That Kind of Mother

I wonder if the author named the main character Rebecca because the name Becky is associated with basic, privileged white women ... and that's about right.

I don't think characters have to be likable, and some of the best characters are despicable to one degree or another. I guess in this case her bubble was just so frustrating. Toward the end, she is called out on living her life as if everyone else is a secondary character who only exists to support her, but this is after a book of watching her do this ... and nothing said to her seems to stick.

I wonder if, like the name Rebecca, it might be intentional to make her the protagonist, as opposed to a person of color, like Cheryl. That's privilege, in a nutshell. At the same time, I don't think an author would choose the least interesting character in the story in order to make a point.

Rebecca claims to love Priscilla – the nanny whose child she adopts – but Priscilla is an enigma out of, seemingly, Rebecca never taking a genuine interest. Later, she claims the same thing about Cheryl, Priscilla's daughter, but doesn't know her any better than she did her mother.

Her children seem to only exist to orbit around her – to be her inspiration, or validation, or frustration. Her husband's problems are unacknowledged other than to assert that everything will work out.

Privilege.

Rebecca would be the person saying she doesn't see skin color, and that someone could be purple with polka dots for all she cares. The only pass I can give her is that the book is set in the 80s and 90s, even if white women are still sorting out platitudes and microaggressions to this day.

The author does use the time period cleverly to speak to a modern reader. Rebecca hopes her black son will be like Bill Cosby. Even as she deals with Princess Diana's premature death, she imagines sparkling futures for other golden people who the reader knows will also die tragically. She believes in the near future racism will be a non-issue. Does it feel like a non-issue to you? Have we reached the promised land?

I don't know what to do, mentally, with this book, how to file it on my mind. Other than irritation at the main character, my reaction is pretty muted. I wanted more time with Cheryl, and by that I mean as the main character. Perhaps the best scenes were the ones where she called Rebecca on her cluelessness. I would love to know Priscilla's thoughts as well. Come to think of it, the husband would have been an interesting POV character. Her son, Andrew.

Instead I spent 300 pages with Becky. :)