In suburban Australia, Mim and her two children live as quietly as they can. Around them, a near-future world is descending into chaos: government officials have taken absolute control, but not everybody wants to obey the rules.
When Mim's husband Ben mysteriously disappears, Mim realises that she and her children are in great danger. Together, they must set off on the journey of a lifetime to find Ben. The government are trying to track them down, but Mim will do anything to keep her family safe - even if it means risking all their lives.
Can the world ever return to normality, and their family to what it was?***
Mim rums hot water in the sink, plunges her hands beneath the suds and gasps at the scald of it. 1
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(@HarperCollinsUK, 8 July 2021, 406 pages, ebook, #ARC from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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This is the author's debut and I had no idea what to expect but the premise sounded so interesting I had to take a look. It took a few chapters to get into the book and I found Mim quite unlikable at first, annoying and abrasive. However, once the main events kick off, I started to warm to her. The book is set in the future, though when isn't clear but what Mim and her family experience is believable and relatable, no dystopian monstrosities in sight. The world created in The Mother Fault with the government being so dominating and controlling has echoes of 1984 and is chillingly believable. The book is quite dark at times but is full of love and hope. An impressive debut.
