The Push is Ashley Audrain’s debut novel about Blythe, a mother for whom mothering is fraught with meaning, aspiration, danger, guilt, and judgment. Blythe descends from a line of failed mothers, mothers who abandon their children. Blythe fears she will fail, too. To make it worse, her first child, Violet, is difficult and the bond of affection just isn’t there. Blythe struggles with the negative feelings she has with Violet and can’t figure out she’s a bad mother or has a bad child. Blythe’s success or failure at mothering also is tied to the success or failure of her marriage.
The novel utilizes flashbacks, including flashbacks all the way to when Blythe’s own mother was the child of a failed mother. However, this story isn’t just about mothering. It’s a thriller. It begins with a flash forward. Blythe is sitting in her car, spying on a family, her family, or what should have been her family. There is a sense of foreboding. Then, we go back to the beginning and the reader forgets that opening scene (or at least I did) until developments in the latter half of the book and the idea that Blythe might be an unreliable narrator sneaks back in. The ending circles back to the reason the book is called The Push. Enjoyable novel, a page turner, and the chapters are short, so the reader is compelled to read just one more, like eating salted peanuts. Here’s what the Los Angeles Times says:
