Mother's Day

by Robert Miner

Pity the children (Thomas, 2(apple) Keturah, 9 months) of unemployed Matthew Vole, the supposed hero-narrator of this ""spectacular breakthrough novel of a new male sexuality"": the father as a single parent (""I am a mother""). Matthew's basic situation could surely have produced a worthy, if trendy, exploration, but Matt is not exactly your typical wife-deserted father. Right off the bat you start not quite trusting Matt when he tells you how he gives breast-hungry Keturah something lower down to suck. And then there are his ideas on childrearing (any discipline is ""fascism"")--and his various combinations of threesome sex and cocaine-snorting with or without infants included. With such sicko-ness at work, you quickly stop listening to Matt's whining about the impossibility of caring for children alone or his declarations of deep feminist understanding--and you're not exactly surprised when he rapes a live-in babysitter or almost kills the kids. If first-novelist Miner merely intended to use this father-as-mother premise as an excuse for some kinky porno, he deserves only the utmost scorn. On the other hand, if he sincerely believes that gonzo Matt could be used to awaken the world to the horrors of mothering, he deserves the utmost sympathy and immediate intensive care. Pub May 14th, 1978 Richard Marek--dist. by Putnam

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Author of the highly successful Mother’s Day (“The shocking novel of a single father trapped in a woman’s world…fearless…funny…wonderful!” - Newsweek) and the “poisonously funny, wrenchingly sad, and wickedly true-to-life novel" Exes, Robert Miner is well known for his articles and reviews on the subject of family relationships.
Miner grew up in Greece, Turkey, England, and France. He attended Hamilton College and taught at Robert College, Istanbul, Turkey, the University of Connecticut, SUNY Albany, Empire State University, and the New York State Young Writers Program. He worked for Newsweek, and his writing has appeared in The Washington Post, New York Times, Esquire, and The Village Voice. He now lives in Middle Grove, New York with his long-time wife, poet Elaine Handley.