
.....Do you try to pick the golden gems from the sandy stones?
“Push” is a mixture of both golden gems & sandy stones.
Our feelings and thoughts are tested — in the same way one might feel when riding a Tilt-A-Whirl at the amusement park.
Note: The last time I was on a Tilt-A-Whirl, I was in grade school....so, what do I know?...ha!
...Readers will talk about “Push”,
with controversial thoughts.
For me, “Push” was both a ‘yay’ and ‘nay’ experience.
...I’m sure this has been said in other reviews:
This contemporary novel is dark, disturbing,
compelling & realistically frightening....
It’s mostly a ‘hooker’...( got-ya-now)....😏
“Push” might not teach readers everything they need to know about family, marriage, parenthood, children, motherhood, generations of mothers, and/or love for one’s children—
but....
it will ‘push’, ‘pull’, and ‘stretch’ our thoughts associated with nature versus nurture.
December 28, 2021
i guess domestic suspense just isnt my kind of suspense (if you could even call this book suspenseful to begin with).
i mean, for what this is, its a fine book. the writing is pretty good, the pacing is consistent, and the overall way the story is told is compelling enough (although i didnt find much narrative value in the flashbacks). its a good story about a how a marriage, a family, and a motherhood begin and how they all ultimately end.
which is why i would just consider this contemporary domestic fiction, with a side hint of psychological suspense (just a creepy kid doing her thing). i think because i went into this expecting more of a mystery/thriller, i was set up for failure. i was unimpressed with how one note the entire story feels with the lack of twists and turns. i wanted much more than the subtly this story provides.
again, i think this book is good at face value and does have the potential be enjoyable for readers if they know what they are picking up right from the start.
↠ 3 stars
i mean, for what this is, its a fine book. the writing is pretty good, the pacing is consistent, and the overall way the story is told is compelling enough (although i didnt find much narrative value in the flashbacks). its a good story about a how a marriage, a family, and a motherhood begin and how they all ultimately end.
which is why i would just consider this contemporary domestic fiction, with a side hint of psychological suspense (just a creepy kid doing her thing). i think because i went into this expecting more of a mystery/thriller, i was set up for failure. i was unimpressed with how one note the entire story feels with the lack of twists and turns. i wanted much more than the subtly this story provides.
again, i think this book is good at face value and does have the potential be enjoyable for readers if they know what they are picking up right from the start.
↠ 3 stars
August 15, 2022
“Before we were conceived, we existed in part, as an egg in our mother’s ovary. All the eggs a woman will ever carry form in her ovaries while she is a four-month-old fetus in the womb of her mother. This means our cellular life as an egg begins in the womb of our grandmother. Each of us spent five months in our grandmother’s womb and she in turn formed within the womb of her grandmother. We vibrate to the rhythms of our mother’s blood before she herself is born.”
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 early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter - she doesn't behave like most children do. Her husband, says she's imagining things. The more he dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity. Then their son Sam is born and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she'd always imagined with her child. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.
Ok, first off, major We Need to Talk About Kevin vibes with this one. A complex psychological thriller about a struggling relationship between a mother and her child. A mother who doesn't get on with her child, who thinks something is wrong with them and a husband, who doesn't believe his wife.
The Push is told in first person, narrated by Blythe in the form of a letter she is writing to her husband. The story explores trauma, motherhood, societal expectations towards women, marriage, loss and much much more. I was incredibly uncomfortable at times reading this book. I felt immense affection for Blythe and outrage at how she was being treated. This was a very unsettling read that looks at how society gaslights women to the point that they don't know what's real.
I'm not usually a fan of domestic thrillers, I tend to stay away from them. However, I read this for my book club. I’m glad I did. This story was executed brilliantly and I highly recommend!
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 early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter - she doesn't behave like most children do. Her husband, says she's imagining things. The more he dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity. Then their son Sam is born and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she'd always imagined with her child. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.
Ok, first off, major We Need to Talk About Kevin vibes with this one. A complex psychological thriller about a struggling relationship between a mother and her child. A mother who doesn't get on with her child, who thinks something is wrong with them and a husband, who doesn't believe his wife.
The Push is told in first person, narrated by Blythe in the form of a letter she is writing to her husband. The story explores trauma, motherhood, societal expectations towards women, marriage, loss and much much more. I was incredibly uncomfortable at times reading this book. I felt immense affection for Blythe and outrage at how she was being treated. This was a very unsettling read that looks at how society gaslights women to the point that they don't know what's real.
I'm not usually a fan of domestic thrillers, I tend to stay away from them. However, I read this for my book club. I’m glad I did. This story was executed brilliantly and I highly recommend!
January 17, 2021
This book tied me in knots. I started out thinking one way, then another, back to the first and then the end, and by then my head was spinning. What a twisty story. A story about mothering, scars from the past and how the past can affect out present. Can one trust their own judgement when others don't agree. Can one mother, when they haven't been mothered? What to believe, ones own self or is one seeing things that aren't there?
What a book, kudos to this author for this intriguing psychological telling. My review, hopefully, conveys the many different positions, my confused thoughts, as I was reading. Plus, that ending left me reeling.
ARC from Edelweiss.
What a book, kudos to this author for this intriguing psychological telling. My review, hopefully, conveys the many different positions, my confused thoughts, as I was reading. Plus, that ending left me reeling.
ARC from Edelweiss.
February 15, 2021
About 100 pages in, I began to feel that I had already read this novel. But it was just published last month! The Push is a simplistic mix of The Bad Seed and We Need to Talk about Kevin with a hash of other themes stirred in - the legacy of maternal abuse, the difficulties of motherhood, infidelity. It has all been done before and this rather mundane rendition did not add anything new.
March 17, 2021
Acabo de leerla, y he quedado fascinado con ella. Si hay una novela que pueda describir las interioridades de una familia disfuncional, creo que esta sería firme candidata a representarla. Un drama familiar cargado de suspense y oscuros presentimientos.
La pluma (o el teclado, me da igual), de esta autora, parece que novel, describe la angustia de Blythe, una madre insegura sobre sus sentimientos hacia la maternidad, sobre todo después de haber tenido a Violet, una niña que, bajo su aparente fragilidad infantil, puede ocultar una personalidad trastornada, aunque sólo de cara a su madre, pues formará un tándem con su padre que Blythe nunca podrá compartir. Parece que, con Sam, su segundo hijo, la cosa se igualará… pero Violet no se muestra dispuesta a consentirlo.
Tengo que decir que he empatizado con Blythe como hacía mucho tiempo que no empatizaba con un personaje de novela. Me ha tenido en vilo durante toda la narración, sobre todo cuando madre e hija permanecían a solas, ya sea en casa o en la calle. La he comprendido en cada acción que tomaba, y he estado de acuerdo con ella hasta el final. Tanto Fox (el marido) como Violet me han sacado de quicio, y aun así tengo que decir que ambos personajes están perfectamente descritos. Como también lo está Gemma, sus reacciones y su rechazo ante los temores de una Blythe a la que no está dispuesta a creer.
La historia se intercala con los antecedentes familiares de Blythe, que, aunque al principio no me cautivaron demasiado, al final también acabaron por convencerme, pues justifican plenamente las inquietudes de una madre primeriza e insegura. ¿Cómo no iba a estarlo, con esos antecedentes?
Le auguro un futuro excelente a esta escritora. Aunque también pudiera ser que tarde en repetir otro producto tan redondo, si es que lo consigue. Le seguiré los pasos, porque si sus siguientes novelas están igual de conseguidas que esta, tenemos a una gran autora para rato.
La pluma (o el teclado, me da igual), de esta autora, parece que novel, describe la angustia de Blythe, una madre insegura sobre sus sentimientos hacia la maternidad, sobre todo después de haber tenido a Violet, una niña que, bajo su aparente fragilidad infantil, puede ocultar una personalidad trastornada, aunque sólo de cara a su madre, pues formará un tándem con su padre que Blythe nunca podrá compartir. Parece que, con Sam, su segundo hijo, la cosa se igualará… pero Violet no se muestra dispuesta a consentirlo.
Tengo que decir que he empatizado con Blythe como hacía mucho tiempo que no empatizaba con un personaje de novela. Me ha tenido en vilo durante toda la narración, sobre todo cuando madre e hija permanecían a solas, ya sea en casa o en la calle. La he comprendido en cada acción que tomaba, y he estado de acuerdo con ella hasta el final. Tanto Fox (el marido) como Violet me han sacado de quicio, y aun así tengo que decir que ambos personajes están perfectamente descritos. Como también lo está Gemma, sus reacciones y su rechazo ante los temores de una Blythe a la que no está dispuesta a creer.
La historia se intercala con los antecedentes familiares de Blythe, que, aunque al principio no me cautivaron demasiado, al final también acabaron por convencerme, pues justifican plenamente las inquietudes de una madre primeriza e insegura. ¿Cómo no iba a estarlo, con esos antecedentes?
Le auguro un futuro excelente a esta escritora. Aunque también pudiera ser que tarde en repetir otro producto tan redondo, si es que lo consigue. Le seguiré los pasos, porque si sus siguientes novelas están igual de conseguidas que esta, tenemos a una gran autora para rato.
March 18, 2021
⚠️ Outlier alert: While the wonderful writing kept me engaged, I can’t say I loved this one like many other people did.
Blythe and Fox fall in love quickly, get married, and settle into a routine of wedded bliss. That is, until Fox makes it known how much he wants a child. Because of Blythe’s cold upbringing by her own mother, she isn’t sure motherhood is right for her. Nonetheless, she ends up with her own daughter, Violet.
Violet seems to get on with Fox a lot more than with Blythe, and Blythe starts to think something is wrong with Violet as she starts to grow up. Fox blindly dismisses her concerns and wonders if Blythe could be making things up. Things seem to be better after Blythe has a second child, a son named Sam. Then, something happens that will have devastating consequences.
The Push is a dark and emotional book that touches on nature vs. nurture, and I know a lot of readers appreciated that. I didn’t necessarily feel the same way. Without spoiling anything, all I can say is that this book wasn’t as deep and complex as I was expecting. The plot and twists, while at times gripping, seemed a bit simple by the time I got to the end.
That being said, I am glad so many others walked away from this book with so many thoughtful feelings. The writing is smooth and it’s easy to fly through the the story. While my expectations were skewed, I still look forward to the author’s next book.
Now available through Pamela Dorman Books.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
Blythe and Fox fall in love quickly, get married, and settle into a routine of wedded bliss. That is, until Fox makes it known how much he wants a child. Because of Blythe’s cold upbringing by her own mother, she isn’t sure motherhood is right for her. Nonetheless, she ends up with her own daughter, Violet.
Violet seems to get on with Fox a lot more than with Blythe, and Blythe starts to think something is wrong with Violet as she starts to grow up. Fox blindly dismisses her concerns and wonders if Blythe could be making things up. Things seem to be better after Blythe has a second child, a son named Sam. Then, something happens that will have devastating consequences.
The Push is a dark and emotional book that touches on nature vs. nurture, and I know a lot of readers appreciated that. I didn’t necessarily feel the same way. Without spoiling anything, all I can say is that this book wasn’t as deep and complex as I was expecting. The plot and twists, while at times gripping, seemed a bit simple by the time I got to the end.
That being said, I am glad so many others walked away from this book with so many thoughtful feelings. The writing is smooth and it’s easy to fly through the the story. While my expectations were skewed, I still look forward to the author’s next book.
Now available through Pamela Dorman Books.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
February 4, 2021
Ms Audrain's bold statement may not be welcomed by those who support social stereotypes and expectations regarding the idea of motherhood. Women are expected to want to become mothers and to have special bond with their babies. And for most this is the case. However, what if you were not offered the bond you are expected to offer? What if it is formed with your next child or children but not first-born? How can you love and cherish new life if your mother or grandmother were unable pour love into you? Can you force yourself to tenderness towards the child if your own first moments were those of indifference or disinterest?
Truly interesting novel that reflects on those women who, try as they might, are incapable of becoming mothers in the spiritual sense and of consequences for the next generations.
Truly interesting novel that reflects on those women who, try as they might, are incapable of becoming mothers in the spiritual sense and of consequences for the next generations.
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