Motherest
Book description
It's the early 1990s, and as a new college student, Agnes is caught between the broken home she leaves behind and the wilderness of campus life. What she needs most is her mother, who has disappeared once and for all, and her brother, who left the family tragically a few…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Motherest as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Kristen is a friend of mine, and I felt a strong sense of kinship to her work not only because I admire her personally but also because it deals with so many of my novel’s own themes—grief, family, unplanned pregnancy.
Motherest’s main character, Agnes, is a college student who describes her life on campus, her pregnancy, and the loss of her beloved brother through a combination of traditional narration and a series of letters written with increasing urgency to her absent mom. Agnes’s voice and letters are both hilarious and heartbreaking. Every once in a while, you meet a…
From Ashley's list on brainy women who are ambivalent about motherhood.
Seemingly abandoned by her own mother after the loss of her brother, eighteen-year-old Agnes confronts what it means to be a mother when she becomes pregnant in her first year of college.
This is such a heartfelt book. A lot of the story is told through Agnes’ diary-like letters to her absent mom. I love this form because at Agnes’ age I wrote many undelivered letters to loved ones. Iskandrian captures so many complex feelings in deceptively simple lines, many of which I highlighted to read again later.
This is a poignant story about motherhood, family bonds, and the ways…
From Lena's list on plumbing the gnarly depths of motherhood.
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