An enormous THANK YOU to Ecco for providing me with an ARC of ‘Reproduction’ by Louisa Hall. Enthralling, full of empathy and layered conversation this book exceeded all of my expectations and has become a new favorite.

Reading, for the majority, like lyrical non-fiction we follow an author who is attempting to write a novel exploring Mary Shelley and her ‘Frankenstein’, as she struggles through fertility, and pregnancy.

Beautifully written and captivating I felt this one deep in my bones, in my guts, in my soul. It’s important, very important, to stress that there are trigger warnings for infertility, traumatic birth and miscarriage. This is not an easy book. But this is a careful book, an honest and connecting book. Louisa Hall puts into words the great isolation of pregnancy, loss and motherhood. She explores the ways we judge ourselves and other women, and unpacks the cold ways in which we are dealt with as we carry life and once we are no longer such a bearer. The main character reflects on Mary Shelley’s life, and speculates the longing and sense of loss that contributed to writing ‘Frankenstein’ and she compares herself, and her friend Anna, to her.

There is a small style and tone shift in the third section that I really enjoyed. It’s full of questions that will make you look inward, and yet the answers are not easy… the author not pushing you towards one. Instead, reminding us of the great love and bravery of existing in this world, loving a child— even if it is but an idea.

This covers the pandemic, and political realities that we all, in the US, faced from 2018 on. It is extremely real in this way, but has a dreamlike quality from start to finish. I’m absolutely in awe. If you are interested, be safe, but I will be forever changed by this novel and my experience in introspection while reading. ( )