This book describes the damaged and painful relationships of the Melrose family. It opens with a five year old’s stunning recollection of his own birth. That is the peak of the entire book. From there it slides into dull middle class family life. There is boredom, betrayal, frustration, exhaustion and obligation. While the prose is fantastic, the characters were fully formed from the beginning and I felt that I was plunged in amongst them and left to work hard on getting to know them. Admittedly this may be because I haven’t read The Melrose Trilogy which precedes Mother’s Milk.

It is touching how both Patrick and Mary are desperate not to let their families’ histories poison their sons although it’s inevitable. Their fears about the futures of their children felt tender and real. Patrick’s despairing and sometimes drunken trains of thought are also excellent. They are so vivid and insane.

Most of the characters are unlikeable because they constantly swallow down their emotions. I waited for some kind of outburst (climax?) but it never came. I didn’t get the wit either; it was just annoying, like some kind of pointless competition to say the most clever thing, when instead they should have spent some time talking sensibly to try to sort out their real problems. All the adults in the book avoid issues rather than dealing with them head on.

Summary

Well written but nothing actually happens.