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pixe1's review against another edition
2.0
Totally fixated on how awful it is to be fat. This feels like something written by someone who has never ever been close to obese.
I saw a lot of "highly anticipated" rave reviews for this book, but avoided reading it until it ended up on the ToB longlist and I should have trusted my intuition. Ultimately I don't find this idea that obesity and somehow equates to alcoholism or drug addiction to be novel or empathetic. Too much moralising masquerading as literature.
I saw a lot of "highly anticipated" rave reviews for this book, but avoided reading it until it ended up on the ToB longlist and I should have trusted my intuition. Ultimately I don't find this idea that obesity and somehow equates to alcoholism or drug addiction to be novel or empathetic. Too much moralising masquerading as literature.
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a finished copy of this book for review purposes - all opinions are my own.
I read fiction for many reasons, the three main ones being entertainment, education and emotion - the 3 Es for me. I have decided to rate this book based on these because I am really struggling to express my active dislike for this book contrasted with my true appreciation for the writer's abilities and the literary nature of it. Because I do really appreciate what Hunter did with this story and I completely understand why she wrote it as she did. Appreciation and LIKE do not always go hand-in-hand, though, which is what I found with this EAT ONLY WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY.
ENTERTAINMENT: I have to say that I wasn't entertained at all by the story and didn't see the humor that other readers describe. That's just me though - me as a reader. Every book has its reader, and in the entertainment category, I didn't feel it. EDUCATION - yes, I was educated. Educated in the feelings of the parent of an addict, but also in the feelings of an addict himself. And in the feelings of a man horribly uncomfortable with his every-largening body and his entire life. EMOTION.......here are my emotions after reading this book: depressed, dirty and rather sick to my stomach. This is a novel of excess, but the kind of excess I don't actually want to think about and described in an incredibly lurid way. There is nothing Hunter held back on in bodily descriptions and there were definitely parts that made me squirm and want to stop reading.
Was this a book I will recommend to friends as one I loved? No. Is this a book I will be thinking about (happily or not) for a long time to come and will refer to in book discussions? Yes. Perhaps that is the perfect summation of literary fiction as a genre.......
I read fiction for many reasons, the three main ones being entertainment, education and emotion - the 3 Es for me. I have decided to rate this book based on these because I am really struggling to express my active dislike for this book contrasted with my true appreciation for the writer's abilities and the literary nature of it. Because I do really appreciate what Hunter did with this story and I completely understand why she wrote it as she did. Appreciation and LIKE do not always go hand-in-hand, though, which is what I found with this EAT ONLY WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY.
ENTERTAINMENT: I have to say that I wasn't entertained at all by the story and didn't see the humor that other readers describe. That's just me though - me as a reader. Every book has its reader, and in the entertainment category, I didn't feel it. EDUCATION - yes, I was educated. Educated in the feelings of the parent of an addict, but also in the feelings of an addict himself. And in the feelings of a man horribly uncomfortable with his every-largening body and his entire life. EMOTION.......here are my emotions after reading this book: depressed, dirty and rather sick to my stomach. This is a novel of excess, but the kind of excess I don't actually want to think about and described in an incredibly lurid way. There is nothing Hunter held back on in bodily descriptions and there were definitely parts that made me squirm and want to stop reading.
Was this a book I will recommend to friends as one I loved? No. Is this a book I will be thinking about (happily or not) for a long time to come and will refer to in book discussions? Yes. Perhaps that is the perfect summation of literary fiction as a genre.......
rougoku's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
books_and_planners's review against another edition
3.0
This book was just odd. I got it from BOTM almost 2 years ago & I forgot what it was about. I guess I just always assumed it was a nonfiction/memoir type of book about food or a person's relationship with food. I was prompted to read it for a readathon & because it is fairly short. I was surprised that it was in fact fiction & the protagonist is a male with an eating disorder. I'm terrible with character names, but I think his name is Greg. So Greg's son, GJ, is a drug addict who has recently gone missing. Greg sets out in an RV to find him, but it's not only a quest to find his son, but a lot of reflecting on his own life. Greg had a rough upbringing which contributes to a lot of his own mental health disorders, as well as a really screwed up relationship with his first wife, GJ's mom. This was just a bizarre story. It wasn't horrible, just weird. I would recommend it, but to a specific audience.
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
3.0
The characters were believable and fleshed out, but man, this was quite possibly the most depressing book I've ever read. It just dripped melancholy from every page.
fjasmineaddams's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely my favorite of Lindsay Hunter’s books so far. The extremes of addiction are in here, but as someone who comes from a family of addicts I found it even more moving to recognize all the ways that addiction gets normalized and therefore minimized in families and in American culture more broadly.
l3nduhhh's review against another edition
Fave quotes:
“He remembered that he’d forgotten. Ha! That should be in his tombstone.”
“ ‘He’s a good man.’ She whispered. ‘But s shyster, too. People aren’t always all one thing.’ “
“It’s hard to love someone you don’t like. It takes everything out of you.”
“But everything in moderation. Including beating yourself up.”
“He remembered that he’d forgotten. Ha! That should be in his tombstone.”
“ ‘He’s a good man.’ She whispered. ‘But s shyster, too. People aren’t always all one thing.’ “
“It’s hard to love someone you don’t like. It takes everything out of you.”
“But everything in moderation. Including beating yourself up.”
mlbobb12's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sunforsavannah's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0