Mothwoman - Absurd and Delightful
“My life is being swallowed by Empty, Ridiculous Grandeur. I’m being absorbed into myth and reality.”
A satirical, wildly inventive, hilarious, and emotional story that’s so unique it will take your breath away. Mothwoman by Nicole Cushing is on shelves now. A woman sets off on a road trip to visit her parents but struggles with mental illness. Being outside is tough, thinking about her father is tough, and now she’s also having blackouts. After a chilling encounter on the road, she finds her whole life flipped upside down and alien like creatures calling her their family.
Here's what I loved:
This book is set during 2020 and Cushing handles the paranoia, rage, and absurdity of that time really well. The story is written in a stream of consciousness style and reading Nid’s thoughts as she worries about others wearing masks and forgetting what the lower halves of people’s faces look like perfectly encapsulates that time. She handles the political angles so cleverly with her humorous writing and absurdity but manages to make some pretty great statements.
Ultimately, this book ends up at a Mothman convention and as poor Nid tries to navigate this space, I laughed so hard. Cushing works hard to get you into the mind of Nid and this just elevates the humor as you read Nid’s spiraling thoughts and daydreams watching the patrons of MothCon 2020.
The ending for me was so well done, it’s so hard to pull off a great ending but I think Cushing really nailed this. Obviously, no spoilers, but it’s both parts darkly funny and sad. But also very satisfying because sadly, this is exactly how it would go if this were real. And I think it really matches the overall message of what Cushing is putting across with this strange but lovely story.
Big thank you to Word Horde for sending me a copy for free in exchange for an honest review. Mothwoman won’t be for everyone, but those that it is for….they’ll fucking LOVE IT. Mothwoman is available now, go get yourself a copy!
“Do not reject the reality of unreality because you see it wrapped in absurdity. Take the time to unwrap the gift, and accept it with a humble heart.”
