Mother’s Day in the Empire State

Or, An Answer to the Arraignment of Women

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Clarion Review 4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed by Dontaná McPherson-Joseph
August 15, 2024

Narrated with sardonic humor, this satirical novel contrasts the state’s treatment of women at different socioeconomic levels to make searing points.

A government employee is deposed in a child abuse investigation in Constantia Munda’s political novel Mother’s Day in the Empire State: Or, An Answer to the Arraignment of Women.

“Dear Honorable Family Court and Good Reader,” begins the deposition of Connie, a child protective specialist for New York. It is a call with no response, because this is a recorded deposition taken en route to Connie’s latest assignment, a dual investigation of child abuse complaints against two women on Mother’s Day weekend in Allegheny County. The complaints are lodged against neighboring Appalachian women from different socioeconomic strata: one is wealthy, while the other lives below the poverty line. Both are mothers and grandmothers, facing challenges to their autonomy and authority. Neither is aware of the anonymous complaints against them, nor are they aware that the government machine has made it so that personal and family success is impossible.

Though structured like a deposition, the narrative is winding, taking an indirect path to investigating the complaints at the novel’s center. The first third of the book lays the foundation for understanding the paternalistic state. The remaining two-thirds of the book is focused on the women at the center of the complaints. Chapters alternate between them as Connie records her observations of their interactions over the course of several hours and draws parallels to her own experiences. Also included in the deposition are black-and-white illustrations labeled as “People’s Exhibits.”

The book likens the relationship between the state and the citizen to that between a mother and her child, asserting that the ways the state interacts with its citizens constitute an abusive relationship. It calls out imperialism, corruption, and cronyism at the state level through Connie’s recounting of her military service as an intelligence officer. In doing so, the narrative reveals a tension between what is and is not considered the truth and the intricate ways that statecraft, espionage, and war affect the home country and its citizens, mothers in particular.

Pop culture references abound, rooted in Appalachian culture and identity. Parsing whether the respect for the hardships and contradictions of Appalachian living that Connie exhibits is genuine or contrived is puzzling work, though. The ad absurdum way the book uses the complaints to examine two approaches to womanhood and motherhood within this corner of society serves to further obscure that vein of inquiry.

Slow-paced throughout, the narrative rewards patience, moving through dense language paired with dry, sardonic humor that’s reliant on wordplay and lengthy setups. There are references to the real world too, blurring the line between fiction and fact to punctuate the book’s points as it deals with complicated subjects, including the hypocrisy of a religious artist, bleak lived realities, and contrived family connections.

With biting wit, the charged satirical novel Mother’s Day in the Empire State: Or, An Answer to the Arraignment of Women takes aim at the state’s contradictory views of women and their roles in family and society.

Clarion Review: https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/mothers-day-in-the-empire-state-or-an-answer-to-the-arraignment-of-women/

Republican-Herald

Shenandoah publisher’s new book examines ‘family pain’ and motherhood

Reviewed by HYUN SOO LEE
February 5, 2025

SHENANDOAH — Few could guess that a small, aging brick building in this Schuylkill County borough could produce one of the most boldly experimental novels written in recent years.

But if you’re ever in the vicinity of 34 N. Ferguson St., you might come across a mysterious ivy-covered structure with faded white lettering. What you’re looking at is the home of an upstart publishing company that recently released its second novel, “Mother’s Day in the Empire State, or an Answer to the Arraignment of Women.”

The new book from Free-Grace Press, published in October, weaves an inventive story about motherhood in contemporary American society. Presented in the form of a court deposition, “Mother’s Day” was ostensibly written by Constantia “Connie” Munda, an author, illustrator and child protective services agent who also serves as the book’s narrator.

“Mother’s Day” is the second installment in a planned five-book series from Free-Grace Press, which was founded in 2018 by New York-based entrepreneur Jamie Day. Though the stories are unrelated, all five books are intended to give insight into “free-grace philosophy” in a unique format and presentation. The first book, “The Worming of America, Or, An Answer to the Arraignment of Women,” was published in 2018 as a “found manuscript,” meaning it’s portrayed as a direct transcription from the journal of a young Massachusetts woman in 1650.

The secondary titles of both Free-Grace Press books allude to a controversial pamphlet written in 1615 by Joseph Swetnam. One famous response to that tract, called “The Worming of a Mad Dogge,” was published in 1617 under the nom de plume Constantia Munda — coincidentally the name of the heroine and author of “Mother’s Day.”

Free-Grace Press’s new story revolves around the current-day Munda as she investigates two child abuse cases on Mother’s Day in 2021. The two mothers involved are from the fictional town of Allegheny in western New York. Though they have different socioeconomic backgrounds, their families are plagued with many of the same problems.

In the novel’s preface, the publisher states “Mother’s Day” explores critical issues facing the current generation of youths.

“All of our American children are devolving: physically, intellectually, emotionally and financially … and it’s our parental fault,” the novel states. “Free-Grace Press publishes this novel as a reminder that if we do not stop the tide of child abuse today — the child abuse will only be worse tomorrow.”

“Motherhood is tough,” Day said. “Looking at these two mothers, it’s a real up-close look at how their lives are affected by drugs, their children’s depression, things that really aren’t nice topics to get into.”

While set in contemporary times, “Mother’s Day” is framed by a fascinating piece of history: Munda is the granddaughter of Anna Jarvis, the late social activist credited with establishing Mother’s Day as a holiday in 1906. While not many may know it today, Mother’s Day was not intended to be a celebratory day but rather an anti-war movement — a platform for women to protest against governments sending young people to war. Munda’s book focuses on that situation, raising hard questions about the holiday and about intergenerational issues affecting families since that time, Day said.

“Mother’s Day” has an unconventional style that demands the reader’s attention from the opening page. The story is a word-for-word transcription of Munda voice-recording a court deposition while driving from Albany, New York, to the other side of the state. On court-lined paper, readers can learn about two harrowing cases of abuse as Munda narrates her travels and investigations in real time.

Munda’s writing style, according to the publisher, was influenced by literary giants such as Virginia Woolf, Voltaire, Flannery O’Connor and Walt Whitman, blending free-verse prose, satirical elements and a non-linear narrative to create a unique and engaging reading experience. In fact, early on in the book she name-checks three of her formative influences — William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying,” John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and O’Connor’s “Good Country People” — as well as a wealth of philosophers, presenting a supremely well-educated protagonist.

Munda also showcases her artistic talents through 15 original illustrations and/or watercolor paintings included in her novel, offering readers a comprehensive insight into the realities of motherhood.

Because of the novel’s interactive format, “Mother’s Day,” like its predecessor, is classified as an “artist’s book” and an example of metafiction.

In an advance review, the writer Rachel Abramowitz praised the book’s hybrid narrative/court case format and said it reaches “closer to the true experience of family pain” than either form could on its own.

“We watch as the law, with its rigid, ‘rational’ understanding of human behavior, tries to contain and punish generational trauma,” Abramowitz said, “while history, both personal and global, defies all attempts at control. Ribbons of poetry bump up against cold fact, hand-drawn images become court exhibits. This book is a battle between logic and emotion, life and death. Its strangeness will linger.”

Choosing Shenandoah

Free-Grace Press is part of the Compost Art Center, a property that Day founded as a live-work space for artists, writers and entrepreneurs. The North Ferguson Street building — a former furniture warehouse — is now owned by Valentin Behrendt, a New York-area musician and producer. Behrendt is a native of Catawissa and graduated from Bloomsburg University with a music degree.

Day said the musician has found a great use for the building. She’s pleased with the ongoing revitalization efforts in Shenandoah, including the forthcoming Center for Education, Business & Arts planned to open this fall.

“I think it’s working out great,” Day said. “It’s bringing new life to Shenandoah. … Shenandoah is a wonderful place, and I’m glad to still be a part of it and see it growing and starting to thrive again — especially with the new center in town for business development.”

Copies of “Mother’s Day” are printed by a United Kingdom-based company, Mixam, which also operates in Chicago. The book is available on Amazon in physical, Kindle and audiobook formats.

Free-Grace Press’s next book will be called “Sagg, Or Life in Free-Grace.” Set in Southampton, New York, the epistolary novel centers on a divorced father writing to his son and daughter about his life and failed family.