Horror

Motherthing

Motherthing

  • Downloads：6417
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-12-26 08:51:29
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ainslie Hogarth
  • ISBN：1838957774
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Abby Lamb has done it。 She's found the Great Good in her husband， Ralph， and together they will start a family and put all the darkness in her childhood to rest。 But then the Lambs move in with Ralph's mother， Laura， whose depression has made it impossible for her to live on her own。 She's venomous and cruel， especially to Abby， who has a complicated understanding of motherhood given the way her own， now-estranged， mother raised her。

When Laura takes her own life， her ghost starts to haunt Abby and Ralph in very different ways。 Ralph is plunged into depression， and Abby is being terrorized by a force intent on taking everything she loves away from her。 With everything on the line， Abby must make the ultimate sacrifice in order to prove her adoration to Ralph and break Laura's hold on the family for good。

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Reviews

nicky ，

3/5 starsGraphic， partially revolting and as magnetic as a car-crash or watching someone obliterate themselves online。 Abby is a disturbing character and I enjoy reading about unlikeable people usually， however， she often remained a stranger to me （something I am happy about， too）。

Sara Chowdhery ，

This book is WEIRD and gets weirder。 But it's so good！！ Firstly， I'm definitely someone who judges a book by its cover， and the cover for Motherthing is beautiful and totally drew me in- look at it！！ The story follows Abby， who is trying to deal with 3 Big Problems:1） Her husband， who's sucked into a deep depression after the violent suicide of his mother。2） Aforementioned mother-in-law; dead and haunting their basement。3） Her favourite patient at the nursing home she works at is being moved els This book is WEIRD and gets weirder。 But it's so good！！ Firstly， I'm definitely someone who judges a book by its cover， and the cover for Motherthing is beautiful and totally drew me in- look at it！！ The story follows Abby， who is trying to deal with 3 Big Problems:1） Her husband， who's sucked into a deep depression after the violent suicide of his mother。2） Aforementioned mother-in-law; dead and haunting their basement。3） Her favourite patient at the nursing home she works at is being moved elsewhere。 Abby is so desperate and in need of validation and attention from her husband， mother-in-law or really anyone， but is left wanting。 So instead we get this Girlboss moment where Abby decides to take matters into her own hands。 She comes up with a plan that solves all her problems， with one VERY gruesome solution （this book probs isn't for the weak stomached fr）。Ainslie Hogarth is really good at taking some pretty heavy subject matter and making it a bit lighter with humour。 She's witty and dry and that translates so well into her main character。"I thought you were kidding about the knife""Oh， that。" I laugh， three unsettling ha's， like a person who's only ever read about laughing in a book。 I pull it out my purse。Carol Flinches。"Christ， Carol。" I can't help but find her incredibly annoying， even though I was literally just thinking of stabbing her in the stomach， but she doesn't know that， for God's sake。 Altogether， Mothering is a quirky， dark spiral into madness， tinged with some sad bits that leave you with a very strange mix of emotions。 。。。more

Jane ，

4+ stars for the writing， but 1 star for the horrible characters。 Unfair， probably， but for me the characters are key to an enjoyable book and I would have run a mile from all of them。 Except， possibly， Laura， the mother who dies as the story opens。The blurb says it's a "darkly funny domestic horror novel" but I didn't find it funny， just disturbing， so perhaps my reaction is from finding myself led into reading a novel for which I'm most definitely the wrong kind of reader。 4+ stars for the writing， but 1 star for the horrible characters。 Unfair， probably， but for me the characters are key to an enjoyable book and I would have run a mile from all of them。 Except， possibly， Laura， the mother who dies as the story opens。The blurb says it's a "darkly funny domestic horror novel" but I didn't find it funny， just disturbing， so perhaps my reaction is from finding myself led into reading a novel for which I'm most definitely the wrong kind of reader。 。。。more

Emma Bone ，

That was a ride through hell！！！ I was mesmerized， horrified， and giddy reading this domestic relationship， ghost story， house of horrors thriller that covers every dreadful topic。 So unlike anything I’ve ever read and uniquely disturbing but ultimately incredibly satisfying 。 I feel like I’ve committed a sin reading this book but it was oh so enjoyable。

Sadie Siegel ，

crazy， just batshit fucking crazy。 loved this book。 the tone was unexpectedly funny and absurdist but it really contributed to the insane and violent turn in the story

Akshaya Ganesh ，

This was super creepy and disturbing

Ashley ，

I’ve never read anything like it and doubt I will again。 It’s grim。 It’s disturbing。 Her writing style is so unique and she writes anxiety so well。 Took a massive turn I did not expect。

Brianna Ortega ，

So gory and fresh， I loved this！

Ella ，

This was。。。super weird。 In a fun way！ It's giving me unmedicated。 Style of writing is a bit jarring but can get into it。 5/5 stars。 This was。。。super weird。 In a fun way！ It's giving me unmedicated。 Style of writing is a bit jarring but can get into it。 5/5 stars。 。。。more

CI ，

Motherthing has it's fair share of spine tingling moments but I'd say it leans more toward general fiction rather than horror。 Or maybe it is classified just right and I'm just utterly confused about what I just read？I never expected jellied salmon to feature so prominently。。。it's a character in its own right！ Motherthing has it's fair share of spine tingling moments but I'd say it leans more toward general fiction rather than horror。 Or maybe it is classified just right and I'm just utterly confused about what I just read？I never expected jellied salmon to feature so prominently。。。it's a character in its own right！ 。。。more

Matasatan ，

I got so depressed reading this book。 it wasn't good either。 So disappointed ☹️ I got so depressed reading this book。 it wasn't good either。 So disappointed ☹️ 。。。more

Shauna Diane ，

Oooof。 Coming back to write a fleshed out review。 NO PUN INTENDED！！！

Sara Guevara ，

This book was insane。 It is so unhinged and goes in such a bizarre and unpredictable direction。 I absolutely loved it。 This book will really resonate with people who have mother or mother-in-law issues， but it will also resonate with people who like jellied salmon。

Mireya ，

DNF @46%

Igor Del Rey ，

Yeah。。。。so， I was expecting more horror and less couple drama。The artcover is gorgeous， though。

Robyn ，

Around 4 stars， but incorrect about BPD being untreatable and equaling you to a demon。。。 though super fucking enjoyable to listen to。

Paige ，

Wtf

Permanently_Booked ，

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth its domestic fiction and horror fiction tied up in one relatable package。 Especially for those who struggle with those ridiculous monster-in-laws。 Its a slow building read to a climax you literally cannot see coming。 Its darkly humorous with episodes that make you debate the mental stability of every character。 Gotta love the ones that do that。 True rating 3。5/5。

Emma Davey ，

This was a fun one （fun if you don't mind a book with a very macabre sense of humor）。 I appreciated how the author skillfully depicted a protagonist that you initially root for before slowly realizing that she's perhaps the most unhinged character of all。 My only critique is that though the book is ostensibly about mothers and specifically， mothers-in-law， I wish we actually saw more of Laura as a ghost and had a little more fun with the ghost story aspect of it。 The ending is not quite as disgu This was a fun one （fun if you don't mind a book with a very macabre sense of humor）。 I appreciated how the author skillfully depicted a protagonist that you initially root for before slowly realizing that she's perhaps the most unhinged character of all。 My only critique is that though the book is ostensibly about mothers and specifically， mothers-in-law， I wish we actually saw more of Laura as a ghost and had a little more fun with the ghost story aspect of it。 The ending is not quite as disgusting and weird as Sayaka Murata's "Earthlings" but it's up there！ 。。。more

Grapie Deltaco ，

Oh wow。 A deeply unsettling story of a woman being haunted by her abusive and controlling mother-in-law that’s made all the more disturbing by our main character’s （the daughter-in-law） actions performed to prove her love and devotion to motherhood and her husband。 It’s unhinged and blurs the lines of reality in the recurring breaks to show flashbacks， experience the narrators bizarre daydreams， and shifts in storytelling strategy that emphasizes the narrator’s compulsion to always perform her d Oh wow。 A deeply unsettling story of a woman being haunted by her abusive and controlling mother-in-law that’s made all the more disturbing by our main character’s （the daughter-in-law） actions performed to prove her love and devotion to motherhood and her husband。 It’s unhinged and blurs the lines of reality in the recurring breaks to show flashbacks， experience the narrators bizarre daydreams， and shifts in storytelling strategy that emphasizes the narrator’s compulsion to always perform her desired roles in life。 I’m obsessed and was in shock from start to finish。An excellent WTF book。 CW: suicide （including death from suicide occurring on-page）， brief moments of suicidal ideation， brief descriptions of past sexual assault， murder， death， grief， parental abuse and neglect， manipulation， cannibalism， depictions and descriptions of deep depression， sexual content， recurring focus on struggles to get pregnant 。。。more

Blake ，

JUST SO GOOD

Alexis ，

Disturbing， visceral and depraved。 A strong narrative voice。 I absolutely loved this。

Mary ，

Oh My God。 I had to step away from this book several times as it spooked me。 It’s wonderfully bad。 What happens when two people mangled by terrible parenting find each other？ For a while things are splendid。 Then they move into the husband’s mother’s house to care for her 。 Then……

Eskay ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 a book about how you love your useless husband so much you need to feed him human flesh？？ maybe i missed something here。

Rachel Whelen ，

This book was so messed up and I love it for that reason。

Alana ，

Disclaimer: You might not enjoy this book if you are a yogurt type。 Proudly jellied salmon type here who LOVED almost every demented word of it。 “Lamb， Laura。 Survived by son Ralph Lamb （Abigail） and no one else。 No other soul in the world had tethered itself to hers by choice， and that should tell you something。 She won't really be missed by her strange， scabby neighbor， or the inanimate objects she carted to the casino and worshipped like little gods。 She might have been missed by her daughter Disclaimer: You might not enjoy this book if you are a yogurt type。 Proudly jellied salmon type here who LOVED almost every demented word of it。 “Lamb， Laura。 Survived by son Ralph Lamb （Abigail） and no one else。 No other soul in the world had tethered itself to hers by choice， and that should tell you something。 She won't really be missed by her strange， scabby neighbor， or the inanimate objects she carted to the casino and worshipped like little gods。 She might have been missed by her daughter-in-law， who was ready to love her like a mother， who could have loved a rolled-up pair of socks if she had to， who did love a fucking couch， for Christ sake。 But Laura didn't want that。 Despite her faults， Laura Lamb managed to raise the most genuinely good person in the entire world， and for that Abby will always love her， even though the woman was honestly a horrible fucking bitch。”On the surface it’s about a woman dealing with the MIL from hell。 Figuratively and literally。 Laura just killed herself and is now haunting her son and his wife。 Themes of generational trauma， dysfunctional relationships， mental illness， abuse， women’s role as wife/mother/daughter/caregiver/savior， and generally coping with one’s ghosts。 Marketed as horror which is not usually my genre。 Definitely gruesome and disturbing but more psychological， and morbidly funny。 I laughed so much。 I want to give it 5 stars， but the ending threw me off slightly and I don’t know what’s real anymore。 4 stars while I continue contemplating it。 。。。more

Nicole Sanborn ，

Slow starter， but picks up steamThe first half of the book really dragged for me; the writing style took time to get used to， lots of setting up needed to be done， and I just struggled to get through chapter by chapter。 Fast forward two months and 50% through the book and it really picked up speed！ I finished the second half in just a couple hours。

Ciarra ，

Weird！！

Camille ，

A quite disturbing （and disgusting） but funny read。 The book tackles depression and grief， motherhood and cannibalism with a ton of dark humor and a touch of folly that just make you say "what did I just read？" at the end。 A quite disturbing （and disgusting） but funny read。 The book tackles depression and grief， motherhood and cannibalism with a ton of dark humor and a touch of folly that just make you say "what did I just read？" at the end。 。。。more

Lauren loc ，

an unhinged “good for her” classic

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Motherthing

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Motherthing&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Motherthing&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0