Book Review: My Mother’s Eyes by Jeremy Ray

Title: My Mother’s Eyes

Author: Jeremy Ray

Genre: Short Stories

Number of Pages: 39

Rating: B+

Recommended?: Yes

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I don’t usually write reviews for stuff this short on my blog, but the author is self-published and seems like he could use a little exposure. From the title and cover art, I expected this to be more of a horror story but instead got a bittersweet exploration of grief. My Mother’s Eyes (not to be confused with the fucked-up horror film, The Eyes of My Mother) centers around Jordie, a sensitive teenage boy whose mother is in a coma after hanging herself.

He’s in a hospital room with his hypermasculine, bullying brother for most of the story and he’s desperately trying to draw his mom’s face and, in particular, the eyes he fears he’s already starting to forget. My Mother’s Eyes strikes a perfect balance between being emotional without being too sentimental or feeling manipulative for the reader.

I liked that I felt a connection with Jordie and felt protective of him when his brother lashed out at him. I thought my having such an emotional reaction to such a short piece of fiction was a testament to Ray’s writing skills, and I would like to read another story with this character in it.

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