Mother's Milk
A
Novel by Edward St. Aubyn (http://www.opencity.org/mmilk.html)
The new masterpiece on parenthood, marriage,
and money from the highly acclaimed author of Some Hope
Celebrated English author Edward St. AubynÕs
brilliant and scathingly witty family portrait examines the shifting
allegiances between parents, children, husbands, and wives. The novelÕs
perspective carousels between each member of the Melrose family—the same
family featured in St. AubynÕs trilogy Some Hope—starting with Robert,
who provides an exceptionally droll and convincing account of being born; to
Patrick, a hilariously churlish husband who has been sexually abandoned by his
wife in favor of motherhood; to Mary, whoÕs consumed by her children and an
overwhelming desire to not repeat the mistakes of her own mother. All the
while, St. Aubyn examines the web of false promises that entangle this once
illustrious family, whose last vestige of wealth—an old house in the
South of France—is about to be permanently donated by PatrickÕs mother to
a new-age foundation.
An up-to-the-minute dissection of the mores of
child-rearing, marriage, adultery, and assisted suicide, MotherÕs Milk
showcases St. AubynÕs luminous and acidic prose—and his masterful ability
to combine the most excruciating pain with the driest comedy. Once MotherÕs
Milk is absorbed into the bloodstream of American culture, postpartum
depression will never be the same again.