Problem 2: The Stroke Victim

What are the most stressful things that occur in a person's life? Death, divorce, moving... Angela seems to have it all. Oh, wait. Her mother hasn't died yet. For some reason—we never get a sense of why beyond the usual "she didn't love me enough"—Angela wants her mother to die. The old woman had a stroke and is gone according to Angela. At one point, Angela contemplates putting a pillow over the old woman's face. Yeah, nice daughter.

So... When did the old woman have her stroke? Was it last week? Was it ten years ago? We have no idea how long Bev, the younger sister, has been changing diapers and spoon feeding her mom in the spare bedroom. Why is Angela convinced her mom needs to be put out to pasture?

I'm not usually a fan of medical stories, but this was killing me. I'm half way through the book and I still know NOTHING about Mama except that she lies in bed and stares at a picture of Jesus that hangs on the "sick room" wall. When did she have her stroke? What caused it? How old is this woman? Her children are hovering around 35. Doesn't that mean she's like maybe 60? That's really young. There are no clues to what her health was like before or if she was really old when she finally kids. All we hear—too close to the end—is that Mama was much more beautiful than her older sister who comes to visit. We also hear that Mama has long white hair. Every woman I know who's close to 60 dyes her hair. How long has she been in this state?

The only thing more infuriating than the lack of details about when the stroke happened and who found her body and how long she was in the hospital before she came back home is how the characters address the current situation. Angela and Bev discuss what to do the way two people might talk about a leaky faucet. "I think we should call a plumber." "I think I can handle it on my own." "Whatever. I have to go to work." "Fine. I'll just stay here and try to fix it. Don't mind me." The faucet continues to leak. The end.

You treat Mama like a set piece. She has all the back story and humanity of a porcelain sink. Bev saw her smile once? I don't care. Give me more of a reason to be in either Bev or Angela's corner. Seriously, their mother is lying in a vegetative state, they need to figure out what they're going to do, and I just don't care. This is definitely a problem.