The Beautiful Mother is an ode to all things human, from our love for a child to our need to control our own destinies.
The search for human origins plays out alongside the survival of the species in a heart-warming, heart-breaking and surprisingly breath-taking story set against the dramatic landscape of Tanzania.
Tasmanian author Katherine Scholes was born in Tanzania and her love of the country is depicted as vividly as her characters in The Beautiful Mother. It is a memorable tale that tells of archaeologist and subservient wife Essie Lawrence at the Magadi Research Camp. As the team search for the origins of our species, Essie is unexpectedly approached by the nomadic Hadza, the last hunter-gatherer tribe in East Africa. With the dry season approaching, they coerce Essie into caring for one of their orphaned babies until they return in the wet season some three months later.
Suddenly a mother, Essie soon learns the power of a mother’s love while combatting the disruption and marital issues the baby’s presence evokes. As her love for the child grows, so too does her independence, feeding a growing void with many of the people around her. Her husband and distrusting other tribes both provide fuel for Essie’s personal growth and mothering instincts.
Scholes delves deep into the heart of her main character, never releasing the looming eventuality that one day soon, the baby will be reclaimed by her tribe. The people around her, including her husband, friends and main colleagues, are all realised with care to both feed the story and embark on their own paths of soul-searching and personal growth.
The Beautiful Mother is an ode to familial love and relationships, from our love for a child to our need to control our own destinies. Scholes never fails in her quest to deliver each of the powerful themes and personal journeys. And while the book is long, at almost 470 pages, not a page is wasted in keeping the reader engaged.
The audiobook recording by Penguin Random House Australia, is read by Jessica Tovey and runs for just over sixteen-and-a-half hours. Tovey is eloquent and emotive, representing the characters well, but doesn’t deliver distinct character voices in the way that so many modern readers do. Her narration however, is both engaging and enjoyable.
The Beautiful Mother may sound like a rather tedious premise on the surface but it should impress most readers who are willing to open their heart to such a love story.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
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Book distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Audiobook: Available through Audible Australia
Released: March 2020
RRP: Paperback: $32.99; Audiobook: $26.95 or through an Audible monthly subscription