The Whispers
By Ashley Audrain
Blurb
The whispers started long before the accident on Harlow Street . . .
Was it at the party, when Whitney screamed blue murder at her son?
Or after neighbour Blair started prowling Whitney's house, uninvited?
Or once Rebecca and Ben's childlessness finally puts a crack in their marriage?
But on the terrible night of the accident, the whispers grow louder, more insistent.
Neighbours gather round. Questions are asked. Secrets are spilled. And the gloss on everything begins to rub off. Everyone is drawn into the darkness.
Because there's no smoke without fire.
No friendship without envy.
And no lie that does not conceal a devastating truth . . .
Our Review
Wow, what a book! I am still reeling from The Whispers despite it being over a week since I finished it. Ashley Audrain has a way of exposing the dark side of motherhood, of saying the 'unaaceptable' and bringing taboo topics to the forefront.
The Whispers is a totally suprising and unique book about the common place lives of a group of neighbours. If you like reading about toxic friendships and juicy scandals then this is the book for you. The events on Harlow Street are like an episode of Desperate Housewives.
"There is something animalistic about the way the middle-aged adults size each other up while feigning friendliness in the backyard of the most expensive house on the street."
When Whitney's son falls from his bedroom window the whispers begin. Was it a tragic accident? Did he jump or was he pushed? Whitney has secrets but she's not the only one. Blair likes to prowl around Whitney's home when noone is home. Rebecca and Ben have been trying for children for a long time, has their childless marriage begun to show cracks? 82-year-old Mara knows all their secrets if only someone would take the trouble to talk to her.
The Whispers is about motherhood in all its guises and it one hell of a read but it does deal with some difficult topics so be prepared.
Whitney is the envy of all her friends. She has the biggest house, a loving husband and three children, but she still isn't satisfied. Whitney loves her job, she lives to work and struggles to enjoy time with her kids the way she feels she should. Whitney particularly struggles with her eldest son Xavier and finds herself losing her temper with him quite easily.
"...the ringing of her own venemous, murderous yelling. The familar echo of her rage. The fever of possibilites registers. And then she notices. The wide-open window. Everyone has heard."
Whitney is envious of Blair and her obvious enjoyment of motherhood but Blair has problems of her own. She is convinced her husband is having an affair but she has no proof,
"But more than any proof she has, is a feeling. She'd once heard them described as the whispers - the moments that are trying to tell you something isn't right here."
Rebecca works every day saving children's lives and wants a child more than anything but she has suffered a series of miscarriages.
"Why doesn't she have children? Because she can't keep her own alive."
The author is excellent at writing about the invisible load women carry, the different types of motherhood and the silent battles that can be fought.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 12 Times.
I hope you enjoyed this book review, please consider sharing it with others.
Get In Touch
Please feel free to leave a comment to this book review below. Or even leave your own review if you like.
If you run a blog and/or have posted a review to this book, a Q & A or general author interview online you can always add a trackback to it here and following moderation we'll add a link to it below.