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When 18-year-old TJ’s mother suddenly disappears, he must dig deep into his family’s past in attempt to reach her again in this Belfast-set, heart-breaking study of the cost of unconditional love.
Mother Mother is a powerful coming-of-age novel and an intimate family study. It's about finding light in dark places, and it examines the cost of unconditional love.
Mary McConnell grew up longing for information about the mother she never knew, who died suddenly when Mary was only a baby. Her brother Sean was barely old enough to remember, and their father numbed his pain with drink.
Now aged thirty-five, Mary has lived in the same house her whole life. She's never left Belfast. She has a son, TJ, who's about to turn eighteen, and is itching to see more of the world.
One Saturday morning, TJ wakes up to find his mother gone. He doesn't know where - or why - but he's the only one who can help find her.
Mother Mother takes us down the challenging road of Mary's life, while following TJ's increasingly desperate search for his mother, as he begins to understand what has led her to this point.
This is a gritty, affecting novel about family, grief, addiction, and motherhood. And it asks the question - if you spend your life giving everything to the ones you love; do you risk losing yourself along the way?
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781472275929
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 240 g
Dimensions: 196 x 126 x 24 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Prepare to fall in love with Mary, to want to reach right into the pages and hold her as a child and help her as an adult. Mother Mother is a brilliant book that takes you with it on a journey of struggle, friendship and forgiveness that explores the brutal legacy of addiction and the consequences of a deep grief left to stagnate' - Sara Cox
'I loved this book and felt powerfully connected to every character I met within its pages. Tender and deeply felt, it's a beautiful portrayal of the pain and beauty of normal life, told in hauntingly lyrical prose. Poignant and beautifully observed, it was a novel that stayed with me a long time, reminding me again and again of the secrets hidden within the most seemingly normal lives, and the awe-inspiring power and resilience of women everywhere' - Clover Stroud
'A hugely entertaining and emotional story about intergenerational loss and love, trauma and acceptance. Macmanus writes with flair and confidence rarely seen in a debut' - Sinead Gleeson
'Macmanus' immersive novel reminds us that the minutiae of daily struggles are always worth homing in on. Her meditative, considered writing constantly pulls us towards the messy experience of life itself, where there is hope to be found in the grind of intergenerational trauma, and beauty amongst the brokenness. This is a work of gilded melancholy that is going to take everyone by surprise' - Una Mullally
'I adored it. I loved the characters and stories, and I became completely immersed in that world. It's so beautifully written... Moving and brilliant' - Emily Eavis
'A brave and occasionally heartbreaking portrait of a family falling apart and the woman who's been holding them all together for far too long. Macmanus' debut novel is assured, evocative and, like her characters, full of gentle strength' - Jan Carson
'Superb... [Macmanus is] brilliant at voice and motivation and the (historic and emotional) passage of time; at making households so vivid you know their smell. Can't recommend enough' - Laura Snapes,
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