Science Fiction
A mother giving up her daughter is one of those premises that can go two very different ways: cheap melodrama, or something properly unsettling.
Marjorie Celona’s Y has been sitting on my Want to Read shelf for a while because the setup is sharp enough to hook me, but also the sort of thing I need to be in the right mood for. I’m always wary of books that treat emotional damage like a neat puzzle. The messier version is usually the more interesting one.
Still, that’s exactly the kind of question that lingers.
Marjorie Celona’s Y has been sitting on my Want to Read shelf for a while because the setup is sharp enough to hook me, but also the sort of thing I need to be in the right mood for. I’m always wary of books that treat emotional damage like a neat puzzle. The messier version is usually the more interesting one.
Still, that’s exactly the kind of question that lingers.
The title alone makes me slightly suspicious, which is probably a good sign. Premises like this can become very tidy very quickly, as if grief and abandonment were just a mechanism to be explained.
I’d be more interested if the book lets the discomfort stay unresolved for a while. Family stories often get flattened into “what happened”, when the harder bit is usually what people can live with afterwards.
I’d be more interested if the book lets the discomfort stay unresolved for a while. Family stories often get flattened into “what happened”, when the harder bit is usually what people can live with afterwards.
The bit that interests me most is the “why” rather than the act itself. Plenty of books can stage a shocking family rupture. Fewer can make the decision feel morally legible without turning everyone into a symbol.
Also, “self-realization in women” is such a broad shelf label that I’m immediately suspicious. It can mean anything from sharp and unsettling to beige misery with a tasteful cover.
Also, “self-realization in women” is such a broad shelf label that I’m immediately suspicious. It can mean anything from sharp and unsettling to beige misery with a tasteful cover.