Still Born was a book I wasn't expecting to be so gripped by, but I am happy that my first Guadalupe Nettel book was a hit. It is a book that explores female friendships of varying degrees: a childfree woman, her friend who becomes a mother to a disabled child, a woman who is still suffering after losing her husband and being left with a very angry son. The writing style was a winner for me. Still Born is told straightforwardly but you can still feel the emotions of the women without the book being unnecessarily long. Nettel explores the feelings of ambivalence towards motherhood, the emotions of motherhood, and the importance of the wider support system that mothers need.

My only complaint (and the only reason this isn't a 5 star read) is because I feel the childfree aspect could have been explored further.

I thought at one point, that our childfree character, Laura, was going to succumb and get pregnant, but I'm incredibly happy that Nettel didn't give in and take this easy option. However, the fact that Laura, still became so invested in a child for a large chunk of the story felt like a bit of a disservice to her childfree choice. I would have liked more exploration around being childfree and that being childfree doesn't mean you need to invest so heavily in another person's child to feel well-rounded, because this is not the reality for all childfree people. However, this is the first book I have read where I have encountered intentional exploration of a childfree character that hasn't just gone on to get pregnant.