Blythe is more anxious about parenthood her neglectful mother, Cecilia, abandoned her when she was 11, and Cecilia’s mother, Etta, abused her daughter physically and emotionally. They soon marry, and Fox is eager to have a child. After they graduate, Fox becomes a successful architect, and Blythe is a struggling writer. Fox now lives with his new partner, Gemma their toddler son, Jet and Violet, the teenage daughter of Blythe and Fox.īlythe narrates the idyllic early days of her relationship with Fox, whom she met in college. Most of the book’s chapters are presented as letters from Blythe to her estranged husband, Fox. It is only when their son Sam is born that Blythe finds joy in her motherhood.Īs time passes, something begins to seem off about Violet a coldness, a calculating silence, which Blythe is the only one to notice.This study guide refers to the 2021 edition published by Viking. When their daughter Violet is born, it seems Blythe’s reluctance may have been justified. Fox, however, is so keen to be a father he eventually wins Blythe over, against her better judgment. Blythe has never wanted children, having suffered through a childhood of neglect and alienation from her own mother. Everything changes, though, when they decide to start a family. Blythe is an aspiring writer, Fox a buttoned-up architect, and the story of their early days is one of romance and happy cohabitation. “I’ve come here to give this to you,” she says. As the prologue ends, she picks up a stack of papers from the passenger seat.

The tone is ominous without being blatant: within the first few sentences Audrain taps into the primal fear of domestic violation, of being watched by a stranger. “The Push” begins with a prologue, in which an unidentified narrator, a woman, watches through the front window as a family enjoys the Christmas season. In brief, “The Push” is a stunning, compelling read, more than deserving of its pre-publication attention (and deals).Īs to what it’s about? Well, that’s a little more tricky. Now, a year and a half later, those questions can be answered. In an interview with the Star, Audrain - who started the novel while on maternity leave from her former position as publicity director for Penguin Books Canada - described “The Push” as “a psychological drama told through the lens of motherhood.” Several questions remained: what was “The Push” actually about? And, honestly, how was the book? In the summer of 2019, Toronto writer Ashley Audrain made headlines as rights to her novel “The Push” sold in almost two dozen countries in under two weeks, a nearly unprecedented success for a debut writer.

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