#BookReview ‘Call Me Mummy’ by Tina Baker

About the book…

Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want… except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim – heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop – she does what anyone would do. She takes her. But little foul-mouthed Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for.

Meanwhile Kim is demonised by the media as a ‘scummy mummy’, who deserved to lose Tonya and ought to have her other children taken too. Haunted by memories of her own childhood and refusing to play by the media’s rules, she begins to spiral, turning on those who love her.

Though they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they could possibly imagine. But it is five-year-old Tonya who is caught in the middle…

‘Call Me Mummy’ by Tina Baker is published in hardcover and e-book on February 25th by Viper Books, and is absolutely bound to generate a huge amount of attention, not just for its subject matter, but because it is, quite frankly, a stunning-and damning-indictment on modern motherhood.

Huge thanks to the wonderful Miranda at Viper Books for approving my request to read a book which took my emotions on a roller coaster ride and left me shaken, sickened and in awe of Tina’s writing prowess. She took Kim, a character who many of us walk by in the street and think nothing of , made her a pariah, a victim and mostly, totally and utterly human and unforgettable.

She should be everything you rail about in a mother, someone who is instantly judged by Mummy, lurking in a baby clothes shop, she spots Kim with her multicoloured brood, and with another on the way.

A Split second loss of attention, a small interaction with a child perceived to be in need of rescuing, and so begins a nightmare of epic proportions. Kim does not play games, she is who she is-poor, hard as a product of her chequered upbringing and the antithesis of the abjectly broken mother witnessed in appeals around the country.

As keyboard warriors take to the internet to cast blame, aspersions and worse, no one appears interested in reaching out to her, the grief and blame internalised until it becomes all consuming for the loss of her only daughter.

On the other hand, there is Mummy, the woman who takes Tonya, tried to rename her, educate and groom her into the perfect child. She on paper has everything that Kim does not-money, access to better life choices and opportunities that this little girl could never appreciate. So why does Tonya steadfastly cling to a life which has been dissected by social media and found unworthy?

The way that Tina takes what society perceives to be a mother, is brilliant, she uses a razor to strip down exactly what the expectations are for women, how they are failed by a patriarchal society in cahoots with weaker women who re-enforce stereotypes(in particular both Kim and Mummy’s mothers)and the notion that being a successful mother is somehow the genetic inheritance of all females.

Kim, Mummy and Tonya narrate their various sections , and the voices of all three come through so clearly, interspersed with the kind of nonsense witnessed every day on social media-our town has a ‘Scumbag Watch’ page which is just poised to strike, starting out as a ‘beware of the conman’ public service descended into a terrifying howl of outrage against perceived wrongdoings.

Eviscerated daily, Kim is not an easily sympathetic character but then, she is not designed to be so. She has layers, as many of us do, and the judgemental, stereotypical ways in which she is parcelled up, especially by those supposed to be helping her, throws a damning light on the way men and women are treated. One cannot help but compare this to the Madeleine McCann case (I claim no expertise in this so apologies if this is wrong) where her mother was scrutinised to within an inch of her life as the court of public opinion counted her tears-or lack thereof-but where was this attention for her husband?

As you get to know Mummy and her motivations, her psyche and her past, the writing of a hero vs villain narrative is not so easily navigated, Mummy is definitely not a good person, what she has done has caused immeasurable damage to a family, a community and most importantly, a child. But when she reveals her past, her culpability is not swept aside, rather there comes an understanding as to how such a monster was created.

Breathlessly readable, utterly compelling and wonderful, I would just love everyone to read this book. I could probably ramble on more, but I am sure you have better things to do right now like pre-order a copy of ‘Call Me Mummy’

About the author…

Tina Baker, the daughter of a window cleaner and fairground traveller, worked as a journalist and broadcaster for thirty years and is probably best known as a television critic for the BBC and GMTV.

After so many hours watching soaps gave her a widescreen bum, she got off it and won Celebrity Fit Club. She now avoids writing-induced DVT by working as a Fitness Instructor.

Call Me Mummy is Tina’s first novel, inspired by her own unsuccessful attempts to become a mother. Despite the grief of that, she’s not stolen a child – so far. But she does rescue cats, whether they want to be rescued or not

Links-http://www.tinabaker.co.uk/books

Twitter @TinaBakerBooks @ViperBooks