The Barrenness

This debut novel intrigues with an element of surprise that keeps the reader captivated until the very last page-a story about whether you can truly be fulfilled as a woman without being a mother. When Georgia peach Lil (pronounced Lille, France) embarks upon a campaign to have a child, she expects her most formidable opponent to be her biological clock. After all she is 39, her childless aunt, Mamie Lee, reminds her. Nonetheless, when Aunt Mamie dies suddenly, Lil finds herself up against a cadre of obstacles, including a battle with her aunt’s stepson over the family’s land and a relationship with a congressman who doesn’t want more children and possibly can’t have them anyhow. She also faces a major crisis at her high-powered job. The most unsettling of all her adversaries, however, turns out to be her own mind, filled with conventional notions about this illusive tie in between motherhood and womanhood. An emotionally captivating story, told with skilful pacing that makes it hard to put down.