Hear me out…a woman has an accident, slips into a coma and wakes speaking fluent French (a language she never actually mastered). Her husband? Eric, a man who is heading deeper into misogynistic and ‘conservative’ beliefs. PLUS a very complex (but not completely uncommon) relationship with her childhood best friend Lisa.
When Brynn wakes from the coma speaking French, she up and leaves for Paris leaving her small daughter with her husband who moves her best friend right in to fill in the gaps Brynn left behind, things really start to get interesting. The tension builds and the themes emerge.
Set against the backdrop of a small American town and later, the streets of Paris, Mother Tongue is an exploration of the challenges women face in reclaiming and defining their identities both pre- and post-children. I found the writing to be both raw and lyrical, capturing the nuances of human emotion and the intricacies of personal relationships and individual growth. The novel challenges societal expectations of motherhood and womanhood.
To sum all this up? This was a juicy and messy family drama with sometimes unlikeable characters, or at the very least likeable characters doing unlikeable things but underneath the humour and the darker side of some of the characters, we have a banger of a read exploring a ton of themes.
Other books down this alley that might tickle your fancy include Elena Ferrante’s ‘The Day of Abandonment’ or ‘Everything I Know About Love’ by Dolly Alderton.
-Michaela Webb
