Mouths of Babes

by Stella Duffy

Book Overview

Saz Martin is settled into new motherhood with her partner Molly and their nine-month-old daughter Matilda. Things have not been easy since the birth - late nights, early mornings, and a sudden death have all taken their toll - but with Molly's return to full time work and Saz happily taking on the role of Matilda's prime carer, both women feel they are finally adjusting to parenthood and the demands of their new life. And then the phone rings. The...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1852428570
• ISBN13: 9781852428570
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The consequences of bullying

What would you do if you had done things in your past that you would like to forget and your past showed up to remind you of your cruelty? Saz Martin and her partner Molly are embarking on a new happier phase of their lives. Molly has given birth to their daughter Matilda and is preparing to return to her work as a doctor at a local hospital. Molly's pay check means that Saz can give up her career as an investigator and become a stay at home parent for Matilda. Since Saz's work often resulted in her being seriously injured, this seems to be a perfect solution and she is quite satisfied with the arrangement, until a voice from her childhood reaches out to destroy her peace. Will Gallagher is a famous TV star and someone that Saz hasn't talked to in many years, nor does she want to talk to him now. When they were younger, they traveled with a pack of three other people and they led a very rough lifestyle, one that Saz would like to forget and deny. Will finally manages to make contact though and informs Saz that one of their victims, Janine Marsden, a girl they tormented in school, is trying to blackmail him. She insists that the only thing that will stop her is if the group agrees to meet with her. Since they haven't seen each other in years, Will wants Saz to take the job of locating the other people and bringing them together. Saz doesn't want to do this, doesn't want to face Janine, but she's more terrified of Molly finding out the type of person she once was. She finds herself leaving Matilda with her ex-lover Carrie and deceiving Molly as to what she is doing. Eventually, she isn't sure which is worse, having Molly find out who she was or what she is willing to do now. Mouth of Babes is extremely topical in a time when it's popular for young people to post videos on the Internet of themselves beating up other people. The people who do the bullying usually grow out of the behavior and come to regret what they did in later years, but they seldom face the consequences of their actions. Duffy shows quite clearly that the bully's remorse does not erase the results on the victim. She uses the technique of juxtaposing scenes of Saz and who she is now with flashbacks of the teenager that Saz was. In some ways, Saz was as much a victim of the group as Janine was and the reader is torn between admiring Saz and the person she has become and being appalled at her previous behavior. The final face off between Saz and Janine is dynamic and demonstrates that, even years later, the act of being a bully can have consequences never imagined and can continue to involve innocent people. Duffy is an accomplished writer and presents a sophisticatd mystery. There are several strands that must be resolved for the story to be complete and none of them have an easy answer. One of the most challenging comes at the end when Molly discovers in a dramatic fashion what has been going on and presents Saz with a definition of relationships that doesn't