Jenefer Shute

I had some problems with this novel.
It is told from the point of view of a woman in her early twenties that is hospitalized for anorexia nervosa. There are vague flashbacks throughout the book to give the reader an idea of her life up to that point, and what brought her to the state she is in. I like this structure, or lack of, because it is like memory. I also like some of the scenes with the main character and the nurse in the hospital, especially towards the end, where the novel gains show more momentum and makes more sense.
The thing I didn't like about the novel was it's lack of originality. Whole passages were lifted from Caroline Knapp's Appetites and Marya Hornbacher's Wasted. I'm sure plenty more was taken from other books that I simply haven't read yet, so I can't really trust any of what I read in this book to be from the author, other than the way she pasted it all together. The book got rave reviews when it came out, one even comparing the author to Virginia Woolf, which sort of made me angry, since I felt that it was really just a pasting together of a bunch of memoirs she probably read on anorexia and ideas from the Beauty Myth. Having said that, the pacing and the story itself was still enough to keep me engaged, and the thought process of the main character was believable.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone in recovery from an eating disorder, since many of the main character's thoughts are the kinds of quotes one would find on pro-ana websites. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a loved one with an eating disorder, because the protagonist is hard to relate to or like. I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, one would be better off reading Wasted or Appetites, or any number of books by actual sufferers that wrote the source material. show less

When Vera de Sica pulls into the wrong parking lot at the car rental place, the car is stolen. This is only the beginninf of her troubles, since what the thieves really wanted was her identity. This is a fascinating look at how easy it is to have your identity stolen. Watching the thieves systematically run through Vera's money and credit is frightening. The book was good, though the ending seemed false to me.

This is a fascinating little book - and I do mean little. It's written kind of like a legal interview. So why did you gouge your boyfriend's eyes out? From the gouger's point of view. It's really chilling and amazing and riveting.

Whilst I liked this book a lot, I didn't love it. I have very limited knowledge of anorexia and this book has opened my eyes and mind to the struggles faced by Josie. Her mind is so focused on her body. She has a distorted perception of what she looks like and although she accepts that she looks frail, she aspires to be even thinner. It leads her to out-of-control eating habits and eventually a hospital.

Josie isn't the most likeable person. You have to work hard to like her but you can show more understand the way she is. You want her to eat, to stop counting every calorie, to look at food in a different way, to get the help she needs. You want her to have friends who can support her through this part of her life, to have a more supportive family. You want her to get better.

I read this over a couple of days. I did find it hard to put down as I was so intrigued by Josie's life and how it was going to progress. The descriptions of food were very interesting and her knowledge of calories for everything. Her habits around food, how it all began. I'm not sure how accurately this work of fiction portrays a young woman with anorexia but it has made me think. show less