Poignant, raw, and insightful, Jennifer Gilmoreβs third novel is an unforgettable story of love, family, and motherhood. With a βvoice [that is] at turns wise and barbed with sharp humorβ (Vanity Fair), Gilmore lays bare the story of one coupleβs ardent desire for a child and their emotional journey through adoption.
Jesse and Ramon are a loving couple, but after years spent unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant, they turn to adoption, relieved to think that once they navigate the bureaucratic path to parent-hood they will have a happy ending. But nothing has prepared them for the labyrinthine processβfor the many training sessions and approvals; for the constant advice from friends, strangers, and βexpertsβ; for the birthmothers who contact them but donβt ultimately choose them; or even, most shockingly, for the women who call claiming theyβve chosen Jesse and Ramon but who turn out never to have been pregnant in the first place.
Jennifer Gilmoreβs eloquence about the human heartβits frailties and complexitiesβand her razor-sharp observations about race, class, culture, and changing family dynamics are spectacularly combined in this powerful novel. Suffused with passion and fury, The Mothers is a taut, gripping, and satisfying book that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.
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