Book review: When you give birth to a monster you might need to work some things out

When Thea was pregnant with Lucia she felt nervous and concerned. The first two children, her boys, were born without any complications and they are angelic kids, very sweet, no trouble at all. During this third pregnancy Thea felt paranoid that this next baby would be something different, someone monstrous.

Her fears were justified. Lucia is growing abnormally fast. She was born with teeth. She is already talking and seems to understand what the adults are doing. At one point Thea goes into the nursery and notices significant damage to Lucia’s crib. The baby, their little monster, has been gnawing on the wood of her crib.

This is merely a prelude of the baby’s ravenous appetite to come. As the story moves along rapidly Thea’s rage keeps building. She encounters a neighbor, her annoyance with this poor woman is just barely controlled. Her husband seems like a decent guy but he’s mostly oblivious to Thea’s volcanic explosiveness.

Thea’s mother raised her as a single mom and her childhood was quite messed up. Her mom had a series of boyfriends who were not good people. They did bad things. Thea carries emotional baggage and discontent. Her mother remains in the picture, she is extremely annoying-her attitudes provide dysfunctional comic relief.

I interviewed the author and asked her if some of the things that happen in this story were imaginary. She assured me they were not. The cathartic climax of this tale takes place when Thea locks herself in a room with Lucia while her husband implores her to open the door. Thea and Lucia are working out some things. Together.

I had one quibble with this novel: on page 58 Thea states “chickens are beyond stupid.” While this generalization might be true for many chickens I know one who is whip smart, gregarious, and affectionate. This rooster went into his coop and encountered a raccoon who proceeded to attack. My feathered friend got his coxcomb torn off along with all his tail feathers before he managed to escape. His name is Brewster, and he’s not stupid.

You can hear my most recent interview with Rachel Eve Moulton, who grew up in Yellow Springs, today at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO (91.3FM).