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sepiaroses's review against another edition
very triggering and hard to read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Self harm
Moderate: Body shaming
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Supper Club is a reflective and often very sad slice-of-life novel. University student Roberta is desperately lonely and preyed upon by men. Late twenties Roberta is doing a bit better but she still carries the insecurities that have haunted her since school.
Supper Club as a whole shines the brightest through its primary concept: the club itself. The sections where new members are introduced were some of the most interesting and empathetic portions of the whole book. And the club meetings themselves were quite entertaining! As many women know, there is still an abundance of gender norms that can be difficult to escape. Imagining the women of this novel doing so and being gluttonous & unrestrained was delightful.
Eventually, however, the titular Supper Club fades into the background when Roberta enters into a serious monogamous relationship. At this point, I lost interest a bit. I understand the inclusion of this relationship as an obstacle to Roberta's friendship with Stevie. However, that didn't make it any less frustrating to read. Too much time was wasted describing the (frankly lackluster) relationship. Not to mention that diverting from the emphasis on sisterhood and radical norm-busting was a mistake, in my opinion. Eventually, the ending redeemed this choice... but not really.
Supper Club as a whole shines the brightest through its primary concept: the club itself. The sections where new members are introduced were some of the most interesting and empathetic portions of the whole book. And the club meetings themselves were quite entertaining! As many women know, there is still an abundance of gender norms that can be difficult to escape. Imagining the women of this novel doing so and being gluttonous & unrestrained was delightful.
Eventually, however, the titular Supper Club fades into the background when Roberta enters into a serious monogamous relationship. At this point, I lost interest a bit. I understand the inclusion of this relationship as an obstacle to Roberta's friendship with Stevie. However, that didn't make it any less frustrating to read. Too much time was wasted describing the (frankly lackluster) relationship. Not to mention that diverting from the emphasis on sisterhood and radical norm-busting was a mistake, in my opinion. Eventually, the ending redeemed this choice... but not really.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, and Body shaming
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
1414's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, and Rape
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Vomit
Minor: Fatphobia, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship
xyukoo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Rape
Moderate: Addiction, Sexism, Self harm, and Drug use
dottydilemma's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, and Eating disorder
madeleinebay's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Vomit
Minor: Body shaming and Eating disorder
daniellemclough's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
bettydraper's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
this one was a tough read. i honestly don't even know if i enjoyed it but it definitely raised interesting questions for me. i think this is the type of a book that i need to parse out with someone else!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Body shaming, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Transphobia
beckyjc's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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? No
4.0
A friend told me this book was like Fight Club but instead of frustrated men living out their violent urges through secret fighting, it's frustrated women living out their consumption urges through secret feasting. I can see the comparison and as a woman I found this more relatable than Fight Club (though I also enjoyed that film).
Consumption is a key theme throughout: consuming food, consuming friendships, consuming desires. I found it an interesting conceit. Women are made to feel that public space isn't theirs, that their bodies are subject to others' wills, that their appetites aren't appropriate or decent. So the lead character decides, after a traumatic event, to start secret supper clubs where she and a select number of friends occupy empty spaces at night and gorge on skip-sourced food as a rebellious art project where they abandon all limits and quite literally eat until they are sick.
It's subversive and funny in parts, and the supper clubs themselves escalate in scale and debauchery through the book...though I have to admit not quite to the levels I expected.Perhaps that's the point? That they can only ever bring temporary respite? I wasn't convinced the characters were any happier for them by the end.
The central friendship is recognisable in all its complexity and insecurity. The interludes where the origin and techniques of certain dishes are described in loving detail are a genuine joy to read. Our relationship with food and its link with our society and culture is truly fascinating and this book explores this well.
It would be a good read for a open-minded book group I think. I would definitely recommend it.
Be aware that there are scenes in here of sexual violence, of self harm, of behaviour that verges on eating disorders which make for uncomfortable reading.
Consumption is a key theme throughout: consuming food, consuming friendships, consuming desires. I found it an interesting conceit. Women are made to feel that public space isn't theirs, that their bodies are subject to others' wills, that their appetites aren't appropriate or decent. So the lead character decides, after a traumatic event, to start secret supper clubs where she and a select number of friends occupy empty spaces at night and gorge on skip-sourced food as a rebellious art project where they abandon all limits and quite literally eat until they are sick.
It's subversive and funny in parts, and the supper clubs themselves escalate in scale and debauchery through the book...though I have to admit not quite to the levels I expected.
The central friendship is recognisable in all its complexity and insecurity. The interludes where the origin and techniques of certain dishes are described in loving detail are a genuine joy to read. Our relationship with food and its link with our society and culture is truly fascinating and this book explores this well.
It would be a good read for a open-minded book group I think. I would definitely recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Drug use
thedreamstar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Drug use, and Sexual violence