Cutting Teeth

Julia Fierro

A 'Mommies' group spends a weekend together at a beach house on Long Island Sound. Narrated in turn by each mom and the one dad of the group with lots of booze, some drugs and extra marital sex. Multiple build ups to potential disasters which never happen. Some of the characters are extremely irritating and, dare I say, even some of their children. A compulsive and great read from a debut novelist.

Extract

But it was the mommies who frightened Allie the most.
The mommies. Must she really use that word, she had asked Susanna on the drive. Their sugary smiles, Their kisses like pats on each other's cheeks, the exaggerated rolls of their eyes at their children. The daddies seemed harmless enough, shoulder shrugs punctuating most everything they said, as if they were embarrassed at the 'crazy' situation they'd gotten themselves into. Aw, shucks, parenthood.
And where did Allie fit in?
With the mommies? Oh no, she thought, she was too much of a dyke, too part-time mommy for them.
With the daddies? Nah, a woman could never join those ranks.

She belonged to neither. And that was exactly the way she liked it.

Parallels