My Phantoms

In Gwendoline Riley's "My Phantoms," we are drawn into the intricate and deeply unsettling relationship between Bridget, a meticulous academic in her forties, and her enigmatic mother, Helen Grant, affectionately known as 'Hen.' Helen is a woman of contradictions: an extrovert with few genuine friends, a serial seeker of intimacy, now living in the quiet solitude of her memories. For Bridget, her mother has always been a haunting presence, a figure whose 'performances and small deceptions' have shaped her daughter's life. Despite their tumultuous past, Bridget believes she has contained the 'problem' of her mother, limiting their interactions to an annual visit. However, as Helen expresses a longing for more profound connection, the carefully constructed boundaries begin to crumble, forcing Bridget to confront the raw, unresolved complexities of their bond. Riley masterfully unpacks the cruelties inflicted on both sides, offering a poignant, often darkly humorous, and ultimately devastating exploration of a failed familial connection and the indelible marks left by parental love and longing.