The Mother's Group

Once I started reading this book I didn't want to stop, although life always interrupts, especially if you have kids, right!? Anyway The Mother's Group is a fairly light and easy read, although I was moved to tears by the last act. This book is a bit of a downer in some ways. There were a few light-hearted moments, but some quite depressing situations lead up to the sad finale. However it's nowhere near as gritty as The Slap and was certainly a more enjoyable read for me. Good suspense and a mostly unpredictable storyline (although I did see one bit coming...). The characters, including a high-powered lawyer, a single mum, and a Balinese hotel maid, are fairly well-fleshed but as you get only one-sixth of the book dedicated to each one, it is a little hard to really connect with any of them. I highly recommend this book to Mums, and especially those who have attended a Mother's Group. I think you do need to have had children to relate to this book, even if you haven't experienced the situations personally. Mothers will definitely recognise the difficulties and emotions, and be distressed by the event near the end of the novel. If I'd read this before I had kids it wouldn't have had such an emotional effect of me. Not recommended for those who are feeling sad or emotional to begin with perhaps!

On a side-note, it possibly helps to have read Eat, Pray, Love and We Need To Talk About Kevin, as both books are referred to by the characters.