Madwoman

Hello again, friends! I am officially back from vacation/hiatus and ready to get back into reading. If you’re curious, my vacation was absolutely fantastic! I am a bit behind schedule on my reading goals from taking my time reading one massive novel (The Priory of the Orange Tree). But currently I’m sitting at 19 books read so far this year. Anywho, while on vacation, I read this month’s book and it just happened to work perfectly with Mother’s Day being this month. So, this month I’m reviewing Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker. And to accompany this review, I made a Mad Man (or woman) cocktail.

Mad Man (Woman) Recipe

2oz Bourbon

1tsp Cinnamon-Agave Syrup

~2oz Kombucha*

2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

2 dashes Orange Bitters

1 peel Lemon

*This is an optional ingredient.

In a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients (except kombucha) and shake. Then strain into a highball glass, add kombucha, garnish, and enjoy!

Two things before I get into this cocktail. One, Peychaud’s bitters was a little hard to come by, so just substitute Angostura if you have it handy. Two, cinnamon-agave syrup is just regular agave syrup with a dash of cinnamon added in.

Ok, this month’s cocktail is pretty good! It was a touch too bourbon-y for me, but I definitely would drink this one without complaint. I chose kombucha for my special ingredient this month because of the themes in the novel focused on wellness and clean, influencer-style living, and because Clove drinks kombucha during the novel. I picked a strawberry lemonade flavour because I thought I would like that the most, but you could add any flavour of kombucha you like. Overall, I really liked this drink and it’s unique mixture of tastes.

Madwoman Synopsis

(from book cover)

Clove has gone to extremes to keep her past a secret. Thanks to her lies, she’s landed the life of her dreams, complete with a safe husband and two adoring children who will never know the terror that was routine in her own childhood. If her buried anxiety threatens to breach the surface, Clove (if that is really her name) focuses on finding the right supplement, the right gratitude meditation. 

But when she receives a letter from a women’s prison in California, her past comes screeching into the present, entangling her in a dangerous game with memory and the people she thought she had outrun. As we race between her precarious present-day life in Portland, Oregon and her childhood in a Waikiki high-rise with her mother and father, Clove is forced to finally unravel the defining day of her life. How did she survive that day, and what will it take to end the cycle of violence? Will the truth undo her, or could it ultimately save her?

Review

“The world is not made for mothers. Yet mothers made the world.”

First and foremost, shout out to all the mothers in my life. Happy belated Mother’s Day to all you amazing people! Getting into the review, this novel was right up my alley style-wise. I really liked the tone, themes, and format of this novel. But it wasn’t perfect and I did find quite a few negatives with Madwoman. So, with that introduction out of the way I’ll get into the thick of it.

I loved the writing style of this novel. Bieker is definitely an author I will pick up again. She has a unique voice and the raw emotion she put into this story from her own life really came out in the writing. I can’t think of the words to describe what I loved about the writing, but it felt slow and slightly eerie throughout the novel and I just love when a novel illicits strong emotions through the vibes alone. The best way I can describe it is that it gave me the same feeling as watching White Lotus… You know something bad is going to happen so you have this back beat of stress/anxiety despite nothing really happening to cause that in the moment. If you haven’t seen White Lotus that probably makes no sense, but if you have I feel like you’ll completely get it.

Furthermore, the way the narrative is presented allows the reader to get fully into the mind of the main character, Clove. I felt like I understood her actions, thoughts, and feelings and I was completely engrossed in how her brain works. And I found that the timeline jumping in the narrative gave important backstory into why she is the way she is. This also plays into why I thought she was a really nuanced and interesting main character. Especially because of how often I jumped back and forth between understanding and liking her and being frustrated by her. With all this nuance, Clove felt fully fleshed out and most of the side characters did as well. However, I did feel that some of the side characters could have used a bit more detail.

I also loved the themes of Madwoman and the focus on being the perfect mother, wife, and woman in general. I am a sucker for a feminist perfectionist theme, so this really added to my interest in the novel, and I thought Bieker did a great job of showing this theme in both subtle and profound ways. This one actually had really similar themes and vibes to previously reviewed novel The Push by Ashley Audrain. They both focused on motherhood and the struggle to be everything to everyone and the judgement that can come with being a “not perfect” mother. While I don’t think you can fully compare the two novels because they are quite different story-wise, I would say that I enjoyed Madwoman more between the two.

My biggest issues with Madwoman are with the ending, so beware of minor spoilers ahead. First, it was pretty predictable. I knew very early on how a lot of the novel was going to play out. I didn’t figure out every single thing, but I did know the vast majority about a quarter into the story. Second, the ending felt wrapped up too nicely and quickly. Given the vibes of the novel, I thought the ending would be more nuanced and drawn out and less perfect. But unfortunately, it just wrapped up quickly and easily, which was really disappointing for me.

Overall, I liked Madwoman. It’s not my favourite book I’ve read lately, but it stuck with me after I finished and that’s something. And I really loved the exploration of themes and the writing style of this novel. But I did have issues with the ending and it, honestly, did drag a bit through the middle. I think I’d still recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in the synopsis and themes, but it might not be for everyone. However, I would like to ask my amazing friend and frequent reader, Seph, to please read this one because given your life and interests I’d love your thoughts on it. And as for the cocktail, I’d definitely recommend trying it out and making it your own with your preferred flavour of kombucha.

My Rating:

Thanks for reading! And, if you read the book or try the cocktail let me know in a comment or on Instagram. Also, if you haven’t yet read my previous reviews, I recommend reading The Push, The God of the Woods, and Yellowface if you liked this one!

Teghann

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