Customer Reviews

In a Country of Mothers

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Like so much of her work, Homes here relies on sex to shock and give the emotional jolt she's unable to provide otherwise. The wit is dull; the humor, while not central to the book, falls flat and rings like a sitcom. Also, Homes never questions the empty values of these yuppie professionals; characters routinely condemn each other for being fat, poor, etc. all with the author's implicit condoning. Still, it is, like her other work, a solid, if unspectacular piece.

When I pick up an A.M. Homes book I am ready to settle into the tormented minds of her brilliantly colorful characters. I have never been let down. In a country is a gripping story about mental illness and adoption. Homes can marry the two like a dream. No emotion was spared on the doctor and her patient. Usually her books leave me haunted, thinking about the characters for days, this one didn't have the same effect but was still a great read.

This one was a good read that perhaps could have been better. It starts off really strong but the ending, while good, is not as good as the rest of the book. It's the story of Claire, a therapist who many years ago gave up an infant daughter for adoption, and Claire's patient Jody, a young woman confused about her future. Claire begins to suspect that Jody is the daughter she gave away. Both women have slightly troubling personal lives. Many of their relationships have shortcomings that neither is particularly happy with and they begin to rely on the patient-therapist relationship too much. This is a witty, darkly comic psychological thriller that is very, very readable. I really could not put it down. As I said earlier, the ending is not as strong as the beginning, but it's still quite good. The not-so-rosy picture of the world Homes paints for us rings very true. If you like dark humor, you'll like this novel.

The first book I ever read by Homes was The End of Alice. I went into Mother trying not to compare the topics or the material, but expecting to see some of the flare Homes had in Alice, and Music for Torching; unfortunately, it fell short. Country of Mothers is a wonderful idea, a psychologist believing a client is her long lost daughter she gave up for adoption 23 years earlier, but poorly executed. The characters have conflicting actions to motivation, and are one dimensional at best. It seems Homes had not yet found her voice or talent for creating engrossing characters and motivations. I found myself fighting the urge to flip forward several pages at a time, certain I would not miss any plot twists, since they were few and far between. I encourage fans of Alice to read Mother if for no other reason then to see the very aparent evolution of a writer, as it is obvious Homes was not at her best during In the Country of Mothers.

This was my first A.M. Homes book. I liked it enough to read her other work. The premise is an intriguing one: a therapist becomes convinced that her patient is her lost daughter given up for adoption about 23 years before. I found myself confused by the characters actions though.

First of all, Jody seemed like a reasonably well adjusted young woman, despite the fact she was nervous to go on to college (I think that's a natural reaction). Second, I can't understand her mental collapse, and why she begins toward the end to distrust Claire. I think Jody begins to question Claire's professionality too late. Additionally, Jody's antagonism toward her mother is not well explained.

Despite these criticisms, I liked the characters, and I was interested in the idea of the therapist convincing herself of something with little but circumstantial evidence. The story of a therapist slowly becoming unwound is the intriguing one in this story.

I'm a big fan of A.M. Homes, and I love her other books. This was not as good. Intriguing, but what it lacks from her other books is that ability she has to make you scared of the characters and really feel like you know their deepest thoughts too intimately.

I found this book to be very intriguing.I enjoyed the author's earlier book "the safety of objects." I believed in the characters in this book and found the story entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone.

You would need to have something in common with the story to find it of any interest,Ie. worked in social services.