A Mouthful of Air [Paperback]

Amy Koppelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

To the outside world Julie Davis has it all—wealth, a doting husband, an apartment on the Upper West Side, and an adorable new baby boy. But underneath the perfect exterior, she is paralyzed by an over-whelming sense of shame and inadequacy.

A Mouthful of Air begins a few weeks after JulieÂ’s suicide attempt and on the eve of her sonÂ’s first birthday. Desperate to lead a "normal" life, Julie tries to be thankful for the good things, but her emotional demons persist. In the midst of her struggle, she discovers that she is pregnant for a second time, and is forced to come off the medication that has given her the buoyancy to survive.

Through sparse, elegant prose, Amy KoppelmanÂ’s brutally honest portrayal of family and self shows the reader that real problems are indiscriminate of money or birthright. A Mouthful of Air brings to light the complexity and fragility of the human psyche.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lean, minutely detailed and frighteningly convincing, this polished debut explores the mind of Julie Davis, a privileged 26-year-old New Yorker suffering from postpartum depression after giving birth to her son, Teddy. The novel begins just after she tries to commit suicide, soon before Teddy's first birthday. Back from the hospital and home with her husband, Ethan, and Teddy's live-in nurse, Georgie, Julie struggles to feign normality, continually reassuring herself that she can function perfectly well: "She will empty the stroller and pay for what she has. She will tell Ethan to bring home bottled water or just use water from the tap." The plot moves along the grooves of her depressed, circular thinking, fed by small, ordinary developments: a Knicks game, a Tupperware party, a trip to the grocery store with Teddy, a move to the suburbs. Tranquil as her life is on the outside, her mind never rests, constantly struggling with the voice in her head that she describes as a "skeptical, mocking, bitter person furious she is alive." Memories of childhood with her father intrude often. He called her Flower, but treated her and her mother roughly, leaving many scars. Another frequently heard voice is that of her mother whose motto is "If you look happy and pretty, then you are happy and pretty." Ethan is patient and thoughtful, though he has odd lapses, calling his formerly bulimic wife "Tiny." Koppelman skillfully builds suspense as Julie battles with her demons, conjuring up an airless, oppressively stifling world. Though all signs point to the disturbing ending, it still comes as a surprise.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This effective first novel portrays the deep and abiding depression of a young wife and mother, newly returned to her family after a suicide attempt. Julie's life shows that love, money, privilege, and position are no guarantee of happiness, and that there is no logic to depression. So visceral is Koppelman's prose, the reader truly feels the depths of Julie's spirit and the toll of her continual struggle to keep herself afloat. Although living in the present and benefiting from today's psychopharmacology, Julie seems remarkably untouched by the tremendous changes in women's lives since the 1960s. She marries very young, has no career, and becomes a mother right away. Her being out of sync with society emphasizes how out of touch she is with feelings of success or contentment. Unexpectedly pregnant again, she must give up the drugs that have helped her survive and risk all for the baby. Despite an air of melodrama at the end, this tragic tale, though difficult to read, is worth the effort. Danise Hoover
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: MacAdam/Cage (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931561303
• ISBN-13: 978-1931561303
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,324,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The madonna and the demons, August 2, 2003

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Mouthful of Air (Paperback)

Koppleman has written a harrowing story of a young woman's struggle with post-partum depression. In low key prose that reflects Julie Davis' desire to live a quasi-normal life after surviving a recent suicide attempt, Julie seems, on the surface, to have an enviable life: a successful husband, a baby boy and an upscale New York apartment. But Julie's troubles dwell below the surface, sometimes not even visible to her.

Julie's mother is a desperate woman, obsessed with her own fading youth, divorced by her womanizing husband after 27 years of marriage. For his part, Julie's father has exhibited inappropriate behavior around his daughter throughout her life, confusing her sexual identity and blurring boundaries. These parents have deeply affected their daughter's self-image, leaving their daughter vulnerable to an overwhelming downward spiral after the birth of her son.

Medication and therapy offer significant improvement in Julie's depression. But when she discovers that she is pregnant again, after only a year, the young couple is faced with a serious dilemma. Julie's obstetrician believes her antidepressant will not harm the fetus, but her psychiatrist disagrees. To protect the baby, Julie suspends the medication until after the birth of her child. With live-in help and therapeutic supervision, the young woman directs all her energy toward maintaining a healthy and stable pregnancy, physically and emotionally.

Over the years, Julie has developed the skills necessary for maintaining a secret life, first mastering the intricate rituals of an eating disorder in her teens. Once the emotional demons are unleashed, however, they are powerful and patient. Even Julie forgets how cleverly her mind works to defeat her best intentions: "She learned to cry in the womb of her antidepressant. Mistakenly, from this accomplishment, she thought she had survived."

Koppleman's brave and important novel speaks for women without voices, so tormented by negative ideation that their families suffer the worst possible consequences, suicide and infanticide. A passionate plea on behalf of such women, A Mouthful of Air serves as a reminder to a society often oblivious to the silent suffering of others. In the character of Julie Davis, Koppleman's story is an expression of hope, that any young mother, riddled with self-loathing and nameless fears, may live in the daylight, released from the dark confines of a treatable disease. Luan Gaines/2003.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars diamond hard prose, July 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Mouthful of Air (Paperback)

A searing novel written with authority. A rare gem. Ms. Koppelman's is a new voice in the tradition of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion. I'll be teaching this one in my graduate fiction class for many years to come. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It won't let go of you until long after you're done reading it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was blown away, November 8, 2006

By 

never can read enough "mom of two" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mouthful Of Air (Paperback)

I had no idea what this novel was going to be about, which is the best way to go in, isn't it? I was absolutely devastated and enthralled by Koppelman's beautiful writing. What a book. It has really stayed with me. A must read.