The women who populate Laura Rock Gaughan’s debut collection, Motherish, veer from playful to distraught, reckless to restrained, anchored to unmoored. Gambling grandmas, athletes and organists, pregnant bus passengers and punitive bank tellers are pushed to the brink by Gaughan’s distinctively precise prose, while they grapple with what it means to mother and be mothered. With various perspectives, Gaughan creates box after box—and actual chicken coops—for her characters to explode from, hide in, emerge out of, and ultimately transform.
Book Club Questions
- After reading “Good-Enough Mothers,” what do you think it means to be a ‘good enough’ mother?
- A ‘maquiladora’ refers to factories in Mexico that export what they produce. Why do you think the author chose to title this chapter “Maquila Bird”? Do you think there is anything ‘motherish’ about the secret labels Maru sews onto some of the garments she makes?
- In “Transit,” the heavily-pregnant narrator is very much ‘in transition’ to motherhood. What transitions are expected of women who become mothers? How do the narrator’s actions fit into these expectations?
- In what way do characterizations of ‘fatherhood’ reflect upon the nature of motherhood in the story “Let Heaven Rejoice”?
- In “At the Track,” the narrator’s adult is life is strongly impacted by the experiences she had with her grandparents at the horse racing track. Is there a particular brand of ‘mothering’ that is expected of grandparents? In what ways does this story rewrite them?
- In “The Winnings,” the narrator’s fiancé works at a cardboard plant. What are the other ‘boxes’ the narrator is faced with inhabiting? What do you think makes it difficult to break free from them?
- What are the different versions of motherhood presented in “Me and Robin,” “Masters Swim,” and “The New Kitten”?
- In “Leaping Clear,” womanhood could be considered the driving theme, rather than motherhood. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
- In “Woman Cubed,” is Dale’s secret admirer actually a man, or something else? Why is his intervention important for Dale? What is the significance of the name he gives her, La Reine Anguille, or the Queen Eel?
- After reading “Mother Makeover,” do you feel there is an inherently competitive element to motherhood? Explain.
- In “A Flock of Chickens,” Rae-Ann has a motherly role as a teacher; however she is also a woman with sexual desire, as she enters into a relationship with her colleague, Rick. After reading the story, do you think it communicates anything about the societal expectations forced on sexually-active women who are mothers? Why do you think the chicken coop is a place of refuge for Rae-Ann?
- Which short story did you like best? Why?
- Which short story did you like least? Why?
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