What a book to begin the new year!

The Mothers hooked me from the first page and I doubt that it will let me go for a long time. This novel tracks the lives of three protagonists, Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey, from their late teenage years into their thirties. Bennett refuses to compromise the characters' realistic personalities in favor of smooth resolutions, choosing instead to portray Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey as genuine, flawed humans, falling in and out of love, ruining and saving one another in turn. This is one of the most morally ambiguous novels I have ever read; although the characters break hearts and make messes, you can't help but sympathize with all three of them. The deft characterization is matched by Bennett's gorgeous writing, making The Mothers as literary as it is compulsively readable.

2017 has the potential to put humanity to the test, but this novel serves as a reminder that we all deserve compassion even as we struggle to find happiness without hurting those around us.