The Wrong Mother
by Sophie Hannah
List Price: $15.00
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780143116301
Publisher: Penguin
A chilling exploration of a mother’s unspeakable betrayal from the author of Little Face
Sally Thorning is watching the news with her husband when she hears an unexpected name --- Mark Bretherick. It’s a name she shouldn’t know, but last year Sally treated herself to a secret vacation --- away from her hectic family life --- and met a man. After their brief affair, the two planned to never meet again. But now, Mark’s wife and daughter are dead --- and the safety of Sally’s own family is in doubt. Sophie Hannah established herself as a new master of psychological suspense with her previous novel, Little Face. Now with accomplished prose and a plot guaranteed to keep readers guessing, The Wrong Mother is Hannah’s most captivating work yet.
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1. Why is the novel called The Wrong Mother? Does the title refer to a specific character in the book?
2. Is Sally a sympathetic character? Are her reasons for having a fling understandable or do you disapprove of her?
3. Is Nick a good or a bad husband? What about Mark Bretherick? And Jonathan Hey?
4. Do you see what happens to Sally subsequently in the book as a punishment for her having been unfaithful to her husband? Is the book taking a moral stance over extra-marital affairs? (The answer to this is no, by the way!)
5. What is the book saying about motherhood in the book? How do Sally, Encarna, Geraldine and Cordy differ, in their behavior as mothers?
6. What does the sociological theme of 'family annihilation' killings add to the book? How does it resonate with the main plot?
7. Do you see the novel as having a feminist agenda in any way?
8. Is Jonathan Hey evil, or are his crimes understandable?
9. What point is the book making, if any, about the role of grandparents in contemporary families?
10. Are the little girls in the novel --- Lucy, Amy and Oonagh --- goodies or baddies? Is it possible for a child to be a baddy, or is a nasty child's behavior more excusable than a nasty adult's?
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"Shockingly (and refreshingly) blunt riffs about the violent emotions of motherhood and the familial yearnings of men, along with chilling and darkly funny revelations about lust and loyalty, make this novel one of the season's most absorbing reads."
— O Magazine
"Hannah [writes] persuasively about modern women who buckle under the stress of motherhood... with style and wit."
— New York Times Book Review
"Paced like a ticking time bomb with flawlessly distinct characterization, this is a fiercely fresh and un-put-downable read."
— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Sophie Hannah has a bone to pick with suburban women who have it all."
— Marie Claire
