Book Review: Motherless Child, by Glen Hirshberg
Two single mothers get turned into vampires and go on the run.
Earthling Publications, 2012, 240 pages
It's the thrill of a lifetime when Sophie and Natalie, single mothers living in a trailer park in North Carolina, meet their idol, the mysterious musician known only as 'the Whistler.' Morning finds them covered with dried blood, their clothing shredded and their memories hazy. Things soon become horrifyingly clear: the Whistler is a vampire and Natalie and Sophie are his latest victims. The young women leave their babies with Natalie's mother and hit the road, determined not to give in to their unnatural desires. Hunger and desire make a powerful couple. So do the Whistler and his Mother, who are searching for Sophie and Natalie with the help of Twitter and the musician's many fans. The violent, emotionally moving showdown will leave readers gasping in fear and delight.
Motherless Child is Yet Another Vampire Story, and doesn't add much new or original to vampire lore, which is not a bad thing. These vampires are nasty predatory fiends and when you get turned into a vampire, you are constantly hungry and fighting to hold onto your humanity.
Sophie and Natalie are basically trailer trash - a couple of besties who both got knocked up and are now working low-end retail and living in a trailer park in North Carolina. When a musician known as "The Whistler" shows up at their local honkie-tonk, they think a little bit of excitement and stardom is touching their dreary lives. They wake up naked, bloody, and hungry.
The Whistler is, of course, a vampire, and for his own reasons, he decided to turn both these chicks. He is obsessed with Natalie, and turned her best friend as a sort of afterthought. Natalie and Sophie both figure out what's happened to them pretty quickly. Natalie returns home, tells her mother (another single mother working at a Waffle House) to run away and not let her find her. Her mother, without completely understanding what has happened, immediately knows that Natalie is dead serious, and does as she says.
The rest of the book is a chase between The Whistler, Natalie, Sophie, and Natalie's mother, who has Natalie and Sophie's children. Natalie's mother is one of the best characters, as a serious and hard-working woman who's basically a case study in broken dreams and sacrificed futures, fiercely protective of her daughter, and who also knows when to let go. The Whistler is creepy and predatory and a classic master vampire, but it's Mother who steals the spotlight as the Big Bad.
This is a very female-centric story for a book written by a man. All the strong characters, good and evil, are female. The men, even the Whistler, are mostly weak, impulsive, and ultimately useless tools.
While well-written and with good characterization, I still found the story lacked a real wow factor or enough excitement to make me eager to pick up the next book (this is the first in a trilogy). As vampire stories go this is a good one, and if you want a deft portrayal of working class single mothers, the author clearly knows the milieu. There is plenty of violence and gore. But ultimately it's just another vampire story.
Also by Glen Hirshberg: My review of The Snowman's Children.
My complete list of book reviews.
Earthling Publications, 2012, 240 pages
It's the thrill of a lifetime when Sophie and Natalie, single mothers living in a trailer park in North Carolina, meet their idol, the mysterious musician known only as 'the Whistler.' Morning finds them covered with dried blood, their clothing shredded and their memories hazy. Things soon become horrifyingly clear: the Whistler is a vampire and Natalie and Sophie are his latest victims. The young women leave their babies with Natalie's mother and hit the road, determined not to give in to their unnatural desires. Hunger and desire make a powerful couple. So do the Whistler and his Mother, who are searching for Sophie and Natalie with the help of Twitter and the musician's many fans. The violent, emotionally moving showdown will leave readers gasping in fear and delight.
Motherless Child is Yet Another Vampire Story, and doesn't add much new or original to vampire lore, which is not a bad thing. These vampires are nasty predatory fiends and when you get turned into a vampire, you are constantly hungry and fighting to hold onto your humanity.
Sophie and Natalie are basically trailer trash - a couple of besties who both got knocked up and are now working low-end retail and living in a trailer park in North Carolina. When a musician known as "The Whistler" shows up at their local honkie-tonk, they think a little bit of excitement and stardom is touching their dreary lives. They wake up naked, bloody, and hungry.
The Whistler is, of course, a vampire, and for his own reasons, he decided to turn both these chicks. He is obsessed with Natalie, and turned her best friend as a sort of afterthought. Natalie and Sophie both figure out what's happened to them pretty quickly. Natalie returns home, tells her mother (another single mother working at a Waffle House) to run away and not let her find her. Her mother, without completely understanding what has happened, immediately knows that Natalie is dead serious, and does as she says.
The rest of the book is a chase between The Whistler, Natalie, Sophie, and Natalie's mother, who has Natalie and Sophie's children. Natalie's mother is one of the best characters, as a serious and hard-working woman who's basically a case study in broken dreams and sacrificed futures, fiercely protective of her daughter, and who also knows when to let go. The Whistler is creepy and predatory and a classic master vampire, but it's Mother who steals the spotlight as the Big Bad.
This is a very female-centric story for a book written by a man. All the strong characters, good and evil, are female. The men, even the Whistler, are mostly weak, impulsive, and ultimately useless tools.
While well-written and with good characterization, I still found the story lacked a real wow factor or enough excitement to make me eager to pick up the next book (this is the first in a trilogy). As vampire stories go this is a good one, and if you want a deft portrayal of working class single mothers, the author clearly knows the milieu. There is plenty of violence and gore. But ultimately it's just another vampire story.
Also by Glen Hirshberg: My review of The Snowman's Children.
My complete list of book reviews.