Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy is the tale of a sick mother and her daughter who travel to Spain to go to a special clinic to see if the mother can get a diagnosis and treatment. 

Sofia, the daughter, is a bit at loose ends. She has an anthropology degree, a dead-end job as a barista, and intense feelings of anger towards her mother. Her mother is a hypochondriac, but also seems to be legitimately sick at times. We meet various characters in the small town, swim in the beach, and examine the relationship between these two women. 

I found the remove from the narrator to the characters to be detrimental to the book. It's not really a plot-drive novel, but it's not really a character-driven novel, either. Instead, it's just a contemplative, dreamy sort of observational novel delving into the complications of a mother-daughter bond. It wasn't my cup of tea, but at a slight 218 pages, if it sounds like it might be your cup of tea, it might be worth it. 

2.5/5 stars

Lines of notes:

"...If you had to write your wish list and you could use invisible ink, what would it be?" (page 107)
What a brilliant question. Since I'm sort of at a bit of a crossroads with my professional life right now, this line came at a perfect moment for me.

I told her I did nothing, nothing at all.
"How wonderful to do nothing. Nothing is such a privilege." (page 125)

Again, this is so perfect for me right now. It IS a privilege that I have time to consider what's next and I need to remind myself of this more regularly.