In a Country of Mothers - (Vintage Contemporaries) by A M Homes (Paperback)

About the Book

By the widely praised author of Jack and The Safety of Objects, an enthralling and ultimately terrifying new novel. An aspiring young filmmaker marked by her habit of relentless achievement and a sensible middle-aged counselor of troubled souls develop a friendship that allows each to escape her prescribed roles.

Book Synopsis

No relationship is more charged than that between a psychotherapist and her patient--unless it is the relationship between a mother and her daughter. This disturbing literary thriller explores what happens when the line between those relationships blurs.

Jody Goodman enters psychotherapy with questions of career and love on her mind. But Claire Roth, her therapist, keeps changing the focus of their sessions to Jody's parentage--Jody was adopted; Claire gave up a baby for adoption who would now be exactly Jody's age. As the two women become increasingly involved, speculation turns into certainty, fantasy into fixation. Until suddenly it is no longer clear just which of them needs the other more--or with more terrifying consequences.

Review Quotes

"Homes...has the ability to scare you half to death....[She is] devastating...a very dangerous writer."
--Washington Post Book World

"A commanding narrative...by turns witty and unnerving, and at times almost unbearable in its emotional intensity."
--Wall Street Journal

"Intriguing...captures a world spinning out of control....Homes is at her best evoking the pathos and obsession at the center of relationships between therapist and patient, mother and child, husband and wife. She is also wickedly funny. [This is] a psychologically gripping story."
--San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

A.M. Homes is the author of over 10 books including the novels May We Be Forgiven and Music for Torching; and the short story collection, Things You Should Know. Homes's work has been translated into over 20 languages and she is a frequent contributor to Art Forum, Harpers, Granta, and more.