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justgeorgie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
this is between 3/4 stars for me - this book is really sexual, and the link between the sex & eating disorder was almost hard to read at times (especially discriptions of miriam as they were so.. Mean at times?) i did enjoy it, although reading it on a busy train with people standing over me was a power move that i probably shouldn’t have done
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Fatphobia
Minor: Self harm
hyliansee's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Homophobia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Child abuse, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Incest
don't know how to content warn about zionismitsneira's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Personally, I found this book trying a little TOO hard to be dark and edgy. Although some of the descriptions of mental illness are reflective of that headspace, this book didn’t add any kind of new insight on the topic. There was no character development (besides partial recovery from an ED), which is partially the point of the book, but adds to its mid-ness. Every page was about a miserable girl complaining about her bad relationship with her mother, with food, with Judaism, with her sexuality…..the list only gets longer. Great for those who love insufferable characters, but I saw it pitched as this world-defining, jaw-dropping experience of self-discovery. Truly, the only new understanding I gained from reading this is learning that Twizzlers are kosher. Not every book has to be insightful and ground-breaking, but that’s what this book tried to do and failed at, which is unfortunate because I quite enjoyed the actual writing and narration style (aside from the very vivid sexual descriptions that admittedly did provide a lot of characterization but were a little TOO uncomfortable for their intended purpose). All in all, nothing special and probably very triggering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Self harm and Lesbophobia
Minor: Antisemitism
msmarlena's review against another edition
I should've known this would be gross when I learned the author is thin.
Miriam, the speaker's fat lust object, is written as just that, to the point that the speaker repeatedly wonders whether she created her out of clay in a therapy session, a Jewish monster, a golem, a manifestation of her worst fears.
Miriam, a fat, happy, funny woman of faith with a large family, doesn't actually exist outside of the part she plays in the protagonist's self-obsessed journey from starving to binging.
It absolutely strains credulity that Miriam doesn't hesitate to invest energy in encouraging and cheering on the thin woman who panics when her sugar-free froyo exceeds the lip of the cup.
She stewards her through new experiences eating endless courses of Chinese food, snacking at the movie theatre, eating with her family... All openness and nurturance, as though she has no self-preservation instinct, no idea what this woman thinks of fat people. Ughhh.
Manic pixie dream girl only make her fat. I'm so disappointed that Carmen Maria Machado vouched for this book.
The speaker is a deeply unlikeable person, and I wasn't able to sympathize with or relate to her in any way. I felt like I needed a long shower after hanging out with her and her toxic inner monologue for these few hours.
Like honestly. There are plenty of people who were slightly ("softly") chubby as children, and/or had emotionally abusive mothers, (The protagonist even has joyful, food-loving grandparents! A supportive father!) and still manage to become adults who have even one friend, who have more than one facet, who believe they deserve to buy themselves a damn rug for their bedroom.
If I want simply to read Mommy/girl kink fantasies or genuinely, unreservedly adoring descriptions of a fat woman's body, I know now where not to look.
Miriam, the speaker's fat lust object, is written as just that, to the point that the speaker repeatedly wonders whether she created her out of clay in a therapy session, a Jewish monster, a golem, a manifestation of her worst fears.
Miriam, a fat, happy, funny woman of faith with a large family, doesn't actually exist outside of the part she plays in the protagonist's self-obsessed journey from starving to binging.
It absolutely strains credulity that Miriam doesn't hesitate to invest energy in encouraging and cheering on the thin woman who panics when her sugar-free froyo exceeds the lip of the cup.
She stewards her through new experiences eating endless courses of Chinese food, snacking at the movie theatre, eating with her family... All openness and nurturance, as though she has no self-preservation instinct, no idea what this woman thinks of fat people. Ughhh.
Manic pixie dream girl only make her fat. I'm so disappointed that Carmen Maria Machado vouched for this book.
The speaker is a deeply unlikeable person, and I wasn't able to sympathize with or relate to her in any way. I felt like I needed a long shower after hanging out with her and her toxic inner monologue for these few hours.
Like honestly. There are plenty of people who were slightly ("softly") chubby as children, and/or had emotionally abusive mothers, (The protagonist even has joyful, food-loving grandparents! A supportive father!) and still manage to become adults who have even one friend, who have more than one facet, who believe they deserve to buy themselves a damn rug for their bedroom.
If I want simply to read Mommy/girl kink fantasies or genuinely, unreservedly adoring descriptions of a fat woman's body, I know now where not to look.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, and Self harm
azalia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
Minor: Incest, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Self harm
noshelfcontrolll's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I wanted so badly to like this book. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I was really excited by how the book covered so many topics, all while centering Jewish characters. This book fell flat from my expectations, though. Unlike the review blurbs, I did not find any part of this book funny or humorous, and rather I was often made uncomfortable by the grotesque and descriptive nature of Rachel’s narration. Whether it be the habits of her eating disorder, her description of others bodies, or sex, all were met with an off-putting amount of illustration. Her obsession with motherly relationships led to an almost Freudian fantasy being replayed multiple times throughout the novel. As excited as I was to read about Jewish characters, I was also let down by many laws regarding Shabbat and Kashrut being poorly described or plainly incorrect, as well as the sexualization of mikvehs. It felt like Broder’s Jewishness was used as authority to not check that the information she added about religious Jews was correct. I also felt like Miriam was largely used and viewed by Rachel as a sexual object, fetishized for her weight, especially since almost all of Rachel’s inner monologue while around Miriam was sexual and crude. I really disliked Rachel’s character, finding her inappropriate, rude, and dismissive. Additionally, there was no resolution to the novel, and the half-assed I/P discussion prompted by Rachel towards Miriam’s family felt so out of place and awkward. Overall, I was largely unimpressed and weirded out by most of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Self harm, Vomit, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
jessarends's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I read this in days, found myself letting my cereal get soggy. You’ll follow the main character Rachel moment by moment, so the next chapter often feels needed.
If you’ve struggled or struggled with disordered reading; this book can be very sticky. I found myself comforted by how far I felt from Rachel’s thoughts in my growth. But still knew.
This novel is about spirituality, religion (Judaism; Orthodox and former), sex, disordered eating and mothers and mothers and mothers. Rachel is real, messy. A character that feels alive; that I didn’t like seeing myself in at moments.
<spoiler I felt the book moved SO quickly in the last 45ish pages, and my grief about Rachel and Miriam was growing. The lack of COMMUNICATION between them; like we need to talk and not just fuck! But, isn’t that real and honest. I was shocked by the wrap up at the end. Made me appreciate the intimacy of knowing that small period of Rachel.>
If you’ve struggled or struggled with disordered reading; this book can be very sticky. I found myself comforted by how far I felt from Rachel’s thoughts in my growth. But still knew.
This novel is about spirituality, religion (Judaism; Orthodox and former), sex, disordered eating and mothers and mothers and mothers. Rachel is real, messy. A character that feels alive; that I didn’t like seeing myself in at moments.
<spoiler I felt the book moved SO quickly in the last 45ish pages, and my grief about Rachel and Miriam was growing. The lack of COMMUNICATION between them; like we need to talk and not just fuck! But, isn’t that real and honest. I was shocked by the wrap up at the end. Made me appreciate the intimacy of knowing that small period of Rachel.>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Self harm
patchespapercut's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I wholeheartedly understand the criticism with this one. It’s not for everybody, similar to how people reacted with The Pisces. This was just wild… I loved every minute of it. The prose was immaculate, the story was uncomfortable, the ending I gasped. Just, wonderful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, and Sexual content
olxvgxes's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Self harm and Outing
camclark's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Eating disorder, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Child abuse, Body shaming, Body horror, Biphobia, Alcohol, and Addiction