There have been quite a few books on motherhood recently, and even as it covers many similar themes, Normal Women feels fresh. This high-speed novel starts with Dani, married to Clark, becoming a mother to Lotte.
Dani seems to find a purpose in becoming a mother as she believes that she is not good for much else. They have to move back to Dani’s hometown, Metcalf, and Dani tries to fit in with the Normal Women, a group of “yummy mummies” who seem to have all under control. Much of the novel is centred on the mismatch between Dani’s inner life and her outer world. In her search for herself, Dani encounters The Temple, a yoga centre and sex work studio run by Renata. And then Renata disappears, and Dani loses herself in trying to solve the mystery of her disappearance.
There is so much to enjoy and admire here. Hogarth does not shirk away from the brutal realities of C-section and vaginal birth. She also writes about ambivalence well, the way being a mother can be salvation but also a trap. There are acutely observed, hilarious reflections on the “mommy forums” and the way they create motherhood as a brand identity. In Dani’s story we see how the narrative women are being fed is not just about how they “need” to be a mother, but also on the performance of being a mother, and a very specific way of “doing” motherhood.
Beyond motherhood, the book also captures very well the absurdities of modern life. Hogarth writes with nuance about the complications of femininity and masculinity. Dani and Clark are both performing roles they think they ought to. There is an important narrative about choice here too, about giving women the right to choose for their own bodies, whether it be childbirth or sex work.
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Nevertheless, at times it feels too repetitive, and I want the plot to move forward more quickly. There was potential for the horrors of the disappearance to be explored further, and we never get to quite see the unravelling that we were promised throughout the book. But, in the end, perhaps what the book is trying to say is that the true horrors lie in the way we tend to believe that there is one way to be a normal woman. Not light-hearted themes, but Hogarth’s sardonic and fast-paced writing makes this a fun read.
