INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER“Utterly addictive.” —Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train“Written with an unflinching eye and a stylistically sharp, tight economy The Push is a single-sitting read, as suspenseful as any thriller, as thoughtful as any literary novel, with an almost physical force behind each of its turns and revelations.” —Toronto StarA tense, page-turning psychological … revelations.” —Toronto Star
A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family, told through the eyes of a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.
Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, supportive mother she never had to her new baby Violet.
But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe doesn’t find the connection with her daughter she expected. She’s convinced that something is wrong with Violet–the little girl is distant, rejects affection, and becomes increasingly disruptive at preschool.
Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she is imagining things. Fox doesn’t see what Blythe sees; he sees a wife who is struggling to cope with the day-to-day challenges of being a mother. And the more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity…
Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the natural maternal connection she’d always dreamed of. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth about herself, her past, and her daughter.
The Push is a rare and extraordinary gift to readers: a novel about the expectations of motherhood we’re taught not to challenge and what really happens behind the closed doors of even the most perfect-looking families. It’s impossible to put down and impossible to forget.
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Scary
This book is very sad. She is mothered by a woman with psychosis who leaves her. She marries and has a daughter but doesn’t seem to bond well. She then has a son who she adores. The boy is killed after she lets go of his stroller bc her daughter hit her tea and she flinched. She believes her young daughter did it on purpose. O one believes her and the husband moves on with another woman who has a son with him. This book is so well written but haunting.
I’m so glad I happened to see The Push at a bookstore I was at with my daughter. The cover and title of the book stopped me in my tracks, especially that cover, which is designed to evoke an inkblot you’d see in a Rorschach test. I hadn’t heard of this book before, but the synopsis indicated this was a book I was likely going to love.
First of all, I love unreliable narrators where you don’t know if their perspective is what’s really happening or not, and that was how I felt about Blythe. Was there something “wrong” with Violet, or was there something wrong with her mother? As for Blythe’s husband, Fox, he was either being rational or refusing to see what’s happening. The book had me back and forth so many times!
There were times I could see where Blythe was coming from, but I still wondered about this character. I had to know what was going to happen next. I will say I liked her more than Fox though. I don’t know what exactly it was about him, although I suppose it was likely his flippant attitude about his wife’s concerns that drove me crazy.
The Push was definitely a five star read for me! It was a nonstop thrill ride that kept me turning the pages as quickly as I could, and after I finished it, I had to take a deep breath and process what I just read. I love books that give me that reaction.
It had me hooked from the beginning. The author presents the story in an unusual way. I had to talk my friends into reading it because they weren’t interested. That changed almost immediately. Now The Push is going to be our next book club read.
4 of 5 stars
This is a tense, terrifying novel of a mother and her daughter. The daughter, Violet, despises her mother, and has not bonded with her from the moment Violet was born. Blythe, the mom, and her husband, Fox, has a wonderful marriage before Violet came along. While Fox has an outstanding relationship with Violet, he tells Blythe she just needs to try harder. Blythe comes from a line of mothers who don’t bond with their daughters.
When something terrible happens, Blythe begs Fox to understand, but he turns a blind eye. Things get progressively worse.
You will find yourself reading this novel waiting for the worst to happen. Eerie.
So different then anything I have read in a long time. Hard to put down.
Yea, this was not the book for me. I don’t fancy stories like this and that’s what I get for going into this one blind and setting myself up like that. Wasn’t a fan of the writing or the characters.
This is a hard read, but it’s oh so very good! Very emotional.
Days later, I am still a bit breathless from this book. It is truly haunting and will stay with me for quite some time.
Blythe came from a difficult upbringing as did her own mother. She is determined to break the chain and be the kind of loving, attentive mother she never had. However, when her daughter, Violet, is born she finds it difficult to make connections and feel that maternal bond she always thought would come naturally. Despite the fact that everyone else seems to feel differently, Blythe begins to feel that Violet is different and is concerned about her behavior. When she has a second child, Sam, her feelings about Violet grow even stronger since that maternal bond and warmth is so present with her new baby.
This is both a heart-breaking and chilling story. I wept for Blythe and the struggles she went through. The depictions of motherhood and how women can be made to feel when a new baby comes and everything isn’t as they’d hoped were felt so real and crushing at the same time. Her feelings of inadequacy, loneliness and stress really got to me.
And in all this really is a thriller. It is terrifying and dark right up to the very last word of this book. The story was so gripping that I could not put the book down. It is a triumph of a debut. I’m so excited to see what comes next from this amazing author.
CW: child loss, abuse, cheating
Can psychosis be inherited? Blythe is in a happy marriage and believes a child will complete their family. However, when her daughter is born, she just can’t seem to connect with her. As Violet grows, Blythe sees some disturbing traits, but is it her imagination or is Violet exhibiting signs of the unstableness that were in her mother and grandmother? It’s a twisted and engrossing thriller with a last line that will haunt you.
Personally, I didn’t like this book. Characters weren’t likable, in any way, and if I don’t like the main characters and find nothing redeeming about them, I’m out.
The Push
Blythe Connor never had the loving doting mother daughter relationship with her own mother than every little girl desires. In fact, her relationship with her mother was the complete opposite. Then her mother left her, and never looked back. So when Blythe became a first time mother to a little girl named Violet, she was determined that this would be different than her own experience. As time went on, she noticed that no matter how hard she tried, she didn’t have a connection to her little girl. In fact, there seemed to be something a little off about Violet. Her husband merely brushed her off. She tried so hard to connect with her little girl and have that wonderful friendship, but it just wasn’t there. Then came another baby. A little boy. Blythe was over the moon in love with this little boy. Violet seemed to be intrigued by him, helpful even at times. But then something happened. Something nobody ever expected, flipping her world upside down in the worst way possible. Was there really something wrong with Violet? Or was Blythe really like her mother as well as her grandmother? Would Blythe ever be able to pull herself from the darkness that sucked her in before she lost her whole family?
I’ve been in a reading slump for a bit, but this book grabbed my attention and had me sucked right in. I loved how the author also not only told the story from the main characters perspective as if she were talking to her husband, but also that she went back to explain about Blythes’ mother Cecilia, as well as her grandmother Etta, which laid out a good foundation as to why she felt the way she did as a mother. I had so much empathy for Blythe. I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it. I rate this book a solid
It took me a few chapters to get on board with the second person voice, but once I did, I was all in!
Audrain’s writing is sharp and raw, with a rare economy. She relays the pain and confusion of the early days of motherhood, trickling into the fears many of us harbour and the ones most would never even think about.
The Push is unsettling, yet so compelling, while being an absolute page turner. It’s all about the questions, and keeps the reader riveted by never providing crystal clear answers, never letting us feel certain about whose truth is the real one.
Heartbreaking, dark, and unforgettable on so many levels.
For my full thoughts through a video review, follow this link: https://www.charlenecarr.com/book-review-the-push-by-ashley-audrain/
very good great plot well written
A little predictability didn’t hinder the grip of this book! The plot, the characters and the audio narrator made this an exceptional look into the psychology of dysfunction!
Omg. This book!!! SO GOOD! I can’t say it enough! Kept me wondering, can this child really be that bad? You’ve got to read it! I kept reading and finished in one day. I literally couldn’t stop reading! A million stars!
This book was very disturbing but I couldn’t stop turning the page. Well written, terrifying if that was your life, and a super quick read.
The Push by Ashley Audrain
I don’t even know where to begin with this book. It was such a roller coaster of emotions. Once I started, every chance I had to read, I did!
“One day you’ll understand Blythe. The women in this family … we’re different.”
Blythe never liked to talk about her childhood or her mother to her husband, Fox. So when she becomes pregnant with their first child, Blythe was determined to not be the kind of mother hers was. But from the time she gave birth to Violet, she felt rejected by her daughter. Fox didn’t understand and she felt like he blamed her for not being a good enough mother to their daughter. From early on, Blythe felt there was something very wrong with their daughter. When there is a tragic accident, Blythe knows what she saw but no one will listen. It begins to drive a wedge between Blythe and Fox, where ultimately, they can no longer continue the farce of a marriage they’ve become.
Written in a style of Blythe writing to her ex-husband explaining her side of things and going back to the lineage of the women in the family, Blythe hopes her ex will see the truth about their daughter Violet. The ending leaves you breathless and on the edge of your seat. I would definitely read a sequel to this book. It was a thrilling page turner that leaves you wondering about human behaviors.
Original and creepy at the same time.
This book was difficult to read, yet I couldn’t put it down. The author touches on so many aspects of not only motherhood, but daughter-hood as well. I viscerally felt Blythe’s pain, wedged in between a mother who never loved her and a daughter who hated her. The novel brings me back to the sleep deprived days with a newborn who wouldn’t stop crying and an inability to innately know what to do. The feeling of it being me and not realizing it was a very common occurrence. Fortunately it did not escalate into a relationship like the one Violet and Blythe had (also my child isn’t psychotic…) but how many women blame themselves and don’t feel like they can talk about these things?