That Kind of Mother

The whole point of a book club is to read books that you wouldn't otherwise pick up. And I can say with certainty that I never would have read That Kind of Mother if my book club hadn't picked it. It's got an interesting premise - a white woman adopts a black son and comes face to face with racism in America at the end of the twentieth century. But it's written by a man, and I'm a little wary of a man trying to write about motherhood.

Ultimately this book seemed to be lacking...something. It was unfocused, and I think that had to do with the main character's lack of focus. Rebecca has a hard time understanding that the people around her are actually people. Her marriage is barely a marriage at all (I would have divorced him long before Rebecca did). Her most meaningful relationship seems to be with Princess Diana - a celebrity that she's never even met.

Towards the end of the book Cheryl accuses Rebecca as seeing her as nothing more than a side character in her life. But I almost think Rebecca sees herself as a side character in her own life. She never seemed completely engaged with anything. And by the end of the book I'm not sure she's actually learned anything. She doubles down on her optimism. But particularly in light of what's going on now, it just seems naive.

All that said, I think it's a decent book club book. At the very least, it should kick off an interesting discussion about what motherhood is and what sorts of sacrifices it entails. It was better than last months book. But I think it's time for me to convince the book club that we should try some science fiction.