CULTURE CLUB
Book Club CAMBRIDGE EDITION IT’S ALL ABOUT WOMEN THIS MONTH, AS WE DIVE INTO A SELECTION OF FASCINATING FEMALE STORYLINES
WORDS BY CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS
YOU BE MOTHER BY MEG MASON
Originally published in 2017, this book from smash-hit author Meg Mason has been republished this summer to build on her new-found fame as the creator of the sublime Sorrow and Bliss . This new-old work is a sweeping epic that grabs your attention and refuses to let go, long after its conclusion. Covering motherhood, friendship, family dynamics, relationships, long-distance connections and the joys of cold-water swimming – it’s an ideal autumn read. Young Abi finds herself in Australia with three-week-old son Jude, having followed his Aussie father, Stu, across the world, determined to avoid the ex- council flat where she was raised by her mentally unwell mother Rae. Resolved to shed bad habits, yet also battling the demands of motherhood, she and Stu live in a meagrely furnished flat provided by his disapproving mother Elaine and quiet, gentle father Roger. To make ends meet, architecture student Stu takes on bar shifts, so Abi finds herself alone more often than not. While out on a walk and looking for somewhere to sit and feed Jude, she hops a fence into a lido, which is where she first meets 70-ish Phyllida – AKA Phil – who admires Jude from the pool and fills Abi with a rush of longing. Phil turns out to be Abi’s neighbour, and their subsequent meeting makes Abi feel as if “the knot in her stomach loosened for the first time in days, or weeks, or her entire life until that moment”. In the rush to be loved by Phil, Abi tells a tiny untruth which immediately ripples out and will no doubt have consequence. But for now, living moment-by- moment, it seems a small price to pay for Phil’s
ONE MORE PAGE This month, Charlotte reviews a host of memorable novels that are sure to draw you in
attention and care. This book is a love story in so many ways. Abi worshipping the tiny, helpless Jude; her immediate desire for Phil; and Phil’s mutual adoration of this utterly determined young mother. But it’s also about what grows in the absence of love, and how we cope with those gaps in our lives. There’s Abi’s heartbreakingly, all-too-real relationship with her mother, and the halting, stumbling connection between Abi and Stu. Then there’s Stu’s parents reforming the family unit around the surprise addition of two new members, and Phil’s grown-up family who’ve flown the nest. Full of poignant moments that will make you catch your breath, with tears springing to your eyes, this is absolutely stunning.
Covering motherhood, friendship and the joys of cold-water swimming
24 SEPTEMBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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