Book Review- Melissa Broder's Milk Fed

Thank you to Scribner for providing me with a copy of Melissa Broder’s novel, Milk Fed, in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel is in her mid-twenties and living the fast life in Hollywood, California. She works for a talent agency by day and moonlights as a stand-up comedian with a weekly gig. However, Rachel’s primary job is her all-consuming obsession with staying skinny. Her life is ruled by a sadistic exercise and calorie restriction routine. This singular focus leads to not only incredible unhappiness, but also isolation, as she prefers to eat alone and fears social events due to food.

Rachel’s life changes when she meets Miriam. Miriam is the daughter of the owners of a frozen yogurt shop that Rachel frequents. It may seem contradictory, but Rachel has a sweet-tooth and she has worked out the exact order size/combo of a low-fat frozen yogurt that gives her a treat that doesn’t kill her calorie count. Previously, Rachel had only met Miriam’s brother, who was precise with Rachel’s yogurt order, no questions asked. Miriam not only dares to question Rachel’s order, but pushes her to try a different, calorific combination. Rachel caves and indulges.

This experience sends Rachel into a spiral of overconsumption as she lets go and experiences all of the food pleasures that she had been denying herself for so long. She also becomes infatuated with Miriam, who is seemingly innocent and inexperienced.

The two women are polar opposites. Miriam is from a strict and observant Jewish family, while Rachel is lapsed in her Jewish faith. Miriam is tightly bonded with her parents, while Rachel’s parental situation is beyond complicated. Physically, Miriam is overweight, living in a body that Rachel fears. Yet, despite their different lives, there is a mutual sexual attraction. Will Rachel learn to love herself? Will a new romance with the magnetic Miriam change Rachel’s perspective?

Milk Fed is a force of a novel, a lightening-fast read that I found impossible to put down. The primary question of the story is whether or not someone has the guts to live their authentic life. When we first meet Rachel, she is an absolute mess, which goes far beyond her eating disorder. Rachel is desperate for validation. The relationship that she has with her mother is so toxic ( including childhood weight related trauma) that Rachel’s therapist encourages Rachel to take a detox from her mom, which involves a temporary cut in contact. This might have worked, except for Rachel has latched on to a “mother substitute” in a friendship that she has with an older coworker, a woman who constantly praises Rachel’s methods of depriving herself. It might be even more messed up than Rachel’s relationship with her real mother.

On the surface, Miriam seems to be happy in her own skin. She indulges in the things she enjoys and she is open about the love she has for her own family. She has qualities that Rachel so desperately wants. However, what Rachel initially mistakes for innocence, is actually fear and repression. Miriam knows that the only way to remain in her family is to follow expectations. She must eventually marry a man and bear children. She cannot have a future with Rachel, without being rejected by her family. In Miriam’s eyes, she sees the ease in which Rachel can love another woman and wishes that she could be more like Rachel. Miriam sees freedom in Rachel’s life.

In Miriam and Rachel, Broder has create two strong and complex women. Rachel’s journey is inspiring and the story ends on the right note, a realistic note.

There are magical and dream elements in Milk Fed,and many times, I stopped to admire Broder’s vivid descriptions and lush prose. I felt mixed emotions with the love story aspect. I’m a heterosexual, middle-aged married woman who does not have very much experience reading erotica. I may be off-base, but I would define large sections of Milk Fed as erotica. It was steamy. I don’t want to offend Broder with the comparison, but the erotic scenes in Milk Fed, were what I was hyped-up to expect the much milder, Fifty Shades of Grey to be.

To be clear, there are no comparisons at all between these two novels!

That said, I did not find the erotic sections to be very stimulating, but I suspect that comes down to personal taste. I found the romantic moments, where they were testing the waters to be very sensual and sexy. For example, when Rachel first holds Miriam’s hand in a movie theatre or when she helps Miriam put on lipstick. These awkward moments when neither woman can admit to their desire, yet the desire is palpable, were intense. I think this is where I responded because I prefer the intimacy of the indirect, uncertain moments early on, to the blatant erotic images. When I mentioned personal taste above, I’m speaking more to this, rather than the fact that I’m heterosexual. I think think anyone can appreciate and embrace a great love story or sex scene no matter their orientation.

Milk Fed is an original story involving the various things we can long for in our lives, especially relationships, both with others and ourselves. Although, thankfully, I cannot relate to Rachel’s myriad of troubles, I can relate to her quest to live her authentic life. I felt empathy for Rachel and Miriam, ultimately rooting for both of them to choose the life that will bring them happiness.

Book Review - Randy Susan Meyers' Waisted

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Randy Susan Meyers’ novel. Waisted, in exchange for an honest review.

Weight gain has been a life-long struggle for Alice. However, she met her husband, Clancy, when she was going through an tough time in her life, which resulted in weight loss. Now, over the years, which included giving birth, the pounds have piled back on and Clancy feels that his wife is not the woman that he married. Through this strain in their relationship, Alice runs off to participate in a weight loss reality show called “Waisted.” She does not tell Clancy until she has left for the show, because Clancy is in the documentary film industry and “Waisted” is being produced by his biggest rival.

During the filming of “Waisted,” Alice becomes fast-friends with her roommate and fellow contestant, Daphne. Daphne has a supportive husband, but she has a negative body image from her overbearing mother. Daphne has even tried bulimia to keep the pounds off.

From the first day of filming it is clear that “Waisted” is not the show that was originally pitched to the contestants. Rather than a wellness retreat, “Waisted” is more of a hardcore bootcamp. The women are stripped of their possessions, including phone access, and are made to wear unflattering jumpsuits. They are belittled, starved, and exercised to exhaustion. When they are given amphetamines to push their weight loss goals to unsafe levels, the women seek to find out the truth about the production and what they discover is shocking.

Meyers tackles heavy themes of self-love, body acceptance, and family dynamics. I found her overall message to be positive and uplifting. I especially like a scene in the novel where Daphne, a make-up artist by trade, helps an disadvantaged teenager build her self-confidence, by giving her skin care and make-up tips to cover extreme acne. I liked how it showed that it is okay to both love yourself and acceptable to use fashion or make-up: the two don’t have to be separate. Earlier in the story, Daphne hides behind her make-up, using her skills to create a distraction from her body, highlighting features like her beautiful eyes. However, as soon as Daphne lets go worrying about her body, her make-up becomes part of her self-expression, rather than a shield.

Alice and Daphne are two strong, female protagonists and the story is structured to alternate between their lives at home and their time on “Waisted.” The weight issues aside, I think many women will find aspects of these character’s lives and emotions to be relatable. I was rooting for these characters to succeed, especially Alice dealing with her emotionally abusive husband. I found Daphne’s desperation, including the use of pills and bulimia, to be heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, the plot for Waisted is very messy. An exciting story opportunity was missed with the reality show aspect. “Waisted” is quite horrific and we learn that the aim of the show is to expose the extremes that women will go to in the name of weight loss. Its purpose is to be shocking and not to actually help these women meet their goals. The concept of this could have made a potentially intriguing story, especially holding a mirror to the way our society gobbles up these types of shows. I have no doubt that if a real version of “Waisted” aired on American television, it would be both a sensation and crucified. People would not admit to enjoying it, but they would secretly watch it and the ratings would be high. We live in a time where it is both still socially acceptable to shame fat people and one where we promote the idea of having a positive body image. I think things will shift towards being more body positive, but we are not there quite yet. Meyer had a real opportunity to play with the larger societal impact of a show like “Waisted” and that would have been intriguing.

Unfortunately, the women’s participation in “Waisted” fizzles. They leave the show and make efforts to expose the producers, but there is not a truly satisfying conclusion to this issue. I was let-down. I felt like the story was heading in the direction of making a real statement against the reality television production, but the plot meandered and focused more on the individual relationships that the main characters have with their families. This was important too of course, especially in the area of character development and growth, but it was far less interesting than the fallout from “Waisted.”

Waisted is strong in character development, but weak in plot. Often, I can overlook weak plots if the characters are great, but in this case, I can’t overlook the missed opportunities in the storyline. Although Waisted tackles important and sensitive topics, it only skims the surface and goes for cliches. For this reason, I can’t recommend it.

Book Review- Cathryn Novak's Size Matters

Thank You to She Writes Press for providing me with an advanced copy of Cathryn Novak's novel, Size Matters, in exchange for an honest review. 

PLOT - John Frederick is a recluse, who hides in his mansion, and has debilitating love for food. Lexie Alexander, a young chef, who uses cooking as a way to heal her loneliness, has been hired as John's personal chef. She will live in his mansion, make all of his meals, but she will never see him. Their only communication will be through the food she makes and the handwritten notes that he leaves her regarding his meals. Soon, through the bond of food, John decides that he can trust Lexie and meets her. Incredibly self-conscious about his obesity and food obsession, he quickly realizes that Lexie is not only kind, but that they have another thing in common, their mutual love of Broadway musicals! Lexie and John build a fast friendship that is threatened when John has a heart attack and must go on a strict diet. Can John learn that his relationship with food is less important than his relationship with people?

LIKE- Novak's story reminded me of the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. I'm not saying that physically John is a beast because of his obesity, but that the story mirrors the fairytale in themes. Like the beast, John is reclusive and terrified of the potential judgement of others. Although Lexie is certainly not a captive in his mansion, she, like Belle, is living in a strange place, she is curious and trying to figure out the secrets of her employer. Like Belle, Lexie is sweet and kind, John quickly realizes this, and as soon as he feels like he is in a safe place around her, he wants to do nice things for her. Although John and Lexie don't have a romance, they do have a quick friendship that is reminiscent of the fairytale. 

I like the unexpected inclusion of musicals, especially the scene where John delights himself and Lexie, by throwing an elaborate dinner themed to, The King and I. The joy was seeing John come out of his shell. John is often hard-headed and petulant, so the moments where he seemed happy, were when the story dazzled. 

DISLIKE- On a whole, I found Size Matters, to be odd and requiring a heavy suspension of disbelief. Perhaps part of the problem was that the story was too short and I didn't feel that I had the appropriate time to logically build the arc of the story. I needed more character building and perhaps another plot line, to flesh it out and render it more believable.

Size Matters is narrated in a close third perspective, often quickly jumping between Lexie and John, which was occasionally confusing. More than once, I had paused to try to understand the narrative, which ripped me out of the story world.

I think the biggest problem was the lack of connection between Lexie and John. I liked them as individuals, but I didn't buy into them having a deep friendship. It seemed one sided, like John had a crush on Lexie, and Lexie thought John was nice enough, but was really reacting in a way that shows she's a nice person and he's her employer. The chemistry was lacking.

RECOMMEND- No. Size Matters has an intriguing premise, but it's too problematic to recommend. I admired Novak's creativity and would seek out future books by her, but this one, I cannot recommend.