OF LIES AND HONEY

Two unexpected pregnancies birth revelations in Norman-Carbone’s novel.

In the early 2000s, Harper Alexander and Raina Edwin are both considering motherhood in their Georgia towns. Harper and her husband, Gabe, have careers that afford them an upper-middle-class lifestyle complete with a house in a well-to-do neighborhood. Raina is a homemaker, and her husband runs their farm. Before marrying Gabe, Harper made it clear she didn’t want kids (“Not having children had been part of the unwritten marriage contract”); Raina, on the other hand, already a mother of three, works to convince her husband to agree to having a fourth. When Harper unexpectedly becomes pregnant, her world eventually collides with Raina’s. In the late 1960s, high school senior Callie Sebastian is in a forbidden relationship with an older man. When she becomes pregnant, her mother Evelyn’s main concern seems to be its effect on the family’s standing in their wealthy southern community—a child born out of wedlock will not do. Callie is sent away, and a rupture between her and her family grows, unlikely to ever be mended. As the women navigate complicated situations, they each come to epic crossroads. Norman-Carbone doesn’t use overly descriptive language, focusing instead on the characters’ inner thoughts and driving action (the way in which she hints at what might lie beneath the surface is tastefully done). Unfortunately, the honey referenced in the title is never satisfyingly woven into the narrative in a significant way despite its importance to the story. Through the three main female characters, the author keenly explores varied perspectives on motherhood, taking care to touch on emotions that inform each character, including innocent and naïve yearning; anxious, trauma-induced smothering; a blissful appreciation of a calling; and a reckoning with an unexpected change of heart.

An honest and well-considered look at the sweetness and stings of motherhood.