I recently read Maid by Stephanie Land, the book that the popular Netflix series by the same name is based on.
A mini summary
The book follows Stephanie’s life after she has escaped her abusive ex and tells the story of her struggle as a single mother, trying to survive on low income with the little amount of help the state offers her. The story follows her from the homeless shelter, to a flat, to a place with a new partner, to a tiny studio flat with black mould, to a flat above someone’s garage and so on. Throughout the book there is the constant tally of her money and her constant loneliness. It follows her trying to study, work and parents all on her own, as she strives to build a better life for her daughter.
What did I think?
Hm, perhaps if I hadn’t watched the series first my thoughts would be different but over all, the book was an interesting insight into the trials of being a single mother on welfare, especially in America where there is so little help available. The story dips in and out of her trauma after leaving her ex, weaved in between stories of cleaning houses and (justifiably) embittered rants about how hard it is. However, I didn’t find it as engrossing as I did the tv series. The show displayed emotional abuse and toxic relationships so well, it showed how the system is stacked against single mothers leaving abusers without being overly preachy. It also showed important things like how seriously the domestic abuse shelter take her when it comes to the emotional abuse, whereas in the book she barely touches on the fact that she refuses to go to the dv shelter and chooses to go to the homeless shelter instead. I guess the book lacked a lot of the emotional impact I felt after watching the tv series, plus it doesn’t follow the story line of her leaving at all, it just touches on it as she tells the story of her life in the years afterwards. Now, I realise real life isn’t a dramatised tv series, which is why I’m not criticising the book too heavily, it is an interested read but if you’re intending to buy it after enjoying the tv show, I wouldn’t recommend it.
Are you enjoying these shorter reviews? I won’t know if you don’t like the post and stuff!
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