The Mother
Maeve is overwhelmed by motherhood. She has little to no control of her first-born, two-year old Nick, or of her own life. Her husband is a travelling musician who doesn’t seem to know whether he should stay home with the family or go and play gigs to provide for them. Maeve is consumed by sadness when he is gone, and she sees few people besides Nick and the neighbour across the hall. She is unable to cope with tantrums, laundry, or dishes, and from the way Gerbil describes it, motherhood and life have, as the prologue suggests, "scarfed down" Maeve and "ground [her] up".
The Baby
She calls herself Gerbil. She describes her body, her in utero environment, her mother’s ineptness and her brother’s stupidity. She is astute and frank, perhaps too frank at times for overwhelmed readers with small children. Still, the freshness of Gerbil’s voice can be appreciated. She provides sharp details and makes profound observations about the world that awaits her. Gerbil, who turns out to be a boy, also poses important questions such as “Where do parents come from?”
The Narrative
There are many original descriptions and wordings in Gerbil Mother, but the narrative is not always clear. In particular, Gerbil’s descriptions of having paws and a tail and Maeve’s corresponding size often leave the reader confused about the stage of the pregnancy. Gerbil’s descriptions of her “house” are also a bit awkward, for it is difficult for the reader to imagine the hallways, rooms and furniture of a womb. Nonetheless, the house theme is consistent and comes to a spectacular finale during Maeve’s labour.
The prologue and epilogue of Gerbil Mother are also slightly disorienting unless the reader studies them carefully – the “I” in them is Maeve. This bookend technique provides insight into the mother and leaves the reader with hope that Maeve has not vanished or been destroyed, as she worries at the start. Through giving birth, it seems, Maeve has found that she has much to say.
D. M. Bryan
D.M. (Dawn Margaret) Bryan was born in 1964. She spent her childhood in Edmonton, Alberta and her teen years and early adult life three hours south in Calgary. She received a BFA in Photography and an MA in Communications from the University of Calgary before moving east to Toronto, Ontario where she earned a second BFA (in Film) at Ryerson University before moving to Montreal, Quebec. She moved back to Calgary with her husband and two children in 2005.
Gerbil Mother is Bryan’s first published novel. In an interview with Ruth Myles of the Calgary Herald in March 2008, Bryan admits that the inspiration for Gerbil Mother was her own experience of staying at home with small children. She was “desperate to understand the process,” a process that she found “stimulating and rewarding, but very tough.” Consequently, she thinks of Gerbil Mother as her “war book.”
Politics
Due to the fact that the principle narrator is an unborn child, Bryan is often asked about which side of the abortion debate Gerbil Mother falls. This is a question Bryan appreciates, but also one that she does not answer directly. "It is a fictional work," she tells the Calgary Herald. "It's not a political work. I certainly have strong opinions, but I'm not certain that people need to know them to enjoy the book."
Publishing Information
Gerbil Mother was released by NeWest Press on March 22, 2008.
ISBN: 978-1-897126-24-0
 |
 |
