I have to admit, I got very angry with him at several points, and was frustrated with Blythe’s acceptance of his treatment of her, his lack of understanding. The ‘you’ that Fox mostly exists as in the novel is another stylish feature of this intelligent novel – it adds another level of intimacy, as if we are spying on their relationship. We never see her point of view, fully allied as we are with Blythe’s confessional-style narrative, written for her partner, Fox. And Violet, who stains the pages (literally in my beautiful purple copy!) and haunts her mother’s nightmares – she is all the more disturbing for being unknowable. These are characters who have suffered, are suffering, who are driven to desperate acts by sheer desperation.

There is real darkness in this book, and at times it is a difficult read. Blythe, the narrator, feels the weight of her history crushing her as she struggles to forge a new path, and the flashbacks of her mother and grandmother, Cecily and Etta, create a terrifying sense of the cyclical pattern she is so afraid of repeating. The characters in The Push are fascinating. I loved the progression of uncertainty, menace, doubt and terror – cycling between these point is an emotionally exhausting, utterly captivating journey for the reader. I can’t talk about the plot too much for fear of spoiling anything, but Audrain’s narrative skill is breathtaking – the way the novel carefully controls the tension, turning up the dial in increments, makes it impossible to put this book down. The structure builds towards the central incident with agonising tension, and then spirals out from it in a tangled web of consequences and possible causes, reaching back into the past and surging forwards into the present. It is so dark and powerful and so cleverly written. I actually wasn’t intending to read it this month, but it called out to me, and I couldn’t resist. I’d heard great things about this book, from book bloggers who have never let me down yet with their recommendations, so I treated myself to the gorgeous Waterstones special edition – yep, the one with the PURPLE sprayed edges. The Push is an addictive, gripping and compulsive read asking what happens when women are not believed – and challenging everything we think we know about motherhood. My husband Fox says I’m imagining it, but she’s different with me.

I have always known that the women in my family weren’t meant to be mothers. A fresh start.īut as soon as I held her in my arms, I knew something wasn’t right.

The arrival of baby Violet was meant to be the happiest day of my life.

‘The women in this family, we’re different. What if your experience of motherhood was nothing like what you hoped for – but everything you always feared?

Ashley audrain the push review