I’ll tell you what it is: Growth, or any other happenings in life are all a result of minute, intangible, daily decisions and thoughts that swing you from one path to another. And meg mason is a master at capturing this fact of life. Knowing the end, she shows you, without your knowledge, the vignettes, the human moments that build a person, and their future.  

The problem now with you be mother, is that it’s more obvious in this book. It’s less of a weeping emotional revelation. The main character’s back story is already tragic, you know from basic psychology where it’s all headed.

6 paragraphs in and yet to touch the topic of the book. Classic eve.

Abi is a young mother, who moves from London to Australia to be near the new-born’s father. With the in-laws being judgmental, and her boyfriend barely present, she feels incredibly lonely, until she meets her only friend Phillis. Phillis is someone I aspire to be like in a lot of ways. She’s a hoot. Phillis takes on a maternal role for Abi, and their relationship (though not all based on truth), is such an endearing one to follow and root for.

Mason is always covering the heavy topics, walking with ease across the tightrope between comedic and distressing. This time, it’s motherhood. Generally speaking the female emotional experience (if such a thing exists) is something she writes very practically. She shows the communal griefs, pressures and prides in everyday interactions. And motherhood is just… beyond explanation to me, a 22 year-old youngest of three, who is used to being mothered about by all ages of friends and family. Motherhood in friendship, it’s a lovely thing to think about. Read this book and give it a go.

In comparison with Martha, from Sorrow and Bliss, I have to say Abi is a bit predictable, and bland to me. Abi’s flaws aren’t as interesting, maybe because it’s a bit too easy to forgive the wrongdoings of someone with a “traumatic childhood” like hers. With Martha, the water is muddier. Her upbringing is more tricky than obviously traumatic. The wounds that lead to her adult personality are more subtle, they’re cleverly dispersed in the little breadcrumbs I mentioned.  Which makes it more interesting. Bad is sad is clear is more boring. Tricky is complex is difficult to place blame is tangled is more interesting.

But that didn’t matter to me. I finished the book in one plane ride despite doing my best to try to read slow and savour. This book didn’t leave me crying like the last, it left me feeling sad in the nostalgic kind of way. The warm fuzzy kind of sad, like a good ache. I cared about Abi and Phillis, and now I’m done reading with them. I didn’t want to say goodbyes, but the plane was about to land, and trust me on this: never finish a Meg Mason book if you’re not completely zoned in and comfortable, and especially not in hot queue at passport control.