actual rating: 3/5 stars

the nursery by szilvia molnar is an unflinching, raw exploration of the early days of motherhood and the crushing weight of postpartum depression (ppd). the book is written in the first person from the perspective of an unnamed narrator, a new mother struggling with the disorienting and often dark realities of her new life. the themes of isolation, fear, and self-doubt are explored in a stream-of-consciousness style, and while the topic is undoubtedly important, the execution left me feeling a little disconnected.

the portrayal of ppd is brutally honest and intense. molnar offers a stark, unrelenting look at how a mother’s identity can be consumed by the responsibilities of caring for a newborn, while simultaneously grappling with intrusive thoughts and the emotional isolation that can come with it. the narrator's frustration, both with her physical exhaustion and the lack of support from her husband, john, is palpable. the gender dynamics at play—where john’s life continues as usual while the narrator is trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of feeding and caring for the baby—adds another layer of tension and highlights the often invisible labor of motherhood.

while the portrayal of ppd is powerful, the book can feel suffocating at times. there’s no relief, no moments of joy or lightness, which made the reading experience feel heavy and repetitive. the lack of a clear narrative structure, with events flowing in a nonlinear fashion, makes it hard to follow at times. the narrator’s thoughts circle around the same themes—her frustration, her sense of loss, and her growing sense of disconnect—and this repetitiveness, while perhaps intentional to capture the monotony of her experience, can become tedious.

there are moments of dark humor, but they didn’t land for me. what some readers might find witty, like the narrator’s comment about becoming a “milk bar,” felt more like frustration than humor, and the overall tone of the book was one of bleakness rather than levity.

despite its flaws, the nursery is a daring and compelling look at a subject that isn’t often portrayed so frankly. it’s not an easy read, and i wouldn’t recommend it to expectant mothers or those with sensitive experiences surrounding motherhood, as the book can be triggering. however, for those who are familiar with ppd or are interested in a more realistic portrayal of the challenges new mothers face, this book will resonate. i appreciated its boldness, but the writing style and the lack of a balanced perspective on motherhood kept me from fully embracing it. a solid read, but not one for everyone.

A truly gut wrenching look at the early days of motherhood. Molnar's The Nursery made me feel unease, nausea and discomfort in the best way, a visceral reading experience. This book was a surprisingly fast read and something I would recommend to friends (maybe after they've had a baby themselves).

I snjoyed This book. It was well written. I was able to engage with characters and plot. I would Read another book by this author and I recommend This book.

I picked this book up on impulse from NetGalley. This is a story about a woman who becomes a mother and isn't prepared for the changes in her body and life, especially when she's struggling with post-partum depression as well.

This book hits the feeling of PPD extremely well (and I say this as someone who has never gone through it). The narrator (who never gets a name) swings between all encompassing worry for her baby and then feelings about what would happen if she just walked away. The intrusive thoughts are constant and a worry all on its own, especially when the narrator is feeling completely isolated from anyone. The author captures really well the toll pregnancy and childbirth can have on the body and how it can affect someone's ability and desire to leave the house, but then how that leads to a vicious cycle because the isolation just makes the narrator feel worse.

What I found really interesting was how the author wrote the husband, Peter. He got a name and a job and more of a personality than the narrator, but that seemed to be far more of a demonstration of how that can all still continue when he becomes a father, while the unnamed narrator is only the mother/the nursery. I really loved how the author didn't make the husband a bad guy or even a bad father, more oblivious to what was actually going through his wife's head and exactly what she needed. One line that stood out for me in particular was him telling the narrator that he had a big day at work the next day so he was going to put his earplugs in overnight. It may be true but it made me as the reader want to slap him even, as I said, he wasn't a bad person, husband or father. He just didn't seem to realise his partner's experience of parenthood was different from his own.

This was more of a character study about an experience (motherhood) rather than a book with a solid plot, and the upstairs neighbour subplot didn't seem to connect too well to the rest of the story.

That said, I did enjoy this story, a lot more than I thought I would if you had purely described it to me. The description of PPD hit extremely hard.

3.5 stars!

This was so intimate and detailed, I definitely see why there are comparisons to Ottessa Moshfegh's work. This account of post partum was at times painful [mostly painful tbh], funny, worrisome, and exhausting. But I felt so close with our main character and was enraptured by her every thought. I loved her nuanced relationship with her husband and daughter and with Peter! Also I loved how the author and narrator played around with linguistics and translation, very cool! Such a good book to start my year off with.

[My review will be included in my monthly wrap up on my YouTube channel].

My heart aches for anyone who suffers or has suffered with post-partum depression. I do remember the very difficult early days after bringing my first-born home, and remember the exhaustion and hormones raging through me as I tried to make it through some days, but I believe my baby himself l, as well as the support I received from my husband and family, kept me from suffering from depression. I am lucky to be able to say this, and so very thankful.

It was hard reading about this poor mother’s mental state and how she felt about and towards her baby. There were even times that I found myself feeling emotional, upset, and angry to read what she did, said, and thought. To not have support from even your husband made her suffer even more, and my heart did ache for her.

This is a dark and difficult read, mostly because of the topic, but it was written well.

This was an absolutely heart wrenching, accurate, eerie but completely relatable telling of early motherhood. This was so raw and held nothing back. Translated fiction is definitely a fav for me and this did not disappoint.

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

“There is nobody to teach you that motherhood is forever so how is it not a shock to your system when you find out that it is, in fact, forever?”

The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar was such a heartbreaking story. It was raw, emotional, and beautifully written.

Having children myself, I could relate to what our main character was feeling at times. Trying to navigate those first days as a first time mom felt impossible, terrifying, and isolating.

The Nursery does a really great job at making us truly feel what our character is feeling. Focused on an unnamed woman suffering from postpartum depression this novel takes us to a seriously dark and real place.

I really enjoyed this novel and I feel this story truly does portray the realness of motherhood.

*If you want to have kids at any point I would probably avoid this book until after LOL.

Being a raw diving into motherhood and post-partum depression, Molnar's "The Nursery" is sincere and delicate.

I was so intrigued by this book, based on the synopsis. As a mom of 2 toddlers, I thought I'd really resonate with this depiction of the postpartum days. And I did relate to so much of what was in this book, but I really thought it would elicit much more emotion from me.

I think I understand the author's intent in using a fragmented timeline, but it was difficult to follow the story at times. And while the writing style is very unique, it wasn't always for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An incisive look into the darker sides of motherhood. Writing was wonderful, and the character development was realistic. I will say that I wish I'd been able to read this book a few years ago, further away from motherhood myself, because it does exacerbate some of the fears I have about becoming a mom. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book!

The Nursey gives an honest, often brutal look into the mind of a new mother. I appreciate that Szilvia Molnar allowed her writing to explore aspects of motherhood that often go unmentioned in literature.

This book is not an easy read, but as someone who has never had children or experienced childbirth, I thought it was a beautifully written look into both the joys and uncertainties that come with bringing life into the world.

It took me a bit to get used to the stream of consciousness that was present - but once I did, this really worked! Molnar really has command over the page, this is such an empathetic and insightful look into a postpartum life, and the adjustment to motherhood. It's difficult to make this work in a way that feels real, but Molnar makes it work.

it took a bit of time to adjust to, but i really enjoyed the kind of stream of thought structure of the book. the plot is essentially our main character experiencing and adjusting to motherhood—which is much more interesting than it sounds.

i thought this was a really insightful look into postpartum depression and the relationship between life/death. the constant changes in time just created this unique and completely disorienting reading experience that really forced an understanding of part of the main character’s struggles.

Really enjoyed this novel. Story was very interesting and engaging. Looking forward to reading more by this author. Highly recommend!

I don’t know exactly ;y what I was expecting with The Nursery, but I did enjoy it. It was a tough read at times listening to this new mother with postpartum trying to make her way through each day. You could tell she was on the precipice of breaking and her husband just couldn’t grasp what she was going through or feeling. This book was raw and real and I think a great book for new mothers to know that this is not unusual to fell alone and depressed after having a baby.

heartbreaking and darkly comedic, the nursery paints the portrait of motherhood postpartum. through a series of disjointed vignettes we see the raw and realistic truths behind being a mother. from the unrecognizable postpartum body, bloody pads and aching nipples, to the loneliness, isolation and exhaustion. the writing is visceral and honest, tender and frightening.

I really enjoyed the writing and it was generally a very enjoyable read. It's not a book that has had a lasting impact on me or a book that has stuck with me, but I will definitely read anything the author comes out with next.

Thank you to Netgalley as well as Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for sending me an advanced copy