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sakeriver's review
Mostly, this book made me angry. Or rather let me say, I just finished the book, and I am angry. I’m angry at men, both thoughtless men and manipulative men. I’m angry about the male gaze. I’m angry at body norms and advertisers and all kinds of things. But I don’t know if this is right. Washuta shows you things in this book, but then immediately undercuts the easy interpretation. Does my anger here allow for her agency? I don’t know, but I suspect that this reaction is placing her in some kind of a victim role, and it’s more complicated than that. She makes it more complicated than that, she insists on it in the last two parts of the book.
On a craft level, I think this book is interesting. Well-made and challenging. Lyrical in spots, blunt in others. I liked it.
But, man, I’m still angry.
On a craft level, I think this book is interesting. Well-made and challenging. Lyrical in spots, blunt in others. I liked it.
But, man, I’m still angry.
acalderbank's review
4.0
This book presents some heart-wrenching issues with cleverness and wit, but without self-pity. The book is relatable to anyone grappling with health challenges.
caustic_moomoo's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Self harm, and Sexual content
margaret_adams's review
I was introduced to Washuta's work after attending a reading she did at Hugo House in Seattle several years ago. Since then I've read both 'My Body is a Book of Rules' and now 'Starvation Mode.' I hope she has a third book in progress because I want to keep reading her work. I love the length and structure of this book, and I'm glad that someone is publishing work that falls into a less traditional, novella-like category. A great read.
renatasnacks's review
4.0
This is really beautifully written and moving. It's maybe not something I would have picked up if I hadn't loved [b:White Magic|50704742|White Magic|Elissa Washuta|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617501345l/50704742._SY75_.jpg|75733032] so much, but I'm glad I did.
valariesmith's review
4.0
This book is my biggest surprise of the year. I have zero interest in reading about women and our relationship to food - I‰ЫЄm just so tired of it all - and yet Starvation Mode lays it so bare, revealing the undertow of decisions and judgments that jerk and heave women all day long. It‰ЫЄs astonishing that such a rich, powerful read can be contained within 50pp.
readrunsea's review
5.0
I read this little essay-chapbook on an afternoon coffee-shop and bookshop hopping in London because it’s been on my shelf for a year and it’s easy to carry and it was about damn time. Elissa Washuta’s writing always really resonates and is so powerful on a craft level, and this is no exception. It’s basically an abbreviated chronicle of Washuta and America’s broken relationship to food, eating, bodies, ambition, and identity (especially for women). Healing this relationship is kind of impossible but this book is a great example of how one person can journey through different understandings of this relationship, different approaches to healing it, and different beliefs around it. Obviously I highly recommend it.