Time’s Mouth

In Lepucki’s (Woman No. 17) latest novel, three generations of women, all with the remarkable ability to travel back to previous times in their lives, struggle to escape the legacies of trauma inflicted upon them by their mothers. Ursa is the spiritual leader of a commune of women in the Santa Cruz Mountains who cultivate cannabis and bask in the energy generated by her monthly “transports” from the eastern wing of their remote cabin. Cold and narcissistic, Ursa is obsessed with harnessing her “gift,” to the extent that she ignores everything else, even her son Ray. Ursa is oblivious to Ray’s growing closeness with Cherry, an orphan whose paternity throws Ursa into a rage. When Cherry becomes pregnant with Opal, she and Ray leave the Mamas but cannot escape the grip of the women’s terrible powers. As a teen, Opal travels to her own past to learn why her mother abandoned her and Ray. Despite the supernatural element and Ursa’s sociopathic tendencies, the plot lags, and the characters often do not progress beyond two dimensions.