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msjoanna 's review for:
Two Girls Fat and Thin
by Mary Gaitskill
Gaitskill is unflinching in giving readers the cruelty, loneliness, confusion, rage, fleeting moments of bliss, and endless banality of the lives of these characters. Their stories are told in alternating sections flipping rapidly through time--sometimes childhood memories, sometimes other ages always full of harsh moments and desperate attempts to feel something real. These characters shouldn't have been likable--they are tremendously flawed and make frustratingly bad choices in their stories--but I found myself rooting for them. This book is a really interesting contrast to [b:Cat's Eye|51019|Cat's Eye|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385207977l/51019._SY75_.jpg|1019987] by [a:Margaret Atwood|3472|Margaret Atwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1282859073p2/3472.jpg]. While Atwood sees the cruelty of children, she doesn't find them as lonely and gritty as Gaitskill does. Atwood's characters grow into adults with full lives and loving relationships; Gaitskill's here grow into lonely, isolated outcasts.
I want to read more of Gaitskill's books.
I want to read more of Gaitskill's books.