Riveting!

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“Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me,” by Adrienne Brodeur is a fascinating memoir about a daughter and her mother and the unhealthy dynamic between them. We get our first glimpse of their relationship the night that Malabar, Adrienne’s mother, wakes 14-year-old Adrienne to tell her, “Ben Souther just kissed me!” Ben Souther was the best friend of Malabar’s husband! What would Adrienne do? And why would she do it? What will the fate of this family be? From the first page to the last, I was completely riveted by this colorful and memorable family and their complicated relationships.

The setting of “Wild Game” was part of the novel’s charm. Cape Cod has a mystique all its own. Malabar’s dishes from the sea to the table would rival any gourmet’s and captured my imagination throughout the novel. As a mother, I couldn’t help but wonder how another mother could be so blind to the position she had put her daughter in. Would Adrienne ever wrestle free of the power Malabar seemed to have over her? If so, when?

One thing about ‘Wild Game” that I especially appreciated, was the conscience of the author. She was keenly aware of the feelings of the other characters and how her actions would affect them. This wasn’t a novel about blame but rather it was one about healing. How do we move beyond the inadequacies of our origins to a place where we are healthy and whole?

While the subject matter of “Wild Game” is mature, there is no explicit sex or vulgar language to make one blush. I highly recommend “Wild Game” to readers who are interested in reading about complex family relationships and characters with strong loyalties. Memoir readers will love it!