A Working Mother

A mordant, cautionary tale about a working-class woman who’s hemmed in on all sides by “the most unfairly neglected” of all Scottish writers (Alasdair Gray).

At home, Betty’s husband Alan is a depressed alcoholic, while her smart-mouthed kids are driving her crazy. Maybe an affair with her and Alan’s attractive friend Brendan will spice things up? No such luck—he proves to be just as much of a disappointment as everything else in her life. Even at work she can’t catch a break: her decrepit boss, Mr. Robson, has roving hands and a magnum opus he wants her help typing up after hours . . . Is it any wonder that Betty’s hitting the bottle now too?

Not since Muriel Spark has there been a Scottish writer so attuned to the black humor and surreal potential of the banalities and frustrations of ordinary existence. A Working Mother is a “sly, hilarious tale about one woman’s search for meaning” (Kirkus) in a miserable, messy world.