Molly Lynch’s The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman (Catapult 2023) was an unsatisfying but thankfully quick read. Billed as an exploration of motherhood during an ecological collapse, I was expecting more of a developed and likable even if morally grey character in Ada. Unfortunately, I didn’t care what happened to her, why it happened to her, or if it was going to happen again. I also didn’t care about her son or her husband, or if her marriage would survive her breakdown/breakthrough. I was completely disassociated from the book, and much like the women and mothers of the novel were just walking away from their lives and disappearing, I was tempted to walk away from the novel.
While reading, it reminded me of two novels – The New Wilderness, which was also a miss for me, and When Women Were Dragons, which was a homerun. Much like Agnes in Cook’s novel, the women in The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman are becoming feral and motherhood is prominent. The plot is a lot like Barnhill’s beautiful novel, only it’s set in the present day instead of the 1950s, and instead of turning into dragons, the women are essentially walking away from motherhood to rejoin Mother Earth.
A big thanks to the publisher for sending this finished copy.
*A quick note on this review: this book isn’t my cup of tea, but it is well written and developed. I typically don’t enjoy ecological/psychological thrillers – and my preferences are just that, mine. If you loved The New Wilderness, you would likely enjoy this slimmer but similar tale.
A Girl Named Tommi 