“All you want from a novel: brave, well-written, distinctive.”
Live Lundh, Morgenbladet, the 3 best books of 2023

“The Other Mother is an exceptionally powerful novel about the gap between what we think and what we feel, how we wish the world to be and how we experience it. The book revolves around a lesbian mother, Silje Marie, who struggles to connect with her non-biological son and can’t shake the thought that he might have unknown biological donor siblings. She was raised with the idea that families like hers shouldn’t exist, amplifying the existential fear of failing as a parent. Åmodt portrays in a nuanced and brutal way how doubt and shame consume her. It’s a fantastic portrayal of a woman and a compelling relationship novel that fearlessly discusses the consequences of developments in biotechnology.”
Ingeborg Misje Bergem, Vårt Land, the 3 best books of 2023

“With an exceptionally good novel, Tina Åmodt keeps us in suspense between self-fulfilling prophecies and the possibility of shaping reality… It’s been a while since I encountered such an interesting, human, complex narrator as the main character in Tina Åmodt’s novel ‘The Other Mother’… a curious and honest exploration of historically quite new experiences associated with specifically queer lives, while also being deeply universal:”
Live Lundh, Morgenbladet

“Åmodt writes honestly and with great insight about significant ethical problems of family life … This is indeed a novel that discusses ethical controversies with seriousness and intelligence. Silje isn’t hiding in the trenches; she sees all the possible difficulties clearly, she tries to orient herself in research on relevant areas… she is a full and vivid character, with a narcissistic mother in Sotra, and overall, a somewhat gray existence, portrayed with precise prose and psychological insight.”
Odd W. Surén, Dag og Tid

“Tina Åmodt has written the first significant Norwegian lesbian family novel. Its discomfort is the book’s most important quality… The Other Mother hits me like a punch in the stomach… The queer family revolution that has unfolded in Norway and other countries due to a more liberal and progressive legislation certainly has consequences, notably fear, doubt, and unrest, which Åmodt fearlessly brings forth with an uncomfortable sensitivity… When Silje Marie can’t shake off the feeling that ‘the fact that we never question each other about our choices may, at some point, come back to haunt us,’ I think that’s the question this novel poses, repeatedly, and it’s also the absolutely most significant contribution of the first major Norwegian lesbian family novel.”
Hanne Kristine Wolden, Klassekampen

“Tina Åmodt has accomplished the feat of writing with a political edge while creating a fantastic portrait of a woman and a condensed marital drama… “The Other Mother” is so powerful and multifaceted that it deserved more than a brief review… “The Other Mother” is also an exceptionally well-crafted marital novel. Åmodt finely meshes how some narratives serve as the glue within a family, and how unforgiving it can feel when someone starts to question them. The dynamics of a long-term relationship are described with an understanding that makes the reader feel the existential abyss in the most mundane argument. In other words, this is one of the strongest releases this autumn.”
Ingeborg Misje Bergem, Vårt Land

“An intense novel about sperm donation, infidelity, and family troubles… The book provides an interesting and engaging portrait of a troubled mind… The novel depicts in a nuanced manner how the infidelity story has festered in the relationship… Silje’s thoughts about donor children and family life maintain a high level of reflection, highlighting that ideals and reality are two different things… The novel withholds information in a way that creates tension, momentum, and doubt simultaneously.”
Gro Jørstad Nilsen, Bergens Tidende, 5/6 stars