Brit Bennett was only in her mid-20s when The Mothers, her debut novel, was released. She took the publishing world by storm with this book, which seemed as if someone with many more years of experience had written it, and was a finalist for multiple prestigious book awards.
It’s an excellent choice for a book club in search of a title with lots of discussion-worthy scenarios and character choices. It centers on Nadia Turner and her complicated relationships with Aubrey and Luke, which begin when all three are teenagers, and follows them into their adulthood.
The main themes of the story focus on, unsurprisingly, mothers and the impact they have on their children’s lives, whether they are present or not. The most unique feature of this book is the eponymous “mothers,” whose narration of the story from a distance brings to mind a Greek chorus and adds another layer of perspective as events unfold.
Raela Schoenherr is an editor at a Minnesota publishing company. Find her on Twitter at @raelaschoenherr.
