The Other Mother

I always look forward to a new Bussi novel and they never disappoint. I love the sophisticated psychological underpinning and complexity which can leave you perplexed and dizzy. As usual I couldn’t put it down. His novels leave a permanent trace in my brain.

But, totally unbelievable. So much planning, so much that could have gone wrong. Amanda finding the tickets and gun, not noticing a player in Gouti , the child not asking to use the bathroom. In reality, Malone would just have been shot. Angie could not have negotiated his survival. Clever writing, clever idea but just too unlikely.

Black lilies is Bussi's best book and all the other don't come near enough. This particular one is not that interesting but readable.

Having enjoyed After The Crash and Black Water Lilies, I was looking forward to reading this book. The plot is ridiculous, even for an imaginative French writer, and I lost patience. However, I did finish the book. A developmental editor could have done something to save it - perhaps. The book was far too long. Disappointing.

I just finished reading The Other Mother and found it to be very convoluted. Having a 3 year old narrate part of the story was a turn-off, as I find children's narrations to be irritating. Malone insisting that Maman-da was not his real mother throughout 3/4 of the story made you want to throw this kid into a laundry basket and cover him up! As the story started to wind down I only became more confused when I discovered there were 2 children named Malone. There were so many twists and turns involving the child Malone, a murder and the police flying off in all directions to apprehend the "bad guys" that I needed a scorecard to keep track of everyone involved. Plus, the story was translated from French into English, making it difficult at times for an American to comprehend. I still believe that Black Water Lilies was Mr. Bussi's best book (read it--it's off-the-wall!) followed by After the Crash. I have these 2 books in my library, while I will donate The Other Mother to my local library, as I do not feel that my brother or several friends who also read would be interested in this storyline.