Reviews with content warning for Rape - Supper Club

Loved the beginning but it git a little slow at the end. ADORED the recipes at the start of the chapters and the structure in general.
Ps. It gets pretty heavy during some passages so check the tws.

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akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is like dark academia with food.

Honestly the food metaphors are incredible, the subtlety of the food reflecting the story arc is really cool. I loved Roberta, I loved her journey. I loved the imagery and I loved analysing this book.

I wish we knew what she chose, but I think it’s fairly clear that she chooses Adnan. I also think Stevie is a total controlling bitch, but she has her moments.

I like the themes of nonconformity, of trying to be yourself. Overall this is a really easy read, and a really interesting one.

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keepreadingbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful tense slow-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

The endorsements on the cover of Supper Club call it joyful, celebratory and funny (besides dark, carnal, feral and indulgent), and I have to say that, to me, that felt slightly misleading. I’ll give it celebratory, but I rarely found it joyful or funny. The main character, Roberta, and her friend Stevie create the Supper Club – a food club for women to eat with abandon and indulge themselves, to take up the space that is denied them in society, both metaphorically and physically. And you would think, “how great that they do this!”, except it never really feels like Roberta actually does celebrate herself or allow herself to take up that space she’s trying to occupy. Her motivation to start the Supper Club stems from a traumatic assault during her university years, and as such, her inability to become the woman she wishes to become is unequivocally linked to her unwillingness to deal with that trauma. She still keeps second-guessing, overthinking, pleasing (particularly men) in every aspect of her life, and it’s often painful to witness. When development finally happens and actual joy finds its way through the cracks, the book is practically over.

Not that any of this made it a bad book, it just made it a different book; a book that I shifted between relating very much to and being rather frustrated by. Sometimes Lara Williams hit the nail right on the head, describing something that I had never thought to describe, and I immediately thought “that’s it! That’s what I feel/experience too!” Other times, I had trouble understanding the character’s choices and motivations. Generally, though, it was a well-written, impactful book that somehow read quickly even when nothing much happened. It might not be joyful or funny, but it’s undeniably a feminist book, a book to make you mad, and to make you want to take up space too.

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vittotosatto's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

l'inizio e la fine sono le parti migliori, ovviamente le parti in cui parla più di arnold e adnan sono le più pallose ma non avevo dubbi. ho segnato un sacco di citazioni e sono molto contenta di aver letto questo libro ♡ inizierò a prendere più spazio senza chiedere scusa

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