The first work of Sheila Heti’s that I read was her book How Should a Person Be?, a novel about being an artist—or, more specifically, a novel about being a woman and an artist, and how those two things inform and sometimes resist one another. The book was extremely polarizing; some reviewers found it riveting in its experimentation, while others found its content indulgent and its lack of form irritating. I was enamored by it, as Heti has an extraordinary ability to capture the convergence of creativity and self-doubt while voicing thoughts most people believe are unsayable. Like How Should a Person Be?, Heti’s latest novel, Motherhood, isn’t for everyone. For people who turn to books primarily for their plots, this is not the one (or the writer) for you. Motherhood doesn’t read like a traditional novel; it lacks a traditional plot structure. On the surface, nothing really “happens.” In fact, I find this book difficult to talk about because it resists classification, and the full depth of its meaning can only be found through experiencing it. Broadly, the book is a rumination on procreation and the pressures surrounding it, both internally and societally. The narrator is a woman in her late continue...