Exploring myths of motherhood
Still Waters
Camilla Noli (Hachette Australia)
Still Waters explores the accepted myth that mother-love is a given.
It’s not, and the narrator/mother is honest about why she does not love, or even like, her daughter.
Her unmotherly feelings are not helped by the fact that her own mother disliked her.
Daniel, the father, adores his daughter so much that he doesn’t see that his happy family is a façade.
The story suddenly takes a frightening turn and the mother’s manipulative character surfaces in a very chilling way.
The coldly honest style of narration is such that one can quite understand the mother’s feelings, if not her actions.
Still Waters is a very disturbing book, for many reasons.
Verdict: Perhaps every baby-obsessed young girl should read this book first.
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Still Waters by Camilla Noli (Hachette Australia)
