Search This Blog









2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (17)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (5)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (4)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (2)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (15)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Barbados (1)
- Canada (9)
- Chile (1)
- England (26)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Nigeria (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (3)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
- Ukraine (1)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Thursday, February 09, 2012
Things That Make Me Go Meh
1:00 AM

As part of ELLE Magazine's Reader's Jury program, I was asked to review two parenting memoirs—Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott (with her son, Sam) and Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood by Anne Enright—and choose which I liked best. A tough job, since the truth is, I didn't care much for either one of them. Is there something about women who become mothers for the first time in their late 30s that just makes them whiny and bitter? Or, is it because these ladies are both tell-it-like-it-is authors who express the things all mothers feel, but don't dare to say out loud? I'm not sure, but sheesh! I'm all for honest, funny takes on the old parenting game, but I prefer them to be light-hearted and uplifting, not gripe-y and depressing.
First published in 2004 (the version I read will be available April 2012), Making Babies actually compares better with Lamott's first memoir, Operating Instructions, which details Lamott's experience as a single, 35-year-old, first-time mother. Like Lamott, Enright is a writer who came to motherhood later in life. After 18 years of marriage, Enright found herself expecting at age 37, then again at 39. Having children, naturally, turned the life of the successful, independent novelist upside-down. Just as naturally, she decided to write about all of those ups and downs, publishing many of her thoughts as essays in European newspapers and magazines. Gathered together in Making Babies, they form an odd, random assortment of musings on babyhood and parenting.
At turns deep, sentimental and strange, the essays run the gamut from thought-provoking to hilarious to just plain old weird. Since there's no real, unifying point to the writings, I found the collection to be a bit too here, there and everywhere for my liking. Overall, I really didn't care for it, although I did find these gems within:
"I thought childbirth was a sort of journey that you could send dispatches home from, but of course it is not—it is home. Everywhere else now, is 'abroad'" (58).
"I can make babies, for heaven's sake, novels are a doddle" (60).
"Children are actually a form of brain-washing. They are a cult, a perfectly legal cult. Think about it. When you join a cult you are undernourished, you are denied sleep, you are forced to do repetitive and pointless tasks at random hours of the day and night, then you stare deep into your despotic leader's eyes, repeating meaningless phrases, or mantras, like Ooh da gorgeous. Yes, you are! Cult members, like parents, are overwhelmed by spiritual feelings and often burst into tears. Cult members, like parents, spout nonsense with a happy, blank look in their eyes. They know they're sort of mad, but they can't help it. They call it love" (148-49).
(Readalikes: Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott)
Grade: C
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language and sexual content
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Making Babies from ELLE Magazine in exchange for a fair and honest review.
2 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Listening
Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
Song of the Week 1581 hour ago
-
Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch2 hours ago
-
-
Sunday Salon: December 3, 20232 hours ago
-
2023 Booker Prize Nominations (Part 5)3 hours ago
-
Linkity Approaches the End of the Year4 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Surrender Bay11 hours ago
-
Monthly Wrap Up November 202314 hours ago
-
-
-
Sincerely Sicily21 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney2 days ago
-
-
-
Books read in November2 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
A Review of A Winter’s Night3 days ago
-
November Reflections3 days ago
-
Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush5 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 month ago
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra5 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears7 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
Well, at least there's a cute baby on the one cover. I love that last quote--so I really am a cult member!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a great quote? I think reading the book was worth it just for that gem :)
ReplyDelete