Katri Skala combines a plot-driven narrative with insightful commentary on motherhood, mental illness, identity and love. A Perfect Mother is honest, multi-layered, and emotionally demanding of its reader.
When Jacob, on a trip to Trieste in Northern Italy to research his long-lost great- grandfather, meets Charlotte and Jane the trio are forced to confront their individual and shared histories. Their sense of identity is challenged and they must piece together a future none of them saw coming.
A Perfect Mother is a dark literary debut, with a quirky style but a compelling depth to it, a tangled web of history and influence, of mental illness and intricate relationships.
Katri Skala weaves together atmosphere and character, digging deep into the psyche of her group dynamic and exploring themes of identity and self. Its a nuanced novel, quite difficult to describe in review but fascinatingly riveting. Jacob as a character particularly appealed to me as he is pulled into the lives of Jane and Charlotte, the three of them connected in unexpected ways.
Overall an impressive debut. It’s styling won’t be for everyone and it has a complex heart but I found it to be rather beautiful and thought provoking, especially as a parent. Cleverly insightful.
Recommended.
You can purchase A Perfect Mother (Hikari Press) here.
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