Books
Book review: Brave, funny and terrifying monologue strips away romantic notions of motherhood
From the mundane to the unforgettable, Claire Kilroy relates the relentless demands made on a new mother and subsequent loss of all sense of self
I hope I put no reader off this superbly crafted novel by saying it’s certain that the Hallmark card company will never turn Soldier Sailor into a gift for nervous expectant mothers. Kilroy’s depiction of the remorseless responsibilities of parenthood is so acute that the only more terrifying present might be Roman Polanski’s psychological horror flick Rosemary’s Baby.
But the dangers Rosemary faced were supernatural. The stresses faced by Kilroy’s narrator are only too natural ...
