The Push reminds me of this novel I read a few years ago, Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage, as both novels are about a mother who wonders if her young daughter is capable of murder. Baby Teeth makes it very clear early on what kind of novel it is. The Push is harder to pin down as it focuses more on the idea of motherhood, its role in our society and its affect on women, rather than being a thriller, and I think that is what makes it the better novel.

The Push is about Blythe Connor, a happily married woman with a successful, doting husband. She and her husband decide it is time to have a child, and Blythe is determined to be the warm, loving mother that she never had. But motherhood does not turn out the way Blythe thought that it would. Her daughter, Violet, is difficult and does not seem to like her, and therefore Blythe does not connect with her. Not only that, but Violet also displays some disturbing behaviour at preschool. When Blythe voices her concerns about their daughter to her husband, he dismisses them.

Blythe is perpetually exhausted trying to take care of her difficult daughter and trying to keep a tidy house for her family. She feels as though she is losing a part of herself because she cannot get back into writing, which was the career she was trying to make for herself before she got pregnant. Her husband is unsupportive and does not understand why she is having such a hard time with being a mother when his own mother was apparently the perfect stay-at-home mom. Blythe’s husband has clearly lost interest in her, but she is determined to try again with another child, and she eventually has a son named Sam. Blythe has an instant maternal connection with Sam as her relationships with her husband and Violet deteriorate further.

One winter’s day, Blythe, Violet and Sam go for a walk. Blythe orders a tea from a coffee shop. As Blythe narrates it, when they are standing on a curb waiting for the light to change so they cross the street, Violet deliberating grabs Blythe’s hand so that she spills tea all over herself and let’s go of Sam’s stroller, then Violet pushes Sam’s stroller into oncoming traffic. Sam is killed instantly. Blythe is beside herself with grief and tells the police, tells her husband that Violet pushed Sam’s stroller, but no one believes her.

Blythe’s life completely falls apart after Sam’s death. It turns out her husband has been cheating on her and got his girlfriend pregnant. They divorce and her husband moves in with the girlfriend. Blythe becomes obsessed with the girlfriend and her baby, and she befriends the girlfriend under false pretenses. Meanwhile, Blythe and her ex-husband share custody of Violet, but Violet loathes her mother and begins spending more time with the ex-husband until she has complete moved out of Blythe’s home.

As the reader experiences Blythe’s tumultuous journey through motherhood, the reader learns about Blythe’s mother and grandmother, who both suffered from depression and who were both incapable of caring for their daughter. Does Blythe’s own issues with her daughter stem from her mother’s and grandmother’s issues? Was Blythe’s inability to connect with Violet because of post-partum depression, lack of support from her husband, and the stress of the unfair expectation put on women to have a maternal instinct and to be the perfect mother? Blythe begins to realize that maybe her failed relationship with Violet is her own fault and she begins to question whether she really saw Violet push Sam’s stroller into the street.

And then something happens at the very end which completely changes the entire tone of the novel. It is unfortunate that Ashley Audrain decided to end the novel the way she did, but I still think The Push is worth reading.