Mother Land
Mother Land by Paul Theroux, published by HarperCollins Publishers in May 2018, is a reprint edition comprising 528 pages. This work presents a complex family dynamic centered around a matriarch known as Mother, who is perceived as a model of virtue by her community but is viewed as a tyrant by her husband and seven children. The narrative explores the tensions within the family as they grapple with her controlling nature, particularly focusing on the impact of her favoritism towards her deceased daughter, Angela.
Readers will find a nuanced exploration of family life, humor, and the intricacies of sibling relationships. The story delves into the lives of various family members, including a lawyer, a professor, and two devoted sisters, all of whom navigate their mother’s overpowering influence. Theroux’s portrayal of narcissism within familial bonds resonates with many, offering insights into the struggles of breaking free from a parent’s grip. This edition is presented in English and captures the essence of a family saga marked by emotional complexity and dark humor.
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“Theroux possesses a fabulously nasty sense of humor.” — Stephen King, New York Times Book Review
To those in her Cape Cod town, Mother is an exemplar of piety, frugality, and hard work. To her husband and seven children, she is a selfish, petty tyrant. She excels at playing her offspring against each other. Her favorite, Angela, died in childbirth; only Angela really understands her, she tells the others. The others include the officious lawyer, Fred; the uproarious professor, Floyd; a pair of inseparable sisters whose devotion to Mother has consumed their lives; and JP, the narrator, a successful writer whose work she disparages. As she lives well past the age of one hundred, her brood struggles with and among themselves to shed her viselike hold on them.
Mother Land is a piercing portrait of how a parent’s narcissism impacts a family. While the particulars of his tale are unique, Paul Theroux encapsulates with acute clarity and wisdom a circumstance that is familiar to millions of readers.
“Paul Theroux ladles a steaming cup of dysfunctional-family chowder in Mother Land.” — Vanity Fair
“An engrossing, emotionally tangled and often merciless examination of family and self . . . Mother Land is a bittersweet, brutally frank family saga that offers enough redemption to make the journey worth it.” — Shelf Awareness
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