Bad Mother

María Paz Rodríguez, one of the most acclaimed voices in contemporary Chilean literature, returns with BAD MOTHER, a powerful and unsettling exploration of womanhood, motherhood, art, and family.

At seventy-six, María Claro lives a quiet, carefully ordered life in Iowa. But when one of her granddaughters finally tracks her down, she is forced to confront the past she believed she had left behind and the painful story concealed within La Mala Madre, the art installation that made her famous.

Meanwhile, Tiny von Striker, María’s former pupil and closest friend, must face her true feelings about the family she never felt understood by and has not seen for fifteen years.

Through two women fighting to define themselves beyond the expectations imposed upon them, BAD MOTHER explores toxic family bonds, guilt, freedom, repression, and the difficult path towards personal emancipation.

Sometimes, becoming the woman you want to be means refusing to be the mother everyone expects.