I must admit that I was expecting this to be a novel - it is really a collection of essays and musings by Anne Enright about her experience and feelings on becoming a mother in her late thirties. Good at evoking memories for those of us as mothers. ( )

I read this because Enright is such a beautiful writer; here she writes wonderfully but it's not beautiful, not as crafted and without the psychological depth of her novels. I liked it a lot, but was a bit disappointed - it felt almost dashed off, and the changes in tone were disconcerting: the first chapter, about aliens, didn't fit with all the baby chapters; the last chapter, about her early life, was the deepest and best-written, but it felt like a different book. ( )

Fun. Brought back those years very clearly. (2009)

Just reread (as eBook) without realizing that I had read it before. Rating stays. (2017) ( )

This book made me want to propose marriage to Ms Enright. She is WONDERFUL and this book is alive, unlike Rachel Cusk's LIFE'S WORK which left me cold. That is a book of the head but Ms Enright's is a book of the head, heart and guts. Brilliant.

Spot on!! Bin all the yummy mummy guides and sleep nazi schedules; this one tells it like it is. I LOVED the description of mum with buggy and the negativity this seems to unleash from some people who feel babies shouldn't be allowed out. ( )