Not an easy book to connect with, but still an incredible story. I enjoyed the book but felt it was hard work at times and I was let down by the lack of a satisfactory conclusion. I realise I may be on the wrong side of history given the plaudits the book received.

A beautifully written fiction/ autobiography. The narrator is preparing for motherhood - the birth of her second baby - and writes lyrically about her fears and feelings.
This is interwoven with her family history and relationship with her mother and grandmother, as well as with the relationship between Freud and his own daughter.
And the history of x-ray and anatomy are also woven in.
This is almost more of a stream of consciousness than a novel and you’ll need to read it more as a meditation or poem than as a straight narrative, to really appreciate it.
In summary, there isn’t a strong sense of the narrative and this dense novel needs time to read, but it is stunningly written and benefits from being lingered over in leisurely nibbles rather than being a page-turner..

Literary fiction at its best.An emotional read about life birth motherhood death.A book that leaves you thinking.about life, #netgalley#johnmurraypress.

A book about grief and motherhood that not only weaves historical facts and fiction but also becomes a meta-commentary on how the novel itself is constructed; outstanding, heartbreaking and poignant.

An unusual, lyrical novel about motherhood, grief, birth, death, medical science and scientific discovery.