48th book of 2023.

More motherhood from the Booker International. Theme of the year, it seems. Hjorth has written a very suffocating read, an almost Bernhardian torrent from a woman who is estranged from her mother and begins stalking her. An exploration of motherhood, family, art, self-harm, the self. Interestingly enough, like when reading Bernhard, reading this in small bites didn't work. I had some time today (not just today, I've had the whole week off work), to read great chunks of it and the repetitive rambling of the narrator is far more concentrated and powerful when taken in big gulps. It isn't necessarily pleasant to read, but it did impress me. I didn't like the final page, and usually books that have lots of white space like this one don't work because I find them a little gratuitous but I didn't mind Hjorth's usage here. I'm intrigued to see what happens regarding the shortlist as this, Still Born, and Boulder, particularly, are all similar in theme.

Longlist for me so far, best to worse again:
Time Shelter
Is Mother Dead / Still Born
Boulder
Whale
Pyre
A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding
Standing Heavy