Trying so hard to think of anything other than the children starving in Gaza but I can’t…so straight onto the reading section of this newsletter.
(I realise it sounds rather careless and callous to go from children dying straight into the book that I have been reading. I hate that we live in a world where people are going through the worst torture imaginable and at the same time someone is flouting a new exercise routine and a moisturiser that also contains peptides. I wish I could patch that space with something meaningful.)
Reading
Lonely Mouth starts with a scene in which a mother abandons her two children at a service station, which should be enough to put you off the book completely. But if you, like me, love Jacqueline Maley’s work you persevere for the writing if not for the story. And then all of a sudden you find yourself fixed to your seat unable to put the book down because the story has hooked you right in and the writing continues to feel like you’re witnessing glorious, colourful and poignant scenes unfold in front of you.
When I saw the title Lonely Mouth I was reminded of a substack which Pandora Sykes wrote about the Japanese word kuchisabishi which is used when you want to eat something, not because you are hungry, but because your mouth needs company. The literal translation is ‘lonely mouth’ . And honestly I could not think of a better title for this book
Lonely Mouth tells the story of Matilda and her half sister Lara, abandoned at a service station as kids by a mother with obvious mental health problems. As adults the women lead out the lives informed by the trauma of their past - with Matilda old enough to remember the good times with her mother and Lara protected by being taken into custody by a family member.
It is a story about motherhood from the point of view of the child, it is about mental illness, addiction and eating disorders, it tells of abuse and recovery and acceptance and living with your demons. It is about love and sisterhood and the bonds that you make when you are growing up. It is spectacularly told with attention to detail that will etch the characters permanently in your heart .
See you next week when I hope there has been some huge amounts of relief from the suffering in Gaza.
Lana