My Phantoms

I loved First Love, but Gwendoline Riley's follow up My Phantoms is even better. The ostensibly simple story of an antagonistic relationship between a daughter and her mother, My Phantoms captures the pain, joy and day to day grind of maintaining familial relationships. It is both horrifying and deathly funny with a real emotional depth and has a final paragraph that will rip your heart out. Highly recommended.

Bridget has got a difficult relationship with her mother. According to Bridget -and I guess it's true- her mother finds it hard to really engage in things and people and to really connect, so their relationship feels uncomfortable and forced. What I felt more and more during my reading of the book though, was that Bridget is also to blame for their dysfunctional relationship. She is not very emphatic towards her mother and is occasionally even mean.
A very engrossing read, which describes the complexity of familial relationships beautifully. Gwendoline Riley is an exceptional writer!

Thank you Granta and Netgalley for the ARC

A mother -daughter relationship gone wrong - the daughter keeps her distance perhaps because she is worried that her mother will taint her life with her bad luck and attitude.

Enjoyable in a weird way - the relationship is beautifully described, I felt the daughter's embarrassment and frustration at her mother's choices. The ending is quite abrupt - but then life can be like that I suppose. A recommendation.

This (shortish) book is told from the point of view of Bridge as she navigates her way through her relationship with her mum , Hen, from childhood to adulthood. I gobbled this book up in 2 sittings and would recommend it for readers who enjoy stories about the subtleties of familial relationships, with some humour thrown in.

The dynamic of mother-daughter relationship is revealed through occasional meetings and telephone calls between the two. I found a degree of low-level anxiety crept in as our narrator described these interactions as neither the reader nor Bridge know exactly how these events, albeit casual and seemingly unremarkable, would play out. The dialogue between mother and child can be wince-inducing as Hen’s self-centredness and low self esteem cause Bridge to move further and further away from her.

In ways, though, I expected more from Bridge as a daughter, or as a person at least. The reader can clearly understand the psychology of the dynamic that has developed between mother and daughter but at times I found Bridge to be cold and detached. At one point I thought I had missed something in the story that had perhaps caused Bridge to harbour such a long held resentment towards her mother. But still she tries; both women try. And I, whilst frustrated with both of them sometimes, remained invested in and moved by their relationship throughout the book.

The dry wit dotted throughout the book did not take away from the complex relationship that was the core of the story. The author was so astute in the mental unpacking of conversations and interactions between mother and daughter - I really admired this analysis that showed the attempts by Bridge to understand, and feel compassion towards, her mum.

An enjoyable and moving read.

Gwendoline Riley has been on my radar for a while because of her widely acclaimed novel First Love but My Phantoms is the first book of hers I’ve read. In some ways, it is not an easy read, it deals with dysfunctional families, it is sad and uncomfortable at times but Riley’s sparse yet absorbing writing style makes it very readable and thought provoking.

My Phantoms is a first person account of Bridget’s relationship with her dysfunctional family. Meticulously detailed and observed, it mostly focuses on her relationship with her mother, Hen. As an adult, Bridget only occasionally speaks to or sees her mother and these meetings are always painfully awkward. She speaks to her sister Michelle even less. Their father, Lee is brilliantly brought to life as Bridget remembers her childhood but she has since stopped contact with him. Yet through these dissections of phone conversations, visits to relatives or annual mother-daughter birthday dinners it sadly becomes apparent that Bridget lacks any self-awareness and empathy. She tries but it’s as if she somehow lacks the emotional intelligence to have meaningful relationships with others. Ultimately, I found My Phantoms quite moving and very good.

My thanks to Netgalley and Granta Publications for the opportunity to read My Phantoms.