Dad of Divas' Reviews: Book Review

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Book Review - Bitter Bitch

About the Book

On a miserable January morning, Sarah is sitting on a plane to Tenerife – without her husband or her children – headed for a week-long vacation. At the age of thirty, she’s just realized that her anger at life, her choices, and her family have made her a bitter bitch. While on the plane, she wonders how things have gotten so bad that all she craves is a full night’s sleep instead of a one-night-stand.

Sarah never intended for things to turn out the way they have; like many women, she dreamed of love. But now she’s sitting on a plane, thinking about all the injustices she suffered, and how thoroughly fooled she was by the storybook promise of love – the one that makes us want to start a family, and about all of the woman she knows who, like her, were drained of all their energy and sentenced to a domestic prison – an inheritance passed down directly from generation to generation, from her restless mother’s eczema-covered dishpan hands to her own nervous over-achiever complex.

What exactly does it mean for the modern woman to have it all? We can raise children, maintain stable jobs, cook, clean, shop, and put on a smile, but is that what we really want? Sarah thought it was, but now, she’s not so sure. Who should have to get up at two in the morning to tend to their screaming baby when both Sarah and her husband have jobs and lives to tend to during the day? Who deserves more time off? Why is it that when Sarah takes a vacation, she feels guilty and misses her son terribly, while her husband seems to enjoy every minute away? Is there really such a thing as equality within a marriage when raising children? Sarah explores these issues and more while finding herself, her purpose, and her long, lost dreams.
Angry and candid, Bitter Bitch is a wild, uncompromising novel, at the heart of which is one of the most important women’s issues: how can we ever have an egalitarian society when we can’t even live in equality with those we love? Sveland, in her debut novel, shines as a shocking, provocative, and inspiring new literary voice that women everywhere will relate to and celebrate. In Sarah she has created the “everymother,” and provided a framework for much-needed discussions regarding marital roles, equality, and love.

About the Author:

Maria Sveland is a radio and television producer. She lives in Stockholm, Sweden with her husband Olaf and their two sons. Bitter Bitch is her first novel.

My Take on the Book

This book is one that makes you think and gets under your skin. It has a great plot and is entertaining. I really didn't know what to expect when I first saw the book and the name that it had. I was pleasantly surprised though at the book itself and found that the author had so much passion for what she was writing about and she put her passion into her characters. You truly feel connected to the characters and to the situations for which they find themselves.

A great book that I would highly recommend!

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