Joanna Glen - an underrated author to keep an eye on

This week we are taking a look at two absolutely beautiful books by Joanna Glen, All My Mothers and The Other Half of Augusta Hope.

I read All My Mothers at the end of March 2023 and it became my top read of the month of March. I then followed it up with Augusta Hope at the start of April, and this is my top read from April. I LOVED THEM BOTH.

Disclaimer/review.. when I finished Augusta Hope, I posted in my Matilda’s Room story on Instagram that I was sobbing, and gave it 5 stars. My daughter (age 21) saw my story, because this is how we communicate in 2023, and came down to my bedroom to check on me. There I was trying to get myself under control. She wanted to know about the story – what had I read that had invoked such a reaction? I told her about the book, and started sobbing again! I managed to get myself under control, came out of the bedroom, and my husband asks me why I had been crying. I couldn’t possibly relive the sobbing so my daughter told him the premise of the book, and I had to leave the room. I just couldn’t relive it again! And just quietly, the 21 year old did an impressive job of remembering and explaining the plot! So.. that may well be my review of Augusta Hope for you. I might break my laptop (water/salt damage) if I think too hard about this one. If you want a book to make you feel all the feelings, read this one. It’s Joanna Glen’s debut novel, and it is just so good. An easy 5 stars.

I have been googling Joanna Glen to find out more about her, and discovered, to my delight, she has a new book coming out in 2024 called Weird Gorgeous Things. If you happen to be the publisher of this book, or know the publisher or are cousins with Joanna Glen, feel free to send me an advance copy of the book and I promise to write a better review of it then I did above.

I think I can write a better review of All My Mothers. This book is centred around Eva Martinez-Green, an only child full of questions about her early life and where she comes from. She has a very real sense that her emotionally absent mother and often physically absent father are hiding the truth from her. They avoid answering any questions about her early years. They don’t have any photos of her as a baby.  The story follows Eva’s life as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, as Eva searches for a loving mother, we are taken through the different “mothers” who have shaped her and influenced her life. The book explores themes of maternal influence, and its role in shaping identities and choices. This book has a very unique portrayal of motherhood, and made me question what being a mother means, and all of the “mother” influences that we have in our lives. This book may well make you appreciate the women in your life even more than you do now.

This book is emotional, beautifully written, and explores a lot of experiences that will touch the lives of many of us (cancer, endometriosis, loss, fertility). Another easy 5 stars. Add this (and any book ever written by Joanna Glen – past and future) to your TBR list, because as we all know, life is too short to read bad books.

P.S Feel free to share this post, particularly if you know Joanna Glen xx

P.P.S It is probably remiss of me not to mention that you should check the trigger warnings for these books. Can we all just agree that going forward you need to check the trigger warnings for every book I recommend? Apparently my recommendations are called “trauma porn”.. Eek.