The Conflict
Woman & Mother
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Today, to be pregnant seems not far from entering into a religious order. There is an expectation that modern mothers will fit the bill of breastfeeding, nappy-washing, home-cooking supermums.
So are mums who rely on formula, childcare and disposable nappies lazy or liberated?
The conflict between a woman’s individual identity and her identity as a mother is not unique to our time. In the 18th century, French women overcame the problem by shipping their newborns off to wet nurses. But not so anymore.
Modern mothers are bombarded by advice. The pressure to be a perfect mother is overwhelming, and it’s scaring women away.
In THE CONFLICT Elisabeth Badinter, France’s foremost feminist thinker, questions why our ideas of motherhood have been skewed by unachievable expectations that compromise notions of self and womanhood.
No matter which side of the debate you stand on, this bold and revelatory book is essential reading.
‘Badinter's message appears to be striking a chord with stressed-out Aussie mums.’ Herald Sun
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two 40-ish men seeking love and existential meaning are the protagonists of these highly imaginative twin novellas, written in sensuous, lyrical prose brimming with colorful detail. In the first, Jeff Atman is a burnt-out, self-loathing London hack journalist who travels to scorching, Bellini-soaked Venice to cover the 2003 Biennale, and there finds the woman of his dreams and an incandescent love affair. The unnamed narrator of the second novella (who may be the same Jeff) is an undistinguished London journalist on assignment in the scorching Indian holy city of Varanasi, where the burning ghats, the filth and squalid poverty and the sheer crush of bodies move him to abandon worldly ambition and desire. Dyer's ingenious linking of these contrasting narratives is indicative of his intelligence and stylistic grace, and his ability to evoke atmosphere with impressive clarity is magical. Both novellas ask trenchant philosophical questions, include moments of irresistible humor and offer arresting observations about art and human nature. For all his wit and cleverness, Dyer is unflinching in conveying the empty lives of his contemporaries, and in doing so he's written a work of exceptional resonance.
