Basic plot
Killing her mother was easy, what happened after that was harder. Helen's love-hate relationship with her mother Clair had finally reached this moment, a towel pressed over her mother's nose and mouth. How did it come to that? In the moments after the fact, Helen struggles to answer that very question.
What I thought of the book
Firstly, with an opening sentence like " When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily.", I had great expectations of the book. Coupled with the fact that I had quite enjoyed the other book The Lovely Bones. However, beyond that opening sentence, I was sorely disappointed. As the book struggled to abstractly paint a picture of how someone could be so permanently damaged by hating and loving the person that brought her into this world, I found myself unable to identify with the main character or any of the characters in the book. Although the mother's condition (she had agoraphobia and dementia) was explained well and in detail, the mental suffering she must have endured did not translate well across the pages. Helen's difficult childhood, growing up with a sick mother and a weak father also felt like a well construed farce, instead of the reality that left her scarred enough to commit murder. Her actions after the deed, though obviously intended to show her fragile state of mind and confusion also felt very unnatural and forced. In the end, it felt as if this was a story, that had every ingredient and opportunity to shock, enthrall and evoke powerful emotions on the true meaning of the sacred bond between mother and daughter and yet somehow fell very short of the mark.
A quote I liked from the book
All of them are gone except for me; and for me nothing is gone.
Rating: 2.5/5
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