Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan
Simon & Schuster 2020. ISBN: 9781471194900.
The excerpt from Silvia Plath's poem "Morning Song" introduces us to
the world of a new mother, the stresses of which are emphatically
described in the prologue; the detached narrator observing the
mother wish her inconsolable child "to be silent always" p4. The
story revolves around a group of women who met at a 2007 antenatal
class, from the point of view of Liz, a senior registrar in
paediatrics at a London hospital, and Jess, the stay at home wife of
a hedge funds manager. The timeline flits between significant dates,
reaching back to when the women met but starting at January 19th
2018 when Jess turns up at the hospital with baby Betsey who has a
fractured skull. As the injury does not match the explanation Jess
gives as to how it happened, Liz alerts the senior consultant who in
turn decides Social Services need to be alerted. The resulting
inquiry challenges the women's friendship and Liz's professional
judgement and involves their wider circle of mothers making
judgements about each other.
Other aspects of the women's lives emerge as the truth of the matter
is pursued including how they were mothered, earlier relationships
and the tension between stay at home mothers and those who work. At
times the timeline was hard to follow and the complication of the
Charlotte character at the end was unnecessary but this is a book
for young women who seem to thrive on judging other women and their
life choices. I found it difficult to accept the failure of those
around Jess to recognise her need for psychological support, maybe
readers will be made more alert. Lovers of women's fiction and
domestic drama will enjoy this book.
Sue Speck