One of my favorite movies of all time is the 1956 film, The Bad Seed, about a precocious, seemingly charming little girl, who is hiding a murderous dark side. Debut author Ashley Audrain's first novel The Push is an utterly compulsive novel in a similar vein. Fans of Zoje Stage's Baby Teeth should not miss The Push, which merges suspense fiction with literary fiction to create an absolutely horrifying, yet reflective tale. I absolutely loved this novel. After a series of recent lackluster reads, The Push reignited my love of reading and inspired me to find more intriguing books that spark my curiosity.
Blythe Connor is no stranger to bad mother-daughter relationships. Abandoned by her own mom at an early age, Blythe is hoping to foster a lifelong connection with her new baby girl, and cultivate the type of intimacy that she and her mother never had. But something is not quite right with Blythe's daughter Violet. As the years go by, Blythe can't quite put her finger on it, but in her eyes, Violet is one violent, manipulative, and vindictive little girl. The problem is no one believes Blythe's fears, and she finds herself living in trepidation of the daughter she is raising, while also being viewed as a hysterical and troubled woman by those she loves most. Everything comes to a head one fateful afternoon when in a split second, Blythe's life changes forever. Is Violet responsible, and if so, why does no one believe Blythe about her dangerous little girl?
The Push is told by Blythe, but the entire book is addressed in second person narrative to her former husband. This is Blythe telling her side of the story to the man she loved who wouldn't believe her over their daughter. While this narrative style seems to be off-putting to some, I found it to be incredibly intimate and compelling. I wanted to hear what Blythe had to say to the former love of her life, and I relished the fact that this was her account of things. Now the question is, can she be trusted? That's for the reader to determine as they peel back the layers of Blythe's life and get to know her personality and her family's long history with mental illness.
The Push is a story in threefold. There's, of course, Blythe's fragile and tenuous relationship with Violet, but the narrative also features Blythe's relationship with her husband, which becomes increasingly more and more tense as he continuously sides with his daughter over his wife. Furthermore, the book occasionally dives back into Blythe's family tree and explores the lives of her grandmother and mother and how the sins of the mother are inflicted on the child. Altogether, these pieces come together to paint a complete picture of Blythe, leaving the reader to decide for themselves if she is the reliable narrator she purports herself to be.
I listened to an audiobook production of The Push, which absolutely pulled me in and absorbed me in this horrifying story. Narrator Marin Ireland was believable as Blythe, and her excellent nuanced voice work made me feel as if I was actually listening to Blythe telling her story. I highly recommend the audiobook version of this novel for anyone who loves to listen to intimately-told novels.
Availability: Book; eBook & eAudiobook in cloudLibrary
Rating: ***** Stars (I loved it)
Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
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AWARDS: LibraryReads Favorites: 2021 GENRE: Canadian Fiction; Psychological Suspense; Second Person Narratives
THEME: Creepy Clowns & Bad Seeds (Menace often lurks behind things that seem innocent at first glance.); Unreliable Narrator (Readers may not be able to trust the version of events narrated to them in these complex and sometimes disturbing stories.)
TONE: Heartwrenching; Suspenseful
STORYLINE: Intricately Plotted; Nonlinear
WRITING STYLE: Compelling
SUBJECT: Family Relationships; Family Secrets; Grief in Women; Motherhood; Mothers and Daughters; Seven-Year-Old Girls; Women
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